What Is The Difference Between A Disposable Camera And A Reusable Camera?
Both use the 35mm film format in color (C41) and BW. With a disposable camera ($14 - $29), when you are finished taking the pictures (typically 27 frames or exposures), you send the camera to a photo developing service where they break open the camera to get the film canister out of it and then develop it. It is a single-use camera. It also has a AAA battery to power the flash in it.
The reusable camera is similar with one important difference - when you are done taking the pictures, you can remove the film roll and insert a new one. The reusable cameras cost $30-50 and also have a flash.
Lens-wise, both cameras are built using plastic lenses, which are cheaply made and add a unique look to the images. A bit dreamy, perhaps, a vintage look. Reusable cameras in the $30-50 range typically last for about 20 rolls. The advantage of the reusable cameras is that you can try out a wide variety of films on them. With disposable cameras, they are only available in a 400 ISO or 800 ISO sensitivity - typically, a Kodak or a Fuji film.
Technically, all SLR, point and shoot, rangefinder film cameras would be considered reusable cameras.
Note that there are no (at least not yet) disposable 120 format film cameras.
For those sensitive to reducing their carbon footprint, note that disposable cameras end up in landfill though some percentage of them are recycled.
What Is Film Developing? What Is The Difference Between Developing And Processing?
When exposed to light, the film starts an immediate chemical reaction that records what is known as a latent (hidden, concealed, or non-developed) image. The film has to undergo a multi-step chemical process to reveal that latent image. That is known as developing or development. Color films go through a different set of chemicals compared to BW.
Some folks use development interchangeably with processing. Today, we (I) use the term processing to include additional steps of scanning the negative and/or printing the images. That is not an industry standard definition. We use it to differentiate a Customer wanting just developing versus the complete service.
We process color (C41 & E6) and BW films in 35mm, 120 medium format, and 4x5” large format.