There's no doubt about it: Single-use cameras by leading film manufacturers are better than ever. Thanks mainly to advancements in 800-speed film technology, single-use cameras from brand names such as Agfa, Fuji, Kodak, Konica and other major players in the photo industry take much better pictures than the single-use cameras of even a few years ago. Lenses are sharper and flashes are more reliable in newer, brand-name, single-use cameras than in older models.

Brand-name single-use cameras are not limited to the aforementioned camera companies. Some major discount chain stores also have their own brand, and some independent companies repackage brand-name cameras as safari and wedding cameras.

By now, you might be wondering why I've stressed brand-name, single-use cameras. Here is why.

This past summer, my wife and I picked up our son from his summer camp. One of his souvenirs was a single-use camera. It had attractive packaging that said the camera, with a built-in flash, could be used indoors and out.

As a photographer and photo writer, I was interested in the $10 camera. I had never heard of the camera manufacturer, whose address was not listed on the box -- as are the addresses of the manufacturers of brand-name, single-use cameras. I tried a Web search on the company, with no luck.

So, with my son's permission, I opened the camera's cardboard wrapping and discovered a major brand plastic camera casing inside. On the front of the camera it said that the brand-name manufacturer's film was inside. (Brand-name manufacturers such as Agfa, Fuji, Kodak and Konica always use their own film in their cameras.) Taking another step, I popped open the camera (which you really should not do because you could get a small electrical shock from the camera's circuitry). Guess what? The color film did not even have a name on it.

I've saved the most interesting part for last. The obviously used and reloaded camera was held together not with snaps and glue as brand-name single-use cameras are, but with black electrician's tape (which I have to admit was cut and attached quite neatly).

Did the camera take good pictures? They were OK. Maybe we got lucky. Perhaps all the cameras from the company in discussion take acceptable pictures. But, I have to wonder about a camera that's stuck together with black tape. Is the lens in perfect alignment for the sharpest possible picture? Will the film advance without scratches? Is the battery new? Will the flash fire accurately? And what about the no-name film?

Major camera and film manufacturers, by the way, have been reassembling, or recycling, single-use cameras for years -- under the same strict standards that the companies use in the assembling of the new cameras. The recycling process has given this category its current name: single-use, rather than their earlier name of disposable. I think we as citizens of planet Earth should give credit to these companies for their recycling efforts.

Rick Sammon is the author of 21 photography, nature and conservation books.