Photo Opportunity? Five major photography companies are about to launch a camera and film system designed to replace the 35mm format and revive a stagnant industry. The question in whether consumers will snap it up.

Next Thursday, five of the largest names in the photography business will unveil a strategy to sell consumers an entirely new generation of cameras, film and even new photo albums and frames.

It's called the Advanced Photo System, and it's intended to replace 35mm photography for the ordinary snapshooter. The idea is to make picture-taking simpler and more satisfying. The companies also hope it will jump-start a stagnant photographic industry that, they fear, is getting lost in the dust of the computer and information revolution.

"This literally will be the biggest…