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F I L M S TA RS

ALL PICTURES,UNLESS MARKED OTHERWISE © JOHN WADE

Testbench 110 CAMERAS

Wo nd e r f u l

110

Certain SLR and other

camera makers in the

’70s and ’80s took 110

snapshot fi lm a little

bit more seriously, as

John Wade discovers

B

ack in 1963 Kodak introduced the

Instamatic system with a cartridge fi lm called

126. It was a great success and remained so
     until, in 1972, the photo giant did it again with a new range
     of cameras called Pocket Instamatics. The 110 size fi lm they took was
     16mm wide, enclosed in a long, narrow cartridge and had a frame size of
     13x17mm. With its introduction, other camera manufacturers began
     retooling for the latest Kodak fi lm and before long 110 cameras ruled the
     world of snapshot photography.
     Two manufacturers, however, took a different route producing between
     them, four single lens refl exes (SLRs). Today, the fi lm is relatively easy to
     buy, making those SLRs still very usable, along with a few other non-refl ex
     cameras that took 110 just that little bit more seriously.

Minolta 110 Zoom SLR and Mark II

The Pentax SLRs are the better

specifi ed cameras, but

Minolta was fi rst with an

SLR for 110 fi lm. The

design of the original

version, launched in

1976 (left), resembles a

traditional 110 camera

with a refl ex viewfi nder

on top and a fi xed

25-50mm zoom lens with

a macro facility on the front.

The camera offers aperture

priority with f/4.5-/16 selected by

a knob beside the lens.

In 1979, Minolta restyled the

camera to create the Mark II

version in a new shape (right),

more like a small 35mm SLR.

The telephoto end of the zoom

range is extended to 67mm and

apertures are set by a dial on the

top plate. The lens is non-

interchangeable but a rare

Minolta teleconverter can be

used to screw over the front of

the existing lens to double its

focal length.

The Minolta

110 Zoom SLR

An early Pocket Instamatic 300,

pictured with a 110 film cartridge

and fitted with its flashcube

extender, to help eliminate redeye

when shooting with flash