Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-05-16)

subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 16 May 2020 55

PentaxAuto 110

ThePentaxAuto 110 waslaunchedin 1979
and,onceyougetusedtoitssmallsize,
handleslikea 35mmSLR.It’sa mere
9.5x5.5x3cm,makingit probablytheworld’s
smallestinterchangeablelensSLR.Evenso,the
viewfinderis comparativelylarge,containsa split
imagerangefinderandis veryclear,makingit
easyto forgetyouareactuallyusinga miniature
camera.Meteringis throughthelens(TTL)and
programmedexposuregivesa rangefrom
1/750secat f/13.5
downto 1sec

at f/2.8.Automaticfilmspeedsettingis

controlledbythefilmcartridge.

Thestandardlenshasa 24mmfocallength,

whichgivesa similarfieldof viewto50mmon

a 35mmcamera.Wideangle18mmand

medium-tele50mmlensesarefairlyeasyto

find;a 70mmtelephotois rarer;anda

20-40mmzoomis rarerstill.Allthelenses

havefixedf/2.8apertures,andnoirises.

Instead,f-stopsarecontrolledbytwoL-shaped

masksin thecamerabody.

In 1982anupgradedversioncalledthe

Auto 110 Superwaslaunchedwithaneven

brighterviewfinder,an

improvedrangefinder,

backlightbutton,shutter

lock,singlestrokefilmwind(thefirstversion

requiredtwostrokes)anda self-timer.

A wealthof accessoriesforbothcameras

includededicatedflashguns,motordrive,filters,

close-uplenses,a rarebeltclipand,of course,a

rangeof interchangeablelenses.Thecameracan

befoundin kitsthatcontainvariouscombinations

of theaccessoriesandlensrange.Lookoutfor

theSafariversionmadewitha smarttwo-tone

brownbody,anda transparentversion.

Wheretobuy

110 film

JUSTaswiththeolder 126 cartridgefilm,it

is possibletoreload 110 cartridgesin a

darkroomorchangingbag.Butbecauseof

thesmallergauge,you’lleitherneedtofinda

supplyof 16mmcinefilm,orcutdown

35mm.Bothof whichis farfromeasy– and

reallyquiteunnecessarybecause 110 filmis

relativelyeasytobuy.Simplytrythe

Lomographyshop(shop.lomography.com)or

WexPhotoVideo(www.wexphotovideo.

com),whereyou’llfindnewpacksof one,

three,fiveortenfilms.

SINGLE LENS REFLEX 110 CAMERAS

The Minolta 110 Zoom SLR
Mark II with its rare teleconverter

Pentax Auto 110 with

20-40mm zoom lens

fitted, plus 24mm

standard, 18mm

wideangle, 50mm and

70mm telephoto lenses

...and the

transparent version

The two-toned

Safari version of

the Auto 110...

The super-rare

belt clip for

the Auto 110

© ANDY WESTL AKE

COURTESY OF WWW.PETERLOY.COM

COURTESY OF WESTBOURNE CAMERA COMPANY, MICHIGAN