There are small cameras, and then there are small cameras. When designing cameras, there are certain constraints that you must work within. In the realm of 35mm cameras, you do have to make sure there’s enough room to fit the cartridge, and there have been some small 35mm cameras that I have reviewed. The one I think of is the RETO Ultra-Wide & Slim, and in the 35mm world, the smallest I’ve worked with is the Pentax MX (smaller than even the Olympus OM-1 and Nikon FM). But once you start to scale down the size of the film, you can bring the size of the camera down. The Pentax Auto 110 is one such camera, and it certainly is unique among the cameras I have used over the years because it is an interchangeable lens SLR that takes 110 film. I have since gotten rid of the camera and am passing it along to another photographer, but I wanted to write a review on this interesting little camera that tries to punch above its weight.
Nikon D300 – AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm 1:2.8G DX
Camera Specifications
Manufacturer: Asahi Optical Co.
Model: Pentax Auto 110
Type: Single Lens Reflex
Format: Cartridge Loading 110 film, 13x17mm
Lens: Interchangeable, 110-Bayonet Mount
Shutter: Programmed Electronic Behind-The-Lens Shutter, 1/750s – 1s
Meter: Center-Weighted TTL SPD Cell, EV3 ~ EV17 @ ASA-100, ASA-80 to ASA-320
Power Source: 2x 1.5V SR44 Batteries
Size: 56x99x32mm (W/O Lens or Batteries)
Weight: 159g (W/O Lens or Batteries)
Year of Manufacture: 1978-85
Background
Kumao Kajiwara founded the Ashai Optical Company in 1919, focusing on the projection of lenses for eyeglasses and binoculars. From there, the company released their first projector lenses in 1923, which was not a far leap from the production of camera optics in 1931. It was only after World War Two that the company leapt to produce cameras, with the Asahiflex first hitting the market in 1952; the camera had a single lens reflex with a waist-level finder and interchangeable lenses via the M37 screw mount. Within five years, Asahi introduced the Pentax, which switched to an eye-level pentaprism finder and the M42 lens mount and TTL metering being added in 1964, with the Spotmatic line of cameras and the Spotmatic ES in 1971 adding semi-automatic exposure and open-aperture TTL metering. In 1972, Kodak introduced the replacement for their 126 drop-in cartridge film, the 110 format. While 126 film used a film stock that exposed a 24x24mm square image, 110 reduced the size into the sub-miniature category, exposing a 13x17mm frame with a paper-backed film in a small contained cartridge. In 1978, the Sugaya Optical Co introduced the Minimax Pocket 110 EE, a high-end 110 camera, and the designers also created a 110 SLR. Minolta would introduce the first 110 SLR that same year, and the designers at Sugaya, seeing the lack of interest in a 110 SLR with interchangeable lenses, sold the designs to Asahi. Asahi ran with it and introduced the Auto 110 with 18mm, 24mm, and 50mm lenses. What made it unique is that the camera featured full auto-exposure with no option for semi-automatic or manual controls. Asahi also includes a flash and winder unit. A second group of lenses were introduced in 1982 with an 18mm Pan focus lens, a 70mm and a 20-40mm zoom lens. The Pentax Auto 110 Super was released the same year (despite Kodak discontinuing production of 110 films, other companies continued to produce the format). The 110 Super improved the original Auto 110 with a single rather than double-stroke film advance, low-light warning, electronic self-timer, and a brighter view screen. Both the Auto 110 and Auto 110 Super were discontinued in 1985.
Impressions
There are small cameras and then there are small cameras. Asahi’s designers seem to like scaling up and down their SLR designs. The Pentax Auto110 is a tiny SLR in every respect both in function and appearance. I mean, when you’re a company that pretty much only built SLRs in the early years, might as well go with what you know. The camera however is almost comically small and barely fit into my hands in the stock form. Now I did have the optional motor drive accessory which added a bit more grip on the winder side of the camera. But the Auto110 is also sleek, it looks good for the size and you automatically know that you’re working with an SLR from the prism finder hump to the lens at the front. I almost wish Pentax had scaled the design up to make a sweet late 1980s fully automatic SLR.
Experiences
The idea behind 110 film was to make it easy for anybody to take pictures, it was a replacement for the 126 format complete with drop in loading. The only difference is that the negatives were far smaller than 24x24mm of Instamatic. Loading film is easy, drop it in, the camera will automatically detect the film speed, advance and go. The film advance if you’re running it manually is a double-stroke, a little annoying, but most 110 cameras were built this way. I mentioned the auto-winder earlier, this does allow the camera to automatically advance each frame after you take the shot. It might have either been the camera I had or the winder, but I found that it jammed more often than worked, so I ended up not using the accessory. The camera is small, light, and barely takes up any room. There’s no means of manual or semi-automatic control, except for focusing. Focusing is surprisingly easy with the small viewfinder and the lenses handle well. I had the chance to use the three prime lenses, all of them worked well and had good balance with maybe the 50mm throwing it off only slightly. When you start adding on accessories like a flash and winder you start to see additional weight. The exposure is good, not great but that’s to be expected when working with such a limited size, but even in tricky situations it did a good job. On the plus side not need to worry about rewinding the film because it all stays in the cartridge.
Optics
As I have mentioned, the real power of the Auto 110 is not the size or the expensive system, but the fact that you can swap out the lenses, and Pentax did not skimp on this either. Every lens made for the camera offered excellent optical and image quality, and all had a maximum open aperture of f/2.8 because it was the fastest aperture that the camera body could support with a minimum aperture of f/13. And I was lucky to have three of the six lens options when I owned the camera. The first generation of lenses came in wide-angle, normal, and portrait-length. The wide angle is 18mm (~35mm in 135 formats), great for landscapes and architecture and had six elements in six groups. Next is the 24mm lens (~50mm in 135) with six elements in five groups. It offered a good choice, and if it is the only lens on your camera, you’ll be happy with it, especially if you like your 50mm lenses. And finally, the 50mm (~100mm in 135) with five elements in five groups. I was surprised that I used this one far more than I thought, and it also gave excellent results. Now, Pentax also released a zoom lens of 20-40mm (40-80mm in 135), but I never had that lens (if I remember correctly), and also a 70mm (~140mm in 135). One interesting lens that Pentax also released was a Pan Focus 18mm; this lens is the same as the 18mm released with the original lens group but was a fixed focus lens that set the hyper-focal distance. If you are looking at picking up one, the original trio of the 18mm, 24mm, and 50mm would be a good set of lenses and add that 70mm.
Lowdown
What makes the Auto110 unique is that it is only one of four 110-format SLRs, the other two being from Minolta (the Mk II is awesome) plus the second version of this camera from Pentax. So if you’re someone who wants to have a little piece of photographic history on your shelf, then the Auto110 is a good choice. As a user camera, it takes modern batteries, Lomography makes fresh 110 film in both colour and black & white and the camera isn’t bad. In the world of simple 110 cameras, the Auto110 stands out and if you get your hands on a complete kit with the lenses you’re good to go, since it takes modern batteries. The complete kit is going to run you around 250 with all the lenses, the single camera with a lens it about 130. The downside is that the cameras are getting older and getting them repaired is difficult. So like always, buyer beware. Do I miss my Auto110? No, I never gelled with the 110 format despite having several different camera options, I guess despite being an SLR guy, I was never a 110 guy.
Further Reading
Don’t just take my word on the Auto 110; you can check out the reviews by other awesome camera reviewers!
35mmc – Pentax Auto 110 Review
Film Shooters Collective – Pentax Auto 110 Review
Lomography – My First 110 Camera: Pentax Auto 110
Shoot It With Film – Pentax Auto 110 Review: A Nostalgic and Unique Pocket Film Camera
Camera Legend – Pentax Auto 110 Review
Moving Pictures – A Look back at the rare Pentax Auto 110
Clearwater Times – The Pentax Auto 110 camera is still relevant in 2024