Experiments with 110 film

[nickandre]

So I saw that some companies had made 110 SLR cameras and I had to have one so I bought the original Minolta 110 SLR. My plan is to load Ektar 100 into 110 cassettes to have a portable SLR system for woods hunting. Some day I might acquire a Pentax 110 SLR with a few lenses because those look awesome. I've just processed my first roll of film off ebay and it came out well. It's pre-exposed with large blocks in between frames which include the frame numbers. I've also noticed that those blocks are cutting off a millimeter of the frame in either direction...brilliant, really.

Any community experiences/tips with 110 cameras and film? I also have a minolta 16 (but none of the cartridges) and I'm considering trying more submini. We'll see.

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, Nicholas;

I also have 110 cartridge cameras here; mainly the long thin pocket forms. Film is still available from some of the drug stores around here. For the normal size prints most of us make, this film format is certainly adequate. Finding processing by others is a chore now. I just missed getting a Nikor 16mm developing reel for use in developing my own.

The Minolta 16mm pocket cameras are another subject. For those cameras, look at the SubClub, www.subclub.org

It seems that we Minolta 16 and 16 II users do still have a source for film for these older palm sized miniature cameras. You can hide them visually very easily. I had wrapped one of mine in black photographic tape to reduce its visual effect even further. Now if there was just something we could do about the very audible "CLANK" when we fire the shutter.

 

[Photo Engineer]

The pre-exposed in-between segments of film served several purposes. One was to key the printer accurately on such a small scale and the other was to give a more precise level of seasoning to the developer due to the small scale. There were other reasons, some just in planning stages but the product was dropped just like APX.

Films with fine grain and sharpness such as EKTAR 25 were planned to go far in 110.

The problem was that most people did not like the grain and sharpness of the products at the time.

PE

 

[ic-racer]

I got in to 16mm in the earl 80s with a few Minoltas and a bunch of cartridges. I have been using up a 100ft roll of HP5 single perf 16mm negative film. The quality of the images is much better than Minox, but, other than the Gami, all the modern high-end cameras (Minolta SLR and Pentax SLR) were made to take 110

I just had my Minolta 16qt out the other day and the meter still works . I got the Jobo 16mm reels when they were still selling them new. Each reel holds two rolls of film.

 

[nickandre]

I've been debating getting the cartridges for the Minolta 16s. I will be getting a slitter and reel so I'll be able to do whatever I want with the film.

My idea has been to reload the cartridges with Ektar 100 and various other slow speed films. The Minolta SLR has exposure control to achieve full stops between ASA 25 and 1600. I'm not sure how sharp the lens is; I know ektar generally out resolves lenses. It should be fun. With loading my own film I will achieve a larger frame area as well despite the poorer frame spacing using the Minolta. I look forward to having some fun.

Some of you may appreciate this waste of time:

 

[Focus No. 9]

Hi, kinda new here. I have a Pentax Auto 110 with 24mm lens. I have a couple of exposed rolls to send off to Dwayne's.

Tiberius, "I've just processed my first roll of film off ebay and it came out well" Did you process the 110 or did a lab process it for you? I had asked a similar ? on another forum site but received no reply. If you indeed processed the 110...how? What tools? Did you then make prints?

 

[nickandre]

I taped the 110 film emulsion side out, base to base, onto an old strip of processed 35mm film, which I wound onto a steel reel. Through some miracle of modern medicine, the film was processed somewhat evenly and even has images on it. Weird how these things work out. I do C41 regularly. I bought a reel but it ended up in the Canadian Wilderness via a long story. I'll have it eventually. The reels are hard to find and expensive. Alternatively there's a plastic tank on Amazon which adjusts to 16mm.

I have so far just looked at the negatives. Eventually I'll print them. I have access to a 16mm Carrier and I've been told a 35mm enlarging lens too so I can run RA4 for 110 film and blow them up to 16x20. Fun is definitely in store.

Now that classes are done all the little projects I didn't have time for start getting done. Now to process Kodachrome!

 

[Focus No. 9]

Good to know. A bag of tricks is always a good bet. Thanks.

 

[Dan Dozer]

For you 110 mm shooters, maybe these are hard to find - I don't know. I have a stainless steel developing reel for 110 mm film that I'll give to anyone who wants it. It's a cheap one made by Prinz. I don't have a developing tank to go with it but it's the same size as a normal 35 mm reel so it will fit in a standard 35mm developing tank. Send me a PM if interested.

 

[bdilgard]

I remember using a Yankee Clipper 2 tank for 110. I think B&H still has some of them.

 

[bsdunek]

When 110 film was widely available, I got a lot of use from my Minolta 110SLR. Really a very nice camera. Easy to carry and worked well. The shortcoming was in the 110 cassette design. As I remember, the film wasn't held in place very accurately by the plastic cassette, which affected the back focus distance. With the small format, this was very critical. The system worked well for family snapshots, etc. which were not blown up much. I never could consistantly make a good 8X10 print though.
Just as a comparison, 8X10 prints came pretty easily from my Minox and Adox 25 film. The Minox has a really good film positioning system.