Fisher-Price (kodak) 110 camera, advice needed about exposure

StoneNYC

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So I was cleaning out the attic today, and going through a lot of very very old boxes, and what should I come across but some really really very special camera equipment, one was my grandfather's old movie camera, but the other thing that I was excited about was that my first camera that I ever owned was discovered, at da!!



However as you can see there isn't much to it there's a shutter button and a cocking mechanism to set up for the next shot and that's about it, there's no kind of adjustments, it's a Fisher-Price camera so it was made for children so obviously that's why doesn't have much in the way of adjustment.

It does have a socket for one of those light flash bars, and I actually have a bunch of light bars that I bought off of eBay and then was going to get rid of because I decided I was going to stay away from 110 as I didn't really have a camera and didn't want to spend the money but then I found this!

Anyway I think they also might make a/electronic bar that's reusable for now I think maybe Lomography might make one?

Anyway the whole point of this post is what the heck to a shoot this set is there any kind of knowledge as far as what the exposure shutter speed would be an aperture? It's fixed aperture and shutter speed but it would be nice to know what the ideal lighting situations would be for this camera, and I do know that they do have some 110 film available new, as much as I used to shoot a lot of color as a kid I think for this camera I would probably enjoy shooting black-and-white mostly, so do I get the 100 speed film or the 400 speed film and in what situations can I shoot either?

ANY info would be awesome!

Thanks!
 

cl3mens

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I haven't shot mine yet, but Lomographys B/W Orca film in Rodinal 1+100 stand should be a good candidate. I am currently working on a roll of their slide film in my Pocket instamatic 300, but that camera has more exposure control.

edit: That french page mentions two shutter speeds, not one or the other. Maybe plugging in a flash bar engages the slower shutter speed? You should be able to hear the diffrence.
 

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(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

if you get bitten by the bug
and search the subclub.org for the film slitters

and .. if you want to upgrade, the pentax system (and others) are sweet...
careful its a feverish addiction

john
 

Truzi

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My best friend has one very similar to that from her childhood (though hers had a "Transformers" sticker on it). I got her some film, some flash bars, and an hotshoe adapter. We'll have to modify the adapter, which was made for a "standard" 110 and won't quite fit on hers.

Basically, since it is a child's camera, what you have is a shell over a regular pocket instamatic. You can take it apart and have a very small 110 to play with.

As far as film, just use it like you did in your childhood. Get 400 speed film and use flash indoors, or 100 for mostly outdoor use (and some flash indoors). The latitude of color film will handle it, just as it does the "single-use" 35mm cameras they have at the drug stores.
Since you want to use B&W, that may be a little more difficult, but I'd still not worry too much, as modern B&W has good latitude as well.

You probably didn't worry much as a kid, and got useable pictures, so don't worry now. Just have fun.

(To confuse things, I believe the cartridges themselves had a notched tab on the end so the camera could "sense" the speed. I'm not sure the new 110 cartridges really match the tab to the film speed, and children's cameras probably didn't detect the speed in the first place.)
 
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StoneNYC

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Thanks guys, yea a while ago I did this to myself... On eBay...



I was thinking I was going to get one of those more fancy cameras that you could adjust stuff and start shooting "professional" images on the small format just for fun, but after re-rolling a lot of other stuff, I realize this would be even more of a pain than anything else, so I scrapped the idea and was trying to trade this but no one wanted it. Lol

Well I threw in one of the flashes and they work, so it seems like the correct adapter for all of these flashes anyway, but do they make an adapter that would turn this into a standard hot shoe? Will have to google that, I think that would be best, trying to find flash bars could get costly...

So f/11 @1/60 or 1/125? Hmm

I tried to listen to the difference between plugging it in and not plugging in the flash, it kind of seems like there might be a difference in the speed, but it's hard to hear the difference between 1/60 and one 1/150th, I also just blinded myself because I thought I threw in the flash bar in the right direction where they had already been popped but I didn't so I wasted a bulb and blinded myself good times!

I'll have to try and get to urban outfitters, they often have the lomography film, I would rather process it myself then have to send it out as I could get costly considering there aren't many labs that can even handle one 10 film anymore which is one of the other reasons I was choosing black-and-white over color... I think it would be fun to shoot the holidays with this camera.

But it would be nice to meter appropriately-ish knowing the shutter speed and f stop. So thanks.
 
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StoneNYC

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I wanted to thank the person above, who posted the link to the French page, however I don't speak French and it's hard for me to translate so I just wanted to be sure that the other person who was guessing that one speed was with the flash and one without was correct, so I'm doing more research so far this is what I found

http://kodak.3106.net/index.php?p=211&cam=1025

name: Fisher-Price Camera
produced from: 1984
lens: 25mm, f/11 Meniscus
film type: 110 Cartridge
picture size: 13 x 17 mm
categories: 110


So it's definitely an F/11

Now for shutter speed...
 

Truzi

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I found a flash adapter on ebay for my best friend, I'm sure they are out of production. It plugs in where a flash-bar goes, and has an hot shoe. It clamps on a regular 110 camera. Your camera is larger so kids could handle it easily, so the adapter will not be able to make contact in the flash-bar receptacle. The reason is, the socket for the flash bar is in a recessed area. Normally, the top of the camera would be completely flush.

You can make an extension from an old flash-bar (you'll have to find a socket) so the flash adapter will work.
My best friend's camera really just is a shell around a regular 110 camera. If yours is similar, you could also take the "shell" off to reveal the pocket-sized camera, and the adapter should clamp on just fine.
Also, there are some adapters that have the flash-bar plug on a wire - one of those may work. I've one that has a connector with flash bar on one side, and flash cube on the other. I got this to use on a couple 126 cameras I am resurrecting.

You might enjoy this video about testing flash bulbs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm8m0fh8nIo

Fairview Photo, in my area, will process 110 (although they are annoyed by it). I'm pretty sure they do mail-order:
Dead Link Removed
 

AgX

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There are basically two types of flash-bars.

The one you need (and got in that photo) is called Flip-Flash or Top-Flash. It is the vertical type. From this type again there are basically two (interchangable) versions. You got the more advanced type.
 

cl3mens

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The text doesn't mention anything about how you get the diffrent shutter speeds, but "deux vitesses (1/60 et 1/150)" means "two speeds (1/60 AND 1/150)" literally.

Another thought, look in the film compartment for something that can be triggered by a notch on the 110 cassette. Maybe faster film triggered the 1/150?

edit: In the manual for the Kodak Pocket instamatic 10 they mention that you can insert a used magicube to trigger a slower shutter speed in dull sunlight. That model had no settings but obviously two speeds.
 
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StoneNYC

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Good info, I guess that settles it I'll have to keep around a used/bar just in case I want a slower shutter speed...
 
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StoneNYC

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I'm not sure of the difference between the regular and advanced type, I seem to have two types altogether there are the ones by GE that's General Electric, they each have four flashes on each side of the flip flash, their simple to use and I remember using them as a kid so it's not confusing to me at all, and then I have one of another version that has five on each side instead and it's called a "super 10" made by Sylvania, I know it may be a waste but I tested a bulb in each of them and they both work just fine, I'm not really sure of the other type that you're speaking about as you didn't tell me anything about them, but it's good to know that I have the right kind.
 
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StoneNYC

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Funny video haha!

I do see what you mean about they top of the camera not being completely flush, it is flush on one side but not on the other so it depends on how the adapter is designed I suppose.



Pardon the dust...

I have looked everywhere on the Internet and couldn't find a single image of an adapter so if you could come up with the name of the adapter perhaps maybe that would be easier for me to find one.

It would be extremely amazing if I could find an adapter that had a hot shoe or even just a PC terminal and then I could add a hot shoe after, that would make a lot more creative things happen as I could simply adjust the flash exposure levels in order to make something really interesting. Heck I could even connected to my studio strobes with a pocket wizard and do some really fun things with that.

But right now I'm just working on getting some film before the holidays it seems as though the stores that used to sell the Lomography film, no longer do (Urban Outfitters) and only sell the Fuji Instax and the Impossible Project Polaroid film...

Blah...

Though the sales guy when I called him didn't seem to really know anything at all about cameras, and kept calling it a phone... Haha, and then said that some of the films they have had squiggly lines on them as a design and that was "fun" haha
 

AgX

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GE made a model that let you chose how many bulbs to let go off at one time.
This is unique in flash-bar photography.
 
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StoneNYC

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AgX said:
GE made a model that let you chose how many bulbs to let go off at one time.
This is unique in flash-bar photography.
Click to expand...

Oh I see, well I think I have that type actually, because when I flashed the flash to flashes went off at the same time, eek! I seem to have two different models, one has ... oh heck I'll just show you....



As you can see the contact points are different, one only has one side, while the other has both sides or something like that. The name on the flashes doesn't seem to change between the two different types, but obviously the contact points must of different in some way... They are both labeled "Flip Flash II"
 

AgX

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There was Flip-Flash I and Flip-Flash II, with #I being the classic one.

Thank you for that contacts-photo.
 

Sirius Glass

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There are no adjustment to be made on that camera.
 
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StoneNYC

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Sirius Glass said:
There are no adjustment to be made on that camera.
Click to expand...

I know that, but to expose more accurately just in case I wanted to be more artistic with it, it's good to know what the functions of the camera and shutter speed are so that I can test for the best lighting situations.
 
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StoneNYC

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Update, someone mentioned that there might be some kind of little notch that would be different for 400 speed versus 100 speed I do see that I have mostly what I assume to be 100 speed film, the Kodacolor II... It expired in 1980 so there's no actual ASA film speed listed but there is one roll of "Fotomat C-41" film, that the original box said 100 speed film and I wrote that in marker on the cartridge, I was going to add some point change these cartridges out with 16mm film, but then decided that getting those notches done would be tedious, anyway the only role of 400 the film I have does seem to have a different and notch on it, it's just a little bit slightly more indented than the others, so I'm assuming that that's the notch that SOME cameras would use to identify the difference between the two film speed, however this simple camera is definitely not one of them, there's no little kind of switch or anything that is moved or adjusted when you insert the film so there's nothing to identify or change the shutter speed.

Anyway thanks for all the info and here's a picture

 

AgX

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AgX said:
GE made a model that let you chose how many bulbs to let go off at one time.
This is unique in flash-bar photography.
Click to expand...

I mixed up those flash-bars...

It is the Philips Topflash that offers the unique feature of deliberately firing several bulbs the same time.


The difference between the GE Flip-Flash I and II is the different location of the bulbs within the bar: square vs. row.
But more importand: the prisms array on front of each bulb at the #II with white reflectors behind them.
 
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AgX

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There are so many variations even in the flash-bulb world, one discovers something new all the time. As those different contacts.
 

Truzi

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The notches were started (I think) on 126 film cartridges. I used to have a link for 110 notches, but cannot find it. Here is the best I can come up with at the moment, just to give you an idea:
http://retinarescue.com/110cassette.html
Of course, you can't forget wikipedia (and perhaps go to camerapedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/110_film

I've heard the presence of a flash did change the shutter speed even on the most basic models, but I've not confirmed this.

Finding info on the flash adapter has been difficult. When I got home from work I dug out mine - its an Acme-lite 138. Something like this would probably work on your 110, but is a dedicated flash, not an hotshoe adapter. Here is an old ebay listing (it is sold). I have one for my 126 cameras:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAP...9382&item=271295679382&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466

I think the unit I got my best friend is similar to this National PW-110 adapter - it is an hotshoe. The one on this page appears to be for flash cubes, while hers is for flash bars, so the model number may be different. As you can see, a plastic "clip" ratchets to clamp it on the camera. On your (and her) camera, since the top is not flush, it will not reach the slot. Also, the clip would have to be modified if the camera stays as-is. I intend to fabricate an extension for her that will plug into the camera socket, and the flash adapter will plug into the extension.
http://www.minimalvideo.com/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=2&tag=Big Shot&limit=20&IncludeBlogs=2

Basically, I will use an old flip-flash for the plug, and probably get an old extender to cannibalize for it's socket (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kodak-flipflash-extender-/280616374332) - to make my own extension.
 

AgX

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Truzi said:
The notches were started (I think) on 126 film cartridges.
Click to expand...

Yes, then followed by the Agfa Rapid (to conquer 126) and then the Kodak Super-8 and then Fuji Single-8 cassettes.
 
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