robertjonesphoto
In the late 1970s, both Minolta and Pentax produced 110 SLR cameras that were of superb quality. I bought my Auto 110 kit in 2002, just as film was first on the wane.
I was shocked and pleasantly surprised by the detail and vivid color this camera achieved with Agfa Vista 110 film. When enlarged, the grain is smaller than expected for one reason: Traditional pocket cameras (such as the Kodak Ektralite series) don't have very sharp focus, therefore a lot of "circles of confusion" residue swims around there with film grain, giving an overall grainy look.
Not so with the Auto 110. Recently, I ran my first roll of Verichrome Pan 125 through this little wonder, and -- developed in Edwal FG7, a fine-grain developer -- the results were similar when enlarged to 35mm Tri-X developed in Agfa Rodinal.
As a professional photographer, I always carry a backup. This is my backup to 35mm, and on a couple occasions, I have actually used this on a commercial shoot. I didn't tell the client this was the camera I was using, but they said they wanted something a little more gritty than could be had with a 35mm. They assumed I was just using faster film.
I first fell in love with Pentax glass when I purchased my first zoom lens for my Ricoh KR-5 Super, my first SLR, which used Pentax K-mount lenses. The lenses for the Auto 110 are to the same exacting standards. I especially love the wide-angle, as beyond six feet (with decent soft focus at 3 to 6 feet) it gets everything in focus. Conversely, the telephoto lens gets dead-on focus with astonishing detail at anything you point it.
I hope others out there who share my enthusiasm for this wonderful camera can drop by and give their two cents.
I was shocked and pleasantly surprised by the detail and vivid color this camera achieved with Agfa Vista 110 film. When enlarged, the grain is smaller than expected for one reason: Traditional pocket cameras (such as the Kodak Ektralite series) don't have very sharp focus, therefore a lot of "circles of confusion" residue swims around there with film grain, giving an overall grainy look.
Not so with the Auto 110. Recently, I ran my first roll of Verichrome Pan 125 through this little wonder, and -- developed in Edwal FG7, a fine-grain developer -- the results were similar when enlarged to 35mm Tri-X developed in Agfa Rodinal.
As a professional photographer, I always carry a backup. This is my backup to 35mm, and on a couple occasions, I have actually used this on a commercial shoot. I didn't tell the client this was the camera I was using, but they said they wanted something a little more gritty than could be had with a 35mm. They assumed I was just using faster film.
I first fell in love with Pentax glass when I purchased my first zoom lens for my Ricoh KR-5 Super, my first SLR, which used Pentax K-mount lenses. The lenses for the Auto 110 are to the same exacting standards. I especially love the wide-angle, as beyond six feet (with decent soft focus at 3 to 6 feet) it gets everything in focus. Conversely, the telephoto lens gets dead-on focus with astonishing detail at anything you point it.
I hope others out there who share my enthusiasm for this wonderful camera can drop by and give their two cents.