Pentax Auto 110, the smallest camera I ever used

The smallest camera I ever used must have been the Pentax Auto 110. I would guess that the Pentax Auto 110 is the only SLR with detachable lenses built for 110 film, thereby being the smallest SLR system ever built. The system was manufactured between 1978 and 1985. The Pentax Auto 110 was introduced with three lenses, a 18mm f/2.8 wide-angle lens, a 24mm f/2.8 standard lens and a 50mm f/2.8 telephoto lens. These would be comparable to 35mm, 50mm and 100mm lenses for the 135 film format. A 110 winder was also produced. The Auto 110 was succeeded by the Auto 110 Super camera released in 1982 that came with a the newly designed 110 Winder II. An additional three lenses were released in 1981 consisting of a compact 'pan focus' 18mm, a 70mm f/2.8 and a 20-40mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Lindau

For years this has always been sort of a gimmick for me. Yes, it is fun, quirky and most certainly different from what I had been shooting but when I started with the Pentax Project (shoot images with as many different Pentax camera models as I can) I took a serious look at the 110 system for the first time. With Lomography picking up 110 film production where Kodak and Fuji left off the availability of 110 film was no longer a major issue.

I managed to obtain a set with the original body, winder and the original three lenses in 2017, bought some Lomography Orca black and white 110 film and shot a few rolls with my Pentax Auto 110. And then, well, really nothing... As it turned out getting 110 film developed is no easy task. My usual lab no longer accepted 110 film and the Lomography store in Amsterdam where I bought the film had closed. Lomography offered a mail order developing, printing and scanning service but that wasn't cheap. So I went out looking for alternatives, couldn't find any and forgot about it - until I rediscovered the rolls a few weeks ago. I decided to take the plunge and send them to Lomography for developing, printing and scanning.

The results

Fellow photographer Joeri van Veen and aircraft at Flughafen Memmingen-Allgäu.

Earlier this week I received word from Lomography: I could download the scans and the negatives and prints were on my way. I happily downloaded the scans and I must say that the scans don't disappoint. The shots seem sharp and correctly exposed. I am not sure if the scans are the maximum achievable when scanning the negatives but then again the negatives are small themselves.

I would still like to know if there are any alternatives to Lomography for developing 110 film, if you know any please drop me a line.

A Portuguese Casa 295 at Schiphol

Casa 295M 16701 of Esquadra 502 'Elefantes' of the Portuguese Air Force made a tank stop at Schiphol Airport earlier today. 

16701 was on a mission to the Baltic States and used Schiphol as a stopover on the way from and to Portugal. The Portuguese Air Force has 12 Casa 295's, 7 in the transport role and 5 in the maritime patrol role. 16701 is the first of the C-295M's delivered to Portugal and is one of the transport aircraft. An unusual feature in the Portuguese C-295M's is their nose-mounted radar. This is usually not found on the transport version. 

It was not the best light this afternoon but I'm happy with the results.

Medium format slides

Slides

Since I started shooting medium format film I've always had a preference for transparency or slide film. This was mainly because in the 35mm world I used slide film 99% of the time and my work flow was centered around slides. Slides scan beautifully and it is a joy to see them projected. 

Unlike 35mm, when shooting medium format there are different sizes with regards to slide formats. I have camera's that shoot 6x4.5, 6x6 and 6x7 format slides. For scanning purposes no big issue but if you want to project these slides there is no 'one fits all' slide projector. 6x4.5 and 6x6 have the same size of slide mount so can both be used on a 6x6 slide projector. 6x7 alas is too big for that. 

Projecting

Nowadays it is uncommon to see a medium format slide projector. I was lucky to obtain one, a 6x6 projector. This means that my 6x4.5 and 6x6 camera's are loaded with 120 slide film most of the time. I tend to use my 6x7's for black and white and colour negatives mostly these days.

Ok, now I owned a projector. Next on my list was obtaining the necessary slide mounts. Although I was able to buy some 6x4.5 mounts new I usually have to depend on the second-hand market. I have been lucky to get my hands on a mixed supply of 6x4.5 and 6x6 glass mounts but these need to be cleaned before use. I do so by washing them in warm soapy water. I've also heard other stories on how to clean these mounts, how do YOU do it? Please drop me a line in the comments section below describing how you clean your medium format glass slide mounts.

Scanning

My work flow now is to scan the slide first, then mount it. These are huge transparencies to scan so this takes a while. I use an LS-8000ED Coolscan and scan at maximum capacity. Scanning a 6x6 slide gets me a whopping 80.5 megapixel 500 MB file.

The results

Last February I shot a roll of Provia 100F with my ARAX CM-MLU. This is basically an improved Kiev 88CM, when using these you definitely get those old-school vibes. I scanned these earlier today, below you'll find a small selection of winter landscapes.

• Location Naarden
• Camera: ARAX CM-MLU
• Lens: ARAX MC 80mm f/2.8
• Film: Fujichrome Professional Velvia 100F 
• Scanner: Nikon LS-8000ED