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.
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.
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