PENTAX 110 CAMERAS
Most camera manufacturers made 110 camera. Pentax was just one. But what sets Pentax apart is that they only made one 110 camera. Many consider the Pentax 110 the best 110 ever made. If you are able to provide more accurate information than is listed here, please contact us.
(1978) Top-rated 110 system that looked and operates
like a tiny 35mm SLR system. The Auto 110 is a true SLR with interchangeable
lenses, motor drives, flash unit, close-up lenses, filters, and much more.
The fully automatic exposure system is truly a wonder. Both aperture
and shutter speed settings are programmed by the camera in accordancce with
the lighting situation. By ingeniously combining the shutter with the aperture
blades, Pentax engineers created a system that's amazingly sensitive and
accurate, yet simple to use. Shutter speeds vary from 1 second to 1/750.
Apertures run from f2.8 to f13.5 -- on all lenses (Since the aperture
is really in the camera body, they couldn't make any lenses that didn't allow
for f2.8). As amazing as it may sound the image in the viewfinder rivals
that of even the best 35mm SLRs, in terms of contrast, size, brightness,
and clarity. Inside the SLR viewfinder, you'll find a surprisingly large
split-image finder surrounded by a matte glass field. You'll also see
an LED in the lower right-hand corner to provide exposure information.
Green means that the picture can be taken hand-held. Yellow means
use a flash or a tripod as the shutter will be 1/30 or slower. The
camera weighted just 5.6 ounces and could fit in a shirt pocket with room
for a couple of lenses, as well. The original camera lenses were:
24mm (f2.8) 25.5mm thread (6/5) -- equivalent to a 50mm in 35mm full frame
format
50mm (f2.8) 37.5mm thread (5/5) -- equivalent to a 100mm in 35mm full frame
format
18mm (f2.8) 30.5mm thread (6/6) -- equivalent to a 35mm in 35mm full frame
format
In 1981 three additional lenses were added:
18mm pan-focus -- Fixed focus lens -- everything was in focus from infinity
to 6 feet. Equivalent to a 35mm in 35mm full frame format
70mm (f2.8) 49mm thread -- equivalent to a 150mm in 35mm full frame format
20-40mm zoom (f2.8) 49mm thread -- equivalent to a 40-80mm zoom in 35mm full
frame format
A special motor winder was available that would deliver over 1,200 exposures
on 2 AA batteries. Later, the Winder II auto winder appeared. It
has slightly more robust tabs on the battery door than the model I. Special
dedicated flash units were available, such as the AF 130 P and AF 100
P. Various accessories were available, such as teleconverters, close-up lenses,
filters, cases, pouches, lens hoods, eye piece correction lenses and
more. The original price for the entire system in 1978 was $500. Uses
two A76 batteries. The first bodies produced had "ASAHI" as well
as "PENTAX" logos painted in white on the pentaprism front. Only about 70,000
of these bodies were made. The white Asahi's are also referred to as
"Pan Heads", because the screws on the body that straddle the viewfinder
are little slotted "pan head" screws.
(1979) In less than a year, Pentax stopped painting in the "ASAHI" on the Auto 110. All camera features remained the same. Very shortly after they stopped painting in the "ASAHI" they also changed those pan head screws to philips flat heads. So there are some very rare Black Pan Heads out there.
(1979) A more unusual variant is the brown model, called the "Safari". It had a dark-brown plastic with a light brown leather. All camera features remained the same. This variant was not available for sale. It was more of a corporate gift than an actual sale item, so is harder to find.
(1979) This variant was not available for sale, but was used as a demonstration model in camera shops. Some have made their way to the consumer market. Several variations of this model were sold over the years and it can beome a collector's dream all to itself. It was a fully functioning camera in terms of the mechanics, but the transparent body means that picture taking was not the intent, of course. It has been seen in both the "pan head" style and "philip head" style, and some of the latest models had an opaque film chamber to allow for actual picture taking with the opaque 110 cassette. Talk about an expensive 110 keychain camera! All camera features remained the same as for the original
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