Minolta
110 Zoom SLR (Mk I)
Minolta
actually made two, very different 110 cameras designated as "110 Zoom
SLR", and only the second model was further designated as "Mark
II". However, to distinguish easily between the two models, I've taken to referring
to the first camera as the "Mark I" version, and will continue to do
so throughout this article; there is no evidence that Minolta ever designated
this camera the Mark I themselves.
On a personal level, the Mk I has to be one of the most ungainly and awkward looking 110 Pocket Instamatic film format cameras ever made, and yet, a closer examination reveals it to be one of the most fully featured, flexible, and technologically sophisticated 110 cameras ever made. Handling and using it is natural and easy, although it is a departure from what you might expect if you've used any number of the more traditional, "brick" style cameras. While it is obviously no longer "pocketable" in any sense, the Mk I comes very, very close to being the only 110 camera you may ever need, the perfect light weight and compact companion for a wide variety of photographic situations, particularly for travelers. Minolta threw away the design books in putting this camera together, beginning from the ground up in producing the most sophisticated, yet easy to use camera they could come up with in 1976, when it was first introduced. In practical terms for today’s 110 enthusiast, this camera is one of the few that you will probably still be shooting years from now, and the hobbyist will delight in the wide range of films that can be reloaded and run through this camera with wonderful results. At about $15.00 on ebay in excellent condition, it’s one of the most value packed camera deals you can get today.
It would be impossible to begin any discussion of the Mk I without first
examining it's styling, for this is the camera I immediately and affectionately
named the "sammich camera". Why, becomes quickly apparent when 
you realize that you quite naturally hold and
operate the camera just like a sandwich: the top deck is dominated by a raised
poro-prism, as this is one of the very first true Single Lens Reflex (SLR)
cameras made in the 110 film format. The front face of the camera is likewise
dominated by a massive (compared to other 110 cameras) zooming lens, as this is
also one of the very first 110 cameras to have a built in zoom lens.
The technical specifications are inspiring: the lens is a 25mm to 50mm zoom (equivalent to a 50 – 100mm zoom on a 35mm camera) consisting of 10 elements in 10 groups, focusing from 3.3 feet to Infinity; there’s even an additional, “swing in” element that moves into place when you dial in the “macro” mode that will allow you to close focus to 11 inches. The 40.5mm filter thread size allows for not only filters, but screw on supplementary close up lenses such as the #3 offered by Hoya in that size, turning the Mk I into a positively awesome macro camera. Since you view through the very same lens that takes the picture, you won’t suffer from annoying parallax correction errors when making macro shots, either. The apertures run from a slightly less than speedy click stopped F/4.5 down to F/16, with intermediate settings possible; this is an aperture preferred camera: you select the aperture, and the Mk I will automatically select the proper electronically timed, stepless shutter speed from a range of 1/1000th of a second on down to 10 full seconds; a manual flash X-synch of 1/150th of a second and a B (Bulb) speed setting is also provided. Mounted just to the left of the lens (when looking at the front of the camera) is a cylindrical housing that contains the fast, sensitive and accurate CdS metering element; the aperture selection ring is concentric to the meter. The Mk I was designed to properly key the exposure meter automatically for either ISO 100 or ISO 400 films. Exposure can be compensated for by a slider switch allowing plus or minus 2 full F/stops compensation in 1-stop increments. A standard flash hot shoe is provided for the maximum in electronic flash flexibility, and a tripod socket makes short work of long time exposures.
The camera operates from a pair of Silver Oxide S-76 or equivalent 1.5 volt
button cell batteries, conveniently accessible from outside the camera, under a
small swing up door on the right (as you hold the camera in operating
position): simply slide the door down in the direction of the molded in arrow
symbol, and then swing it up on its hinge to expose the battery chamber. On a
camera this old, you may find, as I did, that it helps to bend the battery
contacts out just a little bit to ensure good electrical contact. My camera
began functioning perfectly when I did this; prior that, I thought I had just
purchased a broken one. Being able to change the batteries from the outside is
a valuable feature if they should die in mid-roll: the viewfinder shutter
closes and remains closed when this happens, preventing you from seeing through
the lens, and the shutter locks as well. To check the battery, look through the
viewfinder and press the red button just to the left of the shutter release
button: if you see a red triangle illuminate in the upper right corner of the
viewfinder, then the batteries are good.
If
the batteries should die in mid-roll and the viewfinder shutter closes, you should
trip the shutter and turn the mode selector knob to the left of the hot shoe to
the “X” position to release the viewfinder shutter and restore your ability to
see through the viewfinder again (press in on the little silver locking button
on the side of the mode selector knob to release it when turning it). Change
out your batteries, turn the mode selector switch back to the “A” (Automatic)
position, and you’ll be back in operation, although the film frame you shot
when the batteries died will be lost. Even without batteries, it is possible to
continue to operate the camera, by selecting either the X-synch shutter speed
of 1/150th of a second, or using the B time setting – both of these
speeds are mechanical and do not require the battery to operate. Minolta
recommends that you slide the power switch just to the right of the shutter
release button toward you until the word “lock” shows in the window to lock the
shutter button and turn off battery power when not shooting; slide it forward
to release the shutter button for use and power up the exposure system – this
will prevent unwanted drain on the batteries should the exposure indicator
lights in the viewfinder be continuously activated by light.
Loading film in the camera is simplicity itself: slide a little projecting knob located just to the left of the viewfinder frame to the right, toward the viewfinder eyepiece, and the film chamber door opens. Drop in a film cartridge, close the door until it latches and then wind the film advance lever on the underside of the camera until it stops at the first frame (approximately three full strokes). Thereafter, each frame of film is advanced by one complete wind of the lever; the shutter release button is locked until the film is fully advanced, so if you run into this after having wound the film lever, try winding it again: you may be surprised to find that you hadn’t wound a full 80 degree stroke.
Your first view through the viewfinder will surprise you if you’ve been used
to other 110 cameras, which use direct view optical viewfinders; the SLR
viewfinder provides the classic “tunnel” effect when looking through it,
although you quickly get used to it (particularly if you’re already used to the
classic 35mm SLR cameras – the view is identical). The viewfinder gives you 85%
coverage of the actual film area (not unusual: virtually no camera ever gives
you a full 100% view of the film area in the viewfinder); you have two focusing
aids to choose from, a matte ground glass area in the entire frame, or a
circular micro-prism spot in the center of the viewfinder. Simply turn the
large silver focusing ring at the end of the lens barrel until you see proper
focus; the focusing ring is also engraved for scale focusing in both feet
(green) and metres (black). Turning the rubber checkered zoom ring located just
behind the 
focus
ring will zoom in or out; this is a true zoom lens: the focus does not vary
while zooming. Pushing the zoom ring in towards the front face of the camera
while turning past the 25mm position will set the lens to Macro mode, where you
will be able to focus from 11 ¼” to 12 1/8” (Important Tip - that’s
not a lot of depth of field to work with: when possible, brace or tripod mount
the camera and set the smallest F/stop possible to maximize depth of field for
better macro photographs). While looking through the viewfinder, with
the shutter release button slightly depressed, you may see a red (overexposure)
or yellow (underexposure) warning light illuminate on the right side. The
lights are shaped like triangles pointing left or right: this indicates the
direction in which you should turn the aperture selection ring to increase or
decrease the F/stop as appropriate. If opening the aperture fully to F/4.5
fails to extinguish the yellow light, then brace the camera firmly, mount it on
a tripod (the tripod socket is on the left side of the camera), or use a flash
unit to prevent blurred photos due to camera shake at extended exposure times.
The red warning light (which doubles as the battery check light) will also be
seen when the mode selector knob is in the X or B positions as well. A very
thoughtful feature of the viewfinder frame is that it was designed to take a
series of snap in eyepiece correction lenses for people who wanted to use the
camera without their glasses on. Minolta offered 9 of them, ranging in power
from –4 to +3 dioptres.
Exposure is set automatically once you’ve set the proper mode on the camera. The mode selector knob is located to the left of the flash hotshoe, and has positions marked A, X and B, for Automatic, X (flash synchronization speed) and Bulb (long manual time exposure setting) respectively. The small silver locking button should be pressed in while turning the mode knob; releasing it prevents the mode selector knob from being accidentally turned. The majority of your shots will undoubtedly be made in the A (Automatic) mode: simply select an aperture from F/4.5 to F/16 by turning the aperture selector ring on the front of the camera, to the right of the lens, and the camera will select the proper shutter speed. To use electronic flash, simply set the mode knob to the X position; and for long, timed exposures, mount the camera on a tripod, screw a threaded cable release into the shutter release button if you have one, and set the mode knob to the B position. Just remember, as with most 110 cameras, the shutter button must be pressed and held down for the entire exposure, until you hear the shutter close again on most cameras; on the Mk I, it’s even easier to tell: the viewfinder blacks out during the moment of exposure (as the viewing mirror swings up out of the way and the shutter actually opens for the picture to be taken) and the view returns when the shutter closes again, letting you know when to release the shutter button.
Just forward of the shutter button is the exposure compensation control, a
small slider switch that is normally left at 0 position. To over expose one or
two F/stops, push the switch forward toward the front of the camera to move it
out of its notch position, and then slide it to the right: the first click will
display a +1, and sliding it a bit further to the right to the second click
stop will display a +2, indicating one and two stops overexposure respectively.
Pushing the switch forward and sliding it to the left will show, respectively,
-1 and –2 settings for underexposure. Back in 1976, this was a great way of
providing simple and effective compensation for back and front lighting
control, but now, with more and more enthusiasts hand reloading 110 cartridges
to take advantage of 
specialty
films, this little dial takes on an even greater significance, and makes the MK
I a hobbyist’s dream: it allows you to key the exposure meter for films ranging
from ISO 25 all the way up to ISO 1600. Since the MK I, like all the cameras
featured here (unless specifically mentioned) doesn’t require the perforations
in 110 film to cock the shutter, the cartridges can be reloaded with all manner
of 16mm unperforated film and used successfully (you’ll need to cut a small
notch out of the bottom of the cartridge to fool a film sensor in the camera,
but this is detailed in an excellent article on the Sub Club web site, with a
link to it on the Introduction page of the 110 Camera section of this site). To
achieve ISO 25 – 400, simply load your film into an ISO 100 keyed cartridge
(full ridge running down the side), and set your exposure compensation as such:
-2: ISO 25 -1: ISO 50 0: ISO 100 +1: ISO 200 +2: ISO 400
And for film reloaded into ISO 400 keyed cartridges (bottom half of ridge filed off):
-2: ISO 100 -1: ISO 200 0: ISO 400 +1: ISO 800 +2: ISO 1600
Some very nice finishing touches: Minolta provided a sturdy wrist strap mounting bar on both sides of the Mk I, as well as a very nice rubber lens shade that folded back when not in use (not all Mk I’s have these, presumably their previous owners took them off and then lost them). A classy little leather pouch case with shoulder strap and Minolta nameplate fixed to it was also provided; red corduroy lined and with a full length zipper to close it with, it also had a wide and sturdy belt loop sewn into it – it can easily accommodate the camera, and with a little thought, 1 or 2 extra rolls of film and a spare pair of batteries. Minolta also offered an automatic electronic flash unit, the Auto 25, as well as an L39 Ultraviolet and a Y52 Yellow filter in 40.5mm screw thread mounting (the yellow filter required a +1 exposure compensation setting when used – the camera does not meter through the lens as other SLR cameras do, so filters are not automatically compensated for).
This is a superlative little camera, an absolute technical dream camera for most of us, and a wonder to behold in a 110 Pocket Instamatic film format camera: having examined and used it, I’m somewhat amazed that anyone even thought of it, but also very glad they did. It truly shows what the format is capable of with superb cameras and greatly improved films available now. Having said that, here are a few subjective impressions based on my own experiences with the Mk I:
The camera feels solid and well made, unexpectedly comfortable to use, with all the controls being silky smooth, especially the focus and zooming control rings. The camera is surprisingly fast handling, especially the unorthodox film wind lever, which might make this a very good wildlife or sports camera. This camera might also make a wonderful lowlight camera, save for two things, one I can live with, and one I cannot.
First, the lens is an uncomfortably slow F/4.5 – this really is not a big detriment, particularly to anyone who routinely shoots a Minox EC series camera (with an F/5.6 lens), however, it means long exposure times on a tripod to get your best results from available light photography. This is fine, so long as you allow for it: you won’t be doing a lot of hand held, candid shots in less than extremely brightly lit rooms. Night shots of city areas and such while tripod mounted are wonderful, and while the specs indicate a low shutter speed of 10 full seconds, last night I shot two long exposures and counted them off at almost 20 full seconds, so the low light capability is there to work with (that’s a really nicely sensitive CdS meter there…).
The thing I cannot live with well is the very dim focusing through the
viewfinder: this is only partly the result of the F/4.5 maximum aperture of the
lens. The real culprit however, is the poroprism unit that bends the light
reflected from the internal mirror into the eyepiece for viewing and focusing.
The poroprism was more cost effective and allowed for a lower profile camera;
the less attractive side of this is that by its very nature, poroprisms are
darker than more expensive pentaprisms, and I’ve heard that they have a
tendency to darken a bit due to aging. Thus, I find it impossible to focus this
camera well except in very brightly lit rooms or out of doors. In low light
rooms, such as restaurants, I’m forced to give up: even scale focusing isn’t
the help I would expect it to be, because in light that low I find just as
often as not that I can’t make out the small numbers engraved on the lens
focusing ring, either. So while the potential exists for this to be
(technically) a wonderful low light camera, (practically) it is not (at least
to my 46 year old eyes).
|
My friend Churchill at 25mm zoom
(not as sharply focused as I should have been) Fuji Superia 2000, April 2003 |
Lady Churchill at 50mm zoom (better focused), Fuji Superia 200, April 2003 |
|
A wooden, goose sized carved egg in
Macro mode, Fuji Superia 200, April 2003 |
The egg in Macro mode with a 3 dioptre close up lens screwed in place, Fuji Superia 200, April 2003 |
There are a few wonderful aspects of this camera that allow me to continue to admire it, and use it heavily, in spite of this one rather serious drawback: the zoom ability is an absolute joy for framing and composition, and particularly in wildlife shooting (as I imagine it would be for sports and a variety of other photographic subjects). The built in macro capability is fantastic, and playing with a #3 supplementary close up lens is almost too much fun. However, I have found that the best results were obtained when using the camera on a tripod and stopping down all the way to F/16 to maximize the little bit of depth of field that is there to work with – for the most pleasing results, this is definitely something to bear in mind.
The Minolta 110 Zoom SLR, Mk I has definitely earned a place among that elite group of superbly engineered and premium quality 110 Pocket Instamatic film format cameras that will be fondly noted by photographic historians long after dozens of others have faded from memory.
|
Kodak Pocket Instamatic 20, 30 & 40 |
||
|
Minolta Autopak 470 |
||
|
Minolta 110 Zoom SLR Mk I |
Rollei A110 & E110 |
|
|
|
© April, 2003 by D. Scott Young