Talk about photographic strange bedfellows–attaching the world’s smallest SLR lens to a mirrorless camera is certainly appropriate for this moniker. But why on Earth would you even consider using a dinky vintage lens on a modern digital camera? It’s all about the glass, folks.
Not just any glass, however. This is Asahi Pentax-110 glass. So what, you say? The entire line of Pentax-110 glass lenses are unique for one unbelievable feature: they all lack an aperture diaphragm. That’s right; bundled inside each lens is just a helicoid focusing system and glass and that’s it. There are no aperture blades that can become fouled with residual lubricants. No aperture setting ring that must be rotated for controlling light. And no visible f/stops for determining depth of field.
Camera Auto-Mechanics
Rather, there is only clear glass visible inside each Pentax-110 lens. So how does a Pentax 110 camera control the amount of light for exposing the film? First of all, each lens is manufactured with a fixed f/2.8 aperture. Inside the camera is where both the shutter speed is set and the aperture is adjusted during exposure. In the snap of an eye, a dual function trigger constricts to the required aperture opening and also becomes the shutter mechanism to fire at the proper speed.
In practice, it’s an awe-inspiring sequence of events to watch. Likewise, these antics are completely controlled by the camera, thereby allowing the photographer to concentrate on composition and focus prior to pressing the shutter release. The Asahi Optical Company Pentax Auto 110 camera wasn’t just a one lens system, however. An initial release of 3 lenses, 18mm, 24mm, and 50mm interchangeable lenses, were marketed with this diminutive dynamo. Furthermore, the combined weight of this entire lens lineup was a featherweight 94 grams. Making the entire Pentax 110 system a tidy pocketable affair.
A Lilliputian Lens on Your Brobdingnagian Camera
Yes, when you try to adapt a Pentax-110 lens to a mirrorless camera, you might envision yourself being a young Lemuel Gulliver traveling the photographic world from a land of tiny lenses to a region filled with gigantic digital cameras. Have faith o’ ye brave adventurer, because Pentax-110 lens can be easily attached to any Micro Four Thirds camera. For example, the Fotasy Pentax 110 to Micro 4/3 Camera Adapter for $16.99 will enable you to use any of the 110 lens lineup with a Micro 4/3 camera.
There are three caveats that govern the use of this big-little setup:
- First, and foremost, there isn’t an aperture control inside these lenses. Therefore, you’ll need to select aperture-priority mode on your camera and embrace the fuzziness of very shallow depth-of-field.
- This leads to the second precaution for using these lenses: your camera must be set for “exposure without a lens.” This selection can usually be made via your camera’s setup menu.
- Finally, the crop factor of your mirrorless camera will be different from the angle-of-view enjoyed on a Pentax Auto 110 camera using 110 format film.
As a demonstration of these lenses, compare these photographs made with a Pentax-110 50mm f/2.8 lens on both an Auto 110 camera and a Micro 4/3 camera. Please note: the dramatic color shifts of the Pentax-110 images are caused by using Lomography 2021 LomoChrome Metropolis 110 film.
If you like the unique viewpoint generated by using these teensy all-glass lenses, you should be able to find all of them on today’s used photographic equipment market for $20 – $80 in excellent condition. Then your own voyage of discovery can begin.
Enjoy.
