Design and Technical Issues
Although the format is most closely associated with cheaply produced, low-cost cameras, Canon, Minolta, Minox, Pentax, Rollei, Voigtländer, and others, as well as Kodak, offered sophisticated, expensive 110 cameras, with excellent multi-element focusing lenses and precise, electronically controlled exposure systems. Such cameras are capable of making high-quality images on 110 film. Some of these cameras are quite small and still hold appeal to subminiature-photography enthusiasts.
However, most 110 cameras have been cheaply made, with mediocre lenses and only rudimentary exposure control. The small negative size of 110 film makes it difficult to enlarge successfully. For these reasons, the 110 format is associated with prints that are often rather grainy and unsharp. This has led to the misconception that the cartridge itself is incapable of holding film flat enough for making high-quality negatives.
The 110 cartridge, as specified by Kodak, has a plastic tab on one end. Camera designers had the option of using this tab to sense film speed, enabling sophisticated cameras to switch between high- and low-speed film. A short tab indicated high-speed film, and a long tab indicated low-speed film. Kodak left it to the film manufacturer to decide which film speeds were high or low. Only a few expensive cameras took advantage of this feature.
The last 110 film that Kodak produced was ISO 400 speed packed in a cartridge that senses as "low" speed. As shown in the photograph to the right, these cartridges can be modified by hand so that they signal the proper speed to the camera.
In May 2012, Lomography released their own 110 film - the Orca Black and White 100 ISO pocket film. Named after the killer whale because of its monochromatic coloring, the Orca B&W film is the first 110 film in production since 2009. More recently, Lomography released their first color negative 110 film - the 200 ISO Lomography Color Tiger 110.
In 2010, Adox announced that their new Adox Pan 400 black and white film to be released in mid 2011 will be eventually sold in 110 format. However with the problems that the first test coating of Adox Pan 400 experienced, the release date has been pushed back and there is no set date for the release of it in 110.
Read more about this topic: 110 Film
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