Smallest SLR ?

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Tricky69

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So... after learning all about the OM series, and finding my pentax ME is about the same size as an OM, it's left me wondering if there is anything smaller out there ?

I'm still wanting full frame SLR, for all the advantages it has(lens change / view finder etc). I dont really need anything on it to be automatic, as I shoot manual anyway. just a decent TTL exposure meter. I use spot metering if it's available.

Thanks again, for hopefully another interesting thread (y)
 
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I'd also be interested to hear about the smaller SLRs, I'm interested in something fully manual (preferably M42) after playing with my friends Nikon FM. I have heard the FE and FM are amongst the smallest, couldn't say for sure, though.
 
Not too sure if the Pentax 110 is classed as an SLR, in which case I guess this would be the smallest physically, if you can still get film for it.

As far as 35mm SLR's, your Pentax ME is roughly the same size as the other M-series Pentax's, ie. the MX, MG, ME-Super. I'd say the A-series are pretty much the same size, Super-A, Program-A.

The Olympus OM-1 & 2 were certainly compact in size, but I think the Nikon equivalents, FM & FE, were marginally bigger. If you're after an SLR with spot metering, the OM-3 and OM-4 offers this and are nice, compact cameras although they fetch high prices. A cheaper alternative would be the OM-2 SP (spot program).
 
I don't think there were any 35mm SLRs smaller than the OM series and the Pentax you mentioned, although Pentax did make one for 110 cartridges years ago. I've never seen one and haven't a clue what sort performance they offered.
 
The Pentax Auto 110 is classed as an SLR as it has a mirror box and pentaprism/pentamirror plus it has interchangable lenses (but with a twist as the iris is actually built into the camera not the lens so all lenses have an max aperture of f2.8) and it is the smallest SLR ever made. You can still get colour neg 110 film, mostly frozen stuff but some places do respooled 16mm film or cut down 35mm. However Adox are releasing their new black and white Adox Pan 400 in 110 format shortly
 
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My father-in-law, who loved gadgets, had a Pentax 110 SLR. It was impressively small and light but the film was so small that the quality inevitably suffered. The viewfinder was small too.
 
Canon have the ix APS SLR.
 
I'm pretty sure the Pentax ME and MX still hold the title of the smallest full frame 35mm bodies.
 
Tracer said:
My father-in-law, who loved gadgets, had a Pentax 110 SLR. It was impressively small and light but the film was so small that the quality inevitably suffered. The viewfinder was small too.
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I have seen some really good pictures taken on 110 film with modern emulsions - Fuji released the previous generation of Superia on 110 and it looks fantastic on some of the pictures I have seen although for some reason they only released the ISO 200 version when 110 cameras could only meter at 80/100 (depending on camera) or 400 so you ended up with either one stop under or over exposure. Some of the 110 prints that my parents have from the mid to late 80's are not too bad either, theres not too much grain or anything but they unfortunately have the obligatory Trueprint magenta colour cast!
 
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pinktrainers said:
I'd also be interested to hear about the smaller SLRs, I'm interested in something fully manual (preferably M42) after playing with my friends Nikon FM. I have heard the FE and FM are amongst the smallest, couldn't say for sure, though.
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Similar question on another forum and someone said a Petri MF-1 m42 is quite small.
 
s162216 said:
The Pentax Auto 110 is classed as an SLR as it has a mirror box and pentaprism/pentamirror plus it has interchangable lenses (but with a twist as the iris is actually built into the camera not the lens so all lenses have an max aperture of f2.8) and it is the smallest SLR ever made. You can still get colour neg 110 film, mostly frozen stuff but some places do respooled 16mm film or cut down 35mm. However Adox are releasing their new black and white Adox Pan 400 in 110 format shortly
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How does that work?

The f number is a division of focal length/aperture size. If the focal length changes but the physical aperture size stays the same then the f number must increase. thus a 50mm lens with a 25mm physical aperture gives an f number of f2, if you increase the focal length to 100mm then the f number rises to f4, conversely if you decrease the focal lrngth to 25mm you would get an aperture of f1.
 
then they have a *multiplier* of 17?


*no. that's not going to work :D
 
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I honestly do not know how it works, its just engineered like that. It was designed that way supposedly to make the lenses smaller. If you look on any Pentax Auto 110 lens it will have an aperture of f2.8.

The only way that it could work is by varying the diameter of the iris for every focal length as if the f number = focal length/aperture diameter.... The longest lens made for an Auto 110 was 70mm (well 140mm as theres a 2x crop factor) so the iris would have to have a diameter of 25mm at f2.8 if you rearrange that equation, and the shortest was an 18mm (~35mm) which would only need a diameter of 6.4mm at f2.8. Thats the only way that I think it could work, so thats assuming there was some sort of mechanical linkage between the lens and the iris controlling it.
God knows how that would have worked for the 20 - 40mm zoom though as that still had a constant f2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range.

The lenses physical diameters do get much bigger with larger focal lengthsm, the 70mm is easily twice the diameter of the 18mm so you would obviously need to do that prevent vignetting at wider apertures if my theory is true
 
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My dad had a Pentax 110 and it was a truly lovely to hold & caress! I don't know what film he used, but they never seemed as 'good' as my ME Super. I've also recently had my hands on a Minolta 110 SLR zoom. No interchangeable lens on this, but still a lovely item. I sold it - would have liked to keep it, but realised I'd not use it, so bought a Rollei 35mm compact instead. I had a film for it, but haven't taken any pics with it yet! Any way there are two versions of the Minolta 110 SLR, and they're small though not as cute as the Pentax IMO. The Mk2 was a similar format to a 'conventional' SLR, the Mk1 (the one I'd had) was lovely, but very different to look at. I think there's only 20 -40mm zoom available for the Pentax, the Minolta. a 25 - 50mm. The lens interchangeability appealed for the Pentax as did the motor drive & dedicated Flash. It was an SLR kit in miniature.
 
Saw a Pentax 110 in a charity shop for a tenner last year. Didn't buy it because I knew I'd never use it, but I kind of regret that now!
 
Woz! said:
Saw a Pentax 110 in a charity shop for a tenner last year. Didn't buy it because I knew I'd never use it, but I kind of regret that now!
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It happens. I had an Olympus 35RC and flash, but threw them in the bin with my film processing gear last year when I left South Africa. Hadn't used them for donkey's years, but I'm beginning to wish I had kept them! OTOH, I don't suppose I'll start searching for another one..................
 
Woz! said:
Saw a Pentax 110 in a charity shop for a tenner last year. Didn't buy it because I knew I'd never use it, but I kind of regret that now!
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That would have been a bargain , if you don,t use it bay it !
 
One of the guys on the local market has had a pentax 110 for about the last month.
 
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