Quite unexpectedly, Lomography has announced a brand-spanking-new camera that uses 110 format film – Lomomatic 110. Despite the low quality usually tied with the film format, the new camera looks like it’s a well-thought-out one.
If you’ve been around for some time (so you’re like me, not young anymore), you might already know what 110 format film is. But even if you aren’t, fear not, it’s just another film format from the days of yore that unexpectedly somehow managed to survive the test of time.
The whole point of 110 film is its size – it’s tiny. It’s about one-quarter the size of the standard 35mm film – half in width, half in height, or about as big as microFourThirds digital sensors are. Another different feature is that the film is fully housed in a plastic cartridge, shielding the film from the light completely, except where the lens should go. Small size implies a worse image size, but the format is immensely practical. Historically, almost all cameras ever made for the format were on the very basic side, with a very limited range of features. There were some notable exceptions, like Pentax Auto 110, a full-blown SLR camera in the miniature format, but that’s the topic for another article.
While being quite popular during the 1980s and 1990s, the 110 format quickly waned from the collective consciousness when 35mm film and cameras became sufficiently cheap (and compact, for the cameras). Thankfully, Lomography kept the film alive for most of the 21st century, with their fresh batches of Lomochrome special-effect and standard colour negative and even black & white films.
But there were no new cameras.
Until now, when Lomography announced a brand-spanking-new camera – the Lomomatic 110.
What is it?
Lomomatic 110 is a pocket-sized camera, bar-shaped like many 110 format cameras from the bygone eras. It has an aperture priority autoexposure, a bulb mode, two apertures—ƒ/2.8 and ƒ/5.6, a controllable ISO setting and a multiple-exposure switch. Focusing is done in a zone fashion, like on Lomo LC-A. Also like the LC-A, the lens is a Minitar CX-branded glass lens, with a 23mm focal length.
The camera has a detachable flash and uses one CR2 battery for its light meter and flash. Film advance is done by collapsing and extending the camera a few times and there is no film rewind in 110 format – the film stays protected in its cartridge.
Lomomatic 110 is available in two distinct colours – a classy-looking silver/metal one, and a cream-orange coloured one called the Golden Gate. It’s even priced relatively reasonably – 120–160€, depending on what’s bundled with it.
Film availability
While 110 format film held a sizeable market share at one point in time, it is a curiosity in the 2020s, and there’s only one manufacturer left- Lomography. Lomography offers seven different film emulsions – one black & white, two colour negative and four special-effect colour negative films. All are priced at either 9€ or 10€, making them reasonably affordable (for 2024, that is), and all are readily available on the Lomography webshop.
Black & white Orca 100 film is a punchy-looking, contrasty 100 ASA film that can be developed at home, and is a curiosity in the 110 format – it is only the second black & white film made in the format, after the Kodak Verichrome Pan film. Colour-negative options are Tiger 200, a standard-issue 200 ASA film, and LomoChrome Color ’92, a punchy 400 ASA film from the LomoChrome range.
Four special-effect options are all three other LomoChrome films – Purple, Turquoise and Metropolis – and Lobster redscale film. LomoChrome Purple and Turquoise films are colour-bending wonders, amazingly interesting emulsions that punch over the expected novelty factor. LomoChrome Metropolis is a slightly different one, with its muted-but-not-always colours. And then there’s Lobster, a redscale film that many like, but some don’t – but it’s an option in a format where rolling your own is not an easy option.
Thoughts
While a 23mm lens sounds like a wide-angle lens, 110 format has a 2× crop factor so that translates to a 46mm-equivalent – slightly wider than the typical 50mm of a film SLR, but significantly less wide than many 35mm disposables and point-and-shoots. Due to its shorter focal length and an ƒ/2.8 lens, exploring gorgeous bokeh is not much of an option, but then again, the whole 110 format simply isn’t a good choice for bokeh anyways.
While many would dismiss flash as something used regularly, with a small clip-on unit and small film size (and based on my personal experience with 110 film), using a flash unit for the additional light might be a helpful addition here.
Film availability is much better than I’d ever expect for a format practically abandoned by everyone else, other than Lomography. Every significant option is present (black & white, slower and faster colour negative) except the slide, and LomoChrome films extend the fun factor of the format by a considerable margin.
Having used the format extensively – my first camera was a 110 format, single-aperture, single-shutter speed camera – I know the limitations of the format, as well as how much a good camera means for such a small negative. So stay tuned for more 110-format content!
