So I must admit i’m a bit of a fan of Minolta’s 110 cameras. If you’ve followed this blog you’ll know I highly rate some of the models in the Pocket Autopak 400 series pretty highly for this class.
So when I got my hands on the top dog of the class I was pretty excited. But it didn’t quite live up to the hype.
In 1987 Concord Camera Corp launched another 110 camera on an unsuspecting American Public under the Le Clic brand. Concord were not unfamiliar with 110 cameras having launched a fair number of low end run of the mill minox style numbers with and without flash under their various brands.
But Le Mini is something very different even more Lo-Fi and with Cult Appeal.
The eagle eyed amongst you will have remember as well as the Halina Super-Mini I recently reviewed, I’d also picked up the flash version. But this offers exposure control as well as the built in flash. And Hey it actually is a museum piece !
“Hello Q. Got any special gear for this mission for me? “. Q looked and sighed. “After you crashing the Aston and losing the laser beam Rolex in the midst of the current austerity squeeze not so much. What happened to the rocket Launching Nikon by the way ?”
“Boom and bust Q”
“But anyway” said Q handing him a Halina Super-Mini.
You’ve got to give Voigtländer the credit for some very gorgeous cameras. But then again as the longest serving camera make in the world that’s not a surprise. But how does this mid 70’s simple 110 camera that I got for a quid match up to the expectations ?
This is probably the weirdest camera I own. I wasn’t too sure if I if I should provide a breath sample with it or take photos. Welcome to the Minolta Zoom 110 SLR. Not only is it one of the weirdest looking in the world. But it’s also a fully functioning SLR that takes 110 film and arguably if not a bridge camera then sets the path for them.
In the last year or 2, I’ve shot a lot of 110 cameras. They have tended though to fall into 3 camps – modern toy shooters with plastic lenses for the lomo crowd, simple 70’s cameras with that classic minox 110 shape or the bonkers high end SLR & rangefinders. The 430E & 430Ex sit in that middle group but with some high end features that raise them above the average. Continue reading One Hand in My Pocket – Minolta Pocket Autopak 430Ex review→