Pentax are going to release a digital version of the Auto 110, joining the mirrorless party in a way that Pentax boss Mr. Hamada San describes as ‘shining through’. Well, it is certainly different!
My first thought is that Auto 110 was a better model number than NC1. What does NC1 stand for exactly? Nice Camera 1? Maybe it’s true name will be revealed in due course before the May release date.
Their aim is to make a interchangeable lens camera smaller than the Sony NEX, with MUCH smaller lenses – compact camera sized – but sadly that also means a compact camera sized sensor, although the lenses are nice and fast so you will get some shallow depth of field.
This small sensor I don’t really like – the original Auto 110 primes were tiny yet the 13Ă—17 mm film was roughly Micro 4/3rds sensor sized with a 2x crop. This is a 5.6x crop, and it seems to be a decision driven by costs and the need for a compact zoom lens, rather than for ultimate body size reasons.
Mirrorless Rumors say the initial lenses will consist of a 8.5mm f/1.9 prime (almost 50mm equivalent) and a 5-15mm f/2.8-4.5 (28-80mm equivalent) zoom.
The exact sensor size is 1/2.3″ – same as most compacts. Such a tiny sensor does have some advantages, which to me cancel out as mainly disadvantages. First, you can use gigantic c-mount cinema zooms on it without fear of vignetting, and recording HD movies in H.264 very much like the GH2’s fantastic 1:1 crop mode.
But the large size of the lenses cancels out the modus operandi of the NC1, namely that it is very desecrate and easy to carry around. I have also found that although I can now use very wide c-mount lenses in crop mode (on the GH2), I don’t really like the feel and they don’t end up very wide at all – more like flat looking portrait lenses. When magnified in crop mode, plenty of purple fringing is revealed too so the overall optical standard is just not up to a decent DSLR lens in full sensor mode.
You will at least (probably) be able to put just about any lens on the Nice Camera 1 as long as the back of the lens doesn’t hit the sensor, as my 8mm c-mount almost does on the GH2!
One thing I’m curious about is whether the camera has a mechanical shutter or not, in such a small package. Usually compacts don’t have a curtain shutter like on the GH2, they have a leaf shutter in the lens. A shutter in such a tiny body would be hard to make. If the shutter is in the lens then kiss goodbye to taking snaps with c-mounts or anything else – the camera may not even power up without the official Pentax lenses, which would be a shame. But I could see why Pentax would want people to buy their profitable new lenses and not just stick their heritage Auto 110 collection on it, or Switar c-mounts.
The original Auto 110 was the world’s smallest SLR camera and it’s film has only just recently been discontinued. You can however use it’s tiny 18,24 and 50mm lenses (which are smaller than c-mount) on the GH2 and AF100 since there is a Hong Kong adapter for that. The lenses are very cheap, but no faster than F2.8 – they’re decent lenses though you do get a bit of light leakage through the Micro 4/3rds adapter ring where the lens release latch is. They cover the whole sensor.
Well – Pentax are to be aplouded for a nice brave approach to the mirrorless market and smaller interchangable lens cameras do seem to have a lot of market appeal. However, Pentax have missed that a crucial 50% of that appeal is not just size it is image quality.
Can such a small sensor deliver?
If I were product planner, I’d have stuck to a Micro 4/3rd’s sized sensor but with a smaller lens mount the same size as the original Auto 110, and used the same optical designs for prime lenses as the original Auto 110 too, giving up on the zoom. Those Auto 110 primes really are tiny and yet they cover a hugely bigger sensor than 1/2.3″. I feel Pentax have missed a trick here – we could have had the best of both worlds!
There was also a zoom lens for the Auto 110 but it was nowhere near as wide as the ones demanded today by consumers. A small sensor is the ONLY way to get a small wide angle zoom lens.
