C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →instant
The Polaroid Pathfinder 110A is a folding instant camera introduced in 1957, designed for roll-film instant stock rather than the later peel-apart pack film. It is distinguished from nearly every other Polaroid by its fully mechanical, battery-free operation and its Rodenstock Ysarex 127mm f/4.7 lens - a four-element optic of genuinely good quality. The coupled rangefinder provides accurate focusing down to close distances. Because the original roll-film format it used is long extinct, most surviving 110A bodies in active use have been converted to shoot 4x5 sheet film, peel-apart pack film with an adapter, or 120 roll film with a custom back - making it a favorite among DIY film photographers.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the pack-film format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Develop pack-film film
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Before you buy used
About this camera
A fully mechanical folding rangefinder with Rodenstock glass, built before Polaroid embraced electric eyes.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | Roll-film instant (original); converted use varies |
| Lens | ~127mm f/4.7, Rodenstock Ysarex, 4 elements |
| Years | 1957-1960 |
| Shutter | ~1s - 1/400s, mechanical leaf (Synchro-Compur or Prontor) |
| Meter | None |
| Focus | Coupled coincidence rangefinder |
| Viewfinder | Optical, rangefinder-coupled |
| Battery | None required |
Polaroid introduced the 110 Pathfinder in 1952, targeting serious amateur photographers who wanted instant results without sacrificing optical quality. The 110A arrived in 1957 as a refined successor with an improved Rodenstock Ysarex lens in place of the earlier Wollensak optic on some variants. The camera used Type 40 roll film, a format Polaroid discontinued as it shifted the product line toward the more convenient peel-apart pack film in the early 1960s. The 110B succeeded the 110A around 1960, retaining the same basic body but revising the shutter and, on some examples, the lens specification. Both models fell out of production as the 100-series pack-film cameras took over the upper-amateur market.
The 110A occupies an unusual place in Polaroid history as a camera that reads more like a European rangefinder than a consumer instant product. Its mechanical shutter requires no battery, the Rodenstock Ysarex outperforms most lenses on comparable-era instant cameras, and the fold-flat body is reasonably compact for what it carries. The camera became significant again in the digital era not as a shooter of its original film stock but as a platform for conversions. The 110A's bellows-and-rangefinder architecture is well-suited to accepting a 4x5 Graflex spring back or an FP-100 pack-film adapter, and the quality of the Rodenstock glass rewards that effort. The conversion community around the 110 and 110A is active and well-documented online.
Polaroid 110A
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