BENCINI 110 CAMERAS

BENCINI 110 CAMERAS

Bencini was an Italian photographic company that started making cameras in 1937 under the name ICAF, but like with many camera companies, the name changed over time. The Kodak 110 format cameras of 1972 were so successful, that Bencini jumped on the bandwagon in 1974, producing several models up to 1984 when the 110 format started to lose its glitter.

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Comet 110

Not the first 110 camera from Bencini, but it was the simplest with a fixed shutter speed, focus and aperture. Takes Magi-cubes. Designed for ASA 100 film only.
Comet 118S

(1979) This is a simpler version of the Comet 218S with the 25mm lens fixed at f8.0.
Comet 210

(1975) The 210 was just a simpler version of the Comet 310, and appeared soon after. The main difference is a fixed-aperture (f11) 25mm lens -- so no aperture adjustment. Same two speeds: 1/80 -- and 1/40 when a Magi-cube was inserted. Designed for ASA 100 film only.
Comet 218

(1976) It's the same as the Comet 318 but with a fixed aperture of f11. Designed for ASA 100 film only.
Comet 218S

(1979) This is a simpler version of the Comet 318S with the 25mm lens changed to an f8.0-22 optic, and the number of aperture settings reduced from six to four.
Comet 310

(1975) The 310 was the first Comet (presented at the 1974 Photokina) and had some very nice features for a 110 camera at the time. It had a fast, fixed-focus 25mm f5.6 lens with five aperture settings up to f16 -- controlled by a small lever on the top with weather symbols. It had two speeds: 1/80 -- and 1/40 when a Magi-cube was inserted. Designed for ASA 100 film only.
Comet 318

(1976) It's the same as the Comet 418 but without the built-in meter -- so the aperture is adjusted using weather symbols. Designed for ASA 100 film only.
Comet 318S

(1979) It's the same as the Comet 418S -- ALMOST -- but without the built-in meter, so the aperture is adjusted using weather symbols. The shutter speeds were changed to 1/250 (for ASA 400 film), 1/125 (for ASA 100 film) -- and still 1/40 for flash.
Comet 418

(1976) The 418 was a Deluxe version of the Comet 310. It sported a faster 25mm f4.0 lens with six aperture settings to f22 which were selected with the help of a built-in selenium meter. The normal shutter speed was increased slightly to 1/100, and the flash speed increased to 1/50. It uses a Flip-flash instead of Magi-cubes. Designed for ASA 100 film only.
Comet 418S

(1979) This is an updated version of the Comet 418 with a few changes. It had the same lens, aperture settings, and built-in meter, but the shutter speeds were changed to 1/200 and 1/40. In addition, it was designed to accept either ASA 100 or the new ASA 400 speed 110 film, and it added a built-in handle/cover like the Kodak cameras of the time.

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Comet 318