KonicaZ-up 110 VP

Place the Konica Z-up 110 VP in context and you land in 1996-99, when the spec wars had cooled and manufacturers were quietly perfecting what they already had. Catalogued as a zoom compact, it pairs the Konica Zoom 38–110mm f/3.6–9.8 (6 elements in 5 groups) with a 35mm film path. Worth knowing up front: The VP is the late, 1998 restyle of the Z-up 110 — f/3.6 at the wide end is genuinely bright for a 3× zoom compact.

Format

35mm

Year

1998

Lens

Konica Zoom 38–110mm f/3.6–9.8 (6 elements in 5 groups)

Shutter

1 – 1/300 s (electronic)

Min. focus

0.8 m

Flash

Built-in multi-mode, guide number approx. 20 (ISO 100)

Battery

1× CR123A

The Konica Zoom 38–110mm f/3.6–9.8 (6 elements in 5 groups) is the convenience play: a single optical formula that handles groups, snapshots and tighter portraits without ever leaving your hand. On the film-availability spectrum, plain 35mm is as easy as it gets in 2026. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.8 m, close enough for a coffee cup or a face but stops short of true macro. Worth knowing in the field: its flash guide number of roughly 20 is far above the class average, so fill-flash actually reaches across a room. The zoom range covers the obvious bases: groups at the wide end, half-length portraits at the long end, no lens changes ever.

The Konica Z-up 110 VP won't impress at the pub, but it'll cover a holiday end-to-end without ever asking you to think about glass. A footnote that often comes up: iSO support runs to 3200, which is unusual and useful if you like pushed black-and-white film.

• §1The VP is the late, 1998 restyle of the Z-up 110 — f/3.6 at the wide end is genuinely bright for a 3× zoom compact.
• §2Its flash guide number of roughly 20 is far above the class average, so fill-flash actually reaches across a room.
• §3ISO support runs to 3200, which is unusual and useful if you like pushed black-and-white film.
• §4The barrel barely extends at 38mm and telescopes out only for tele — a compact-first design decision.
• §5At 275 g with battery it is chunky but slab-flat, so it still drops into a jacket pocket.