The resurgence of film photography led to a natural progression for many new film shooters from 35mm to medium format or 120 roll film cameras. Sadly, this burgeoning interest in medium format has also led to an explosion in the price of medium format cameras such as the Contax 645 and the Pentax 67 [our review here], placing many of them out of the reach of ordinary shooters. Fortunately, there is an alternative for those wanting to move up to medium format shooting, folding 120 cameras. From the end of WWII in 1946 until 1960 these were the predominant type of consumer cameras, so you have hundreds of choices, and many superb cameras that with a CLA can become a great daily shooter. If you want to get into medium format photography but can’t afford the crazy prices that the trendy cameras are going for, a classic 120 folding camera provides a budget-friendly alternative, and the Pearl IV is one of the best.

The History of the Konishiroku Pearl IV

The Pearl IV was released in December 1958 as a replacement for the Konishiroku Pearl III. It was the last model in a long line of cameras bearing the name “Pearl” starting in 1909. The camera had a very short lifespan and only approximately 5,000 copies were produced over a period of six months. It was advertised for just one month, being featured in the January 1959 issue of most of the major Japanese photography magazines, such as on the back cover of Shashin Kōgyō (above), and a two-page advertisement in Asahi Camera. It was distributed and advertised only in Japan, where it cost ¥22,000. However, the previous Pearl III had been selling for ¥24,000. To put that price into context, in Japan in 1959, a 30-year-old junior high school teacher would have been paid around ¥1,000 per month.

1958-59 represents a pivotal period in camera production and the beginning of the massive growth of the camera industry in Japan, which coincided with a commensurate drop in production in Germany. Up to this point “roll-film” cameras (including 120, 127, and 620 cameras) were the mainstream choice for amateur photographers. 35mm film was actually called “miniature” film, and professional photographers were still shooting 4×5 sheet film in what were often dubbed “press” cameras, such as the Speed Graphic.

Only four months after the release of the Pearl IV, in April 1959 Nikon released their ground-breaking Nikon F, and a month later Canon released its first SLR camera, the Canonflex. The creation of multiple SLR cameras, combined with the craze for slides shot on 35mm Kodachrome, meant that virtually every photography magazine around the world during 1957 through to 1959 had major features extolling the virtues of 35mm film and the cameras which shot the stuff. Folding medium format cameras quickly came to be regarded as old-fashioned and cumbersome, and by 1959 advertisements for them in camera magazines had virtually disappeared. By 1960, the production of folding cameras in Japan had ceased altogether.

120 folding cameras would be almost an extinct format until Fuji unexpectedly launched their Fujica GS645 rangefinder, a modern 120 folding camera with a plastic body in March 1983. If the GS645 had a parent it would be the Pearl IV, and although it added a light meter and weighs less, it is 15% larger and not as smooth in operation.

In the year 2000, Konica secretly planned a limited reproduction of the Pearl IV, most probably prompted by Nikon’s release of their Nikon S3 2000 special edition the same year. Sadly, despite having the perfectly preserved manufacturing drawings, Konica discovered that they lacked any assembly workers with the necessary skills to recreate the camera. The fact Konica considered this as a potential project is a testament to the quality of the Pearl IV.

Specifications

• Manufacturer : Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd. (later: Konica), Yodobashi, Tokyo
• Released : December 1958
• Production amount : 5,000 over 6 months
• Film : 120 roll film
• Exposures : 16 shots 6×4.5
• Format : 64.5mm x 40mm (4×4)
• Images Size : 60 mm x 45 mm (portrait aspect) exposed area 41.5 x 56mm
• Material : Diecast aluminium and steel, leather coated
• Lens : Konishiroku Hexar 75mm f/3.5 Hexar, Tessar type, Single Coated
• Aperture : f/3.5 – f/22
• Focus : 1.1m – ∞
• Focus adjustment : interlocking type Rangefinder
• Rangefinder : Vertical image matching type
• Viewfinder : Bright-Frameline
• Focusing : Helical
• Shutter : Seikosha MXL (#00) LV scale, double-exposure prevention, MXF synch
• Shutter Speeds : B, T, 1, 1/10,1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/200, 1/300, 1/400, 1/500
• Filter diameter : 30.5mm screw specially designed
• Exposure : Manual
• Light Meter : No
• Film advance : Rewind knob and automatic stop
• Frame counter : Automatic
• ASA : 50 – 800
• Self-timer : Auxiliary
• Battery : Nil
• Tripod socket : UK/USA standard
• Size L x H x W : 127 x 108 x 50mm (5” x 4 ¼” x 2”)
• Weight : 709 grams (25 ounces)
• Original Price : ¥22,000 Japanese Yen

Shooting the Konishiroku Pearl IV

Shooting a rangefinder-focusing 120 folding camera may seem a bit daunting to those bought up with digital imagery and automatic focus, but the Pearl IV brought many features that other cameras of the era did not possess. These included an automatic film advance and a big, bright viewfinder/rangefinder which makes it relatively easy to use, even for medium format beginners. With a little practice, and this article as your guide, you could easily discover the joys of medium format photography with a Pearl IV.

Viewfinder/Rangefinder: I wear glasses, and struggle with the tiny viewfinders on most cameras of this era. What drew me to getting a Pearl IV initially was reading about the big, bright viewfinder that it has. Apart from the Konishiroku Pearl IV, only two other all metal folding 120 cameras from the classic era came with big, bright frameline viewfinders, the Ensign Autorange 820 and the Takane Mine Six Super 66.

Although the finder is sometimes described as having automatic parallax correction, that is incorrect. The finder has an etched short-range mark to adjust manually for parallax, similar to the Leica M3. The viewfinder has an actual rangefinder base of 42mm and a magnification of 0.57, giving an effective base length of 24mm. Although the existing frame lines and rangefinder patch are very easy to use, I had a small, green piece of glass added while the camera was being serviced to turn it into a Green-O-Matic style system, which is far easier to focus.

Konishiroku’s Famed Hexar Lens – Konica’s Hexar lens was used on a variety of their cameras and is renowned as one of the best fixed focal length lenses in the world. The Pearl IV’s amber hard-coated 75mm f/3.5 Hexar, is a four element in three group ‘Tessar’ type, with five aperture blades and aperture stops going from f/3.5-32 in half stop clicks. As the attached images show, the lens is incredibly sharp edge to edge and produces rich vibrant colors.

“I also have a Super Ikonta A with coated Zeiss Opton Tessar 75mm 3.5 lens, and the Pearl totally outperforms the Super Ikonta A in both picture quality and ease of use.” – Robert Chojecki, Photo.Net discussion forum, Apr 27, 2006

A 75mm f/3.5 lens in 645 format equates roughly to a 45mm f/1.4 lens on a 35mm camera. A 45mm focal length (equivalent) and 1.1 metre minimum distance creates a good all-round lens, although it is compromise; not really close enough for head shot portraits, and not really wide enough for landscapes. The beauty of medium format, though, allows loads of space to crop images for tight head shots.

Film Loading – The Pearl IV uses a film loading method that will be familiar to anyone who has used a modern medium format camera. The hinged back is opened by releasing the sliding bar on the left, then the two bottom dials pop out from the body to more easily load the film and take-up spool in position. The two spring-loaded flanges inside the camera are then released before inserting the film spools. Once inserted, the two dials on the bottom are pressed back in and turned to the red marks to lock them in place. Then the back is closed and we can advance the film. The small diamond-shaped indicator on the top plate confirms that the roll film leader paper is correctly engaged and the supply spool is actually turning.

Semi-Automatic film advance – Just like its predecessor the Pearl IV uses a “semi-automatic” (auto-stop) film advance system instead of the usual red window found on most folding cameras of this era. This system was designed and manufactured by Nakagawa Kenzō and supplied to Konishiroku by his company Aram Kōgaku, at a pace of 2,000 units per month.

Compared to using a red window, or the semi-automatic systems used on other cameras, the system on the Pearl IV is intuitive, and very easy to use. The film is loaded and advanced to the “Start” line indicated by a dot on the film rails, the camera is closed, and film advanced by the winding knob until the exposure counter reaches 1. After that it operates much the same as a 35mm film camera of the era, and in my experience the frame spacing is always perfect. The system also includes a double exposure prevention mechanism, and a small indicator shows if the film has been advanced correctly, then allowing you to manually cock the shutter. After exposing frame 16, the film winding knob will turn continuously again until you’ve wound all the backing paper onto the take-up spool. There is also an internal lock, preventing accidental opening of the back before the film roll is finished.

Seikosha-MXL Shutter – Seikosha’s MXL shutter was the top-of-the-line leaf shutter produced in Japan, and equivalent to Synchro-Compur produced in Germany. First released in 1957 the shutter features five aperture leaves, an interlocked light value scale, double-exposure prevention and nine speeds, as well as Bulb Mode. The focusing helicoid has a red cover to minimize dust, and this also works as a memory aid, indicating that the lens must be set to infinity before closing the camera.

Shutter speeds did not become uniform across manufacturers until the 1960s. The Pearl IV uses the “older” style shutter speeds — so 1/10 instead of 1/15, 1/25 instead of 1/30, 1/50 instead of 1/60, 1/100 instead of 1/125; however, 1/250 and 1/500 are the same. Don’t be worried though, these minor variations in speeds should not throw off exposures. The beauty of leaf shutters is that not only are they whisper quiet, but because they are virtually vibration free you can shoot hand-held with shutter speeds as low as 1/15 second.

WARNING! once the shutter is cocked you should not change speeds up to or down from the 1/500th speed, as this can damage the shutter mechanism which has an extra spring for the top speed.

Cold Shoe & Flash Photography – The camera has a cold shoe located on the top plate which I usually use to mount my auxiliary light meter. The Pearl IV has X synchronization for electronic flash, which was only just becoming popular at this time. There is a red selector lever for M, F, and X flash synchronization located on the lower shutter, unless you plan on using a flash leave it in the X position. The flash-sync cable is attached to the brass connector on the front of the shutter.

Light Value (LV) System – Like many cameras from the late 1950s the Pearl IV uses a coupled Light Value System (LVS) scale; generally known as the Exposure Value System (EVS) in the United States. This mechanism was invented by Freidrich Deckel in Germany and released on their Synchro-Compur shutters at Photokina in Munich 1954. The system was later adopted by Alfred Gauthier and eventually throughout the camera industry.  The system simplified choosing exposure settings by replacing numerous combinations of shutter speed and f-number – i.e.1/125 s at f/16 – with a single number from 2 to 18 which can be changed at the flick of a switch. This is a really useful function, and I like it, since it operates like a primitive aperture priority mechanism (this is the mode in which I prefer to shoot). Of course, the inverse can also be said – the system easily acts like a shutter-priority mode as well.

The shutter speed and aperture are cross-coupled, and work in tandem, so any change to one directly affects the other. So if you want a wider aperture for portraits, and select f/3.5 the shutter speed is automatically increased. The reverse is also the case. If, for instance, the LV lever is moved to 8 you have six shutter speeds 1, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, 1/25 and 1/50, and as your speed is made higher from 1 to 1/50 second, the aperture changes from 16 to 2 and shows you the optimal shutter or aperture speeds

Using the Light Value system has the advantage that, after some practice and for a certain ISO, it is easy to memorize the LV for typical situations such as sunny, cloudy, overcast, indoors and etc. Much like Sunny 16 there is a single number, a single scale to memorize and from there the aperture and speed combinations are pre-selected in the camera. With some practice with a certain ISO, you no longer need a light meter.

Shutter & Cable Release – The shutter release is on the right-hand side of the camera. It’s the square button on top of the lens door. In the normal position for a shutter button on most cameras you will instead find a threaded cable release socket which is mechanically linked to the shutter button on the door.

Tripod Mount – The camera has a regular sized tripod mount located in the middle of the bottom plate of the camera.

Selfie Stand – Sitting flush with the front of the lens door is a small metal tab which opens out to allow the camera to stand by itself on a flat surface in its horizontal orientation. This was a common feature on cameras of the era to allow selfies to be taken, but is also useful when using slower speed films, or longer exposures. As the Pearl IV has no inbuilt self-timer you need to use an auxiliary self timer which attaches to the shutter to take self-timed shots.

Accessories

The Pearl IV came in a blue and white presentation box with brown leather ever-ready case with PEARL embossed on the front. Additional accessories sold separately were the Konihood with its own filters, Koniflash, and Konifliters.

Leather Case – The Pearl IV was sold with a two-part leather case, which could be turned into a half case with camera strap attachments. Because the Pearl IV does not come with strap lugs on the body if you like carrying a camera around your neck you will need to buy a case to do that. However, the vintage leather case for the Pearl IV are extremely hard to find. Another solution is to use a wrist strap or find a vintage camera neck strap with tripod mount.

Lens Hood – The Pearl IV was advertised with a metal clamp on lens hood, the Konihood, originally priced at ¥330. Chrome plated on the outside with KONIHOOD engraved, and black on the inside, it was attached to the lens via a tightening screw. The Konihood for the Pearl III is exactly the same size, but as both hoods are hard to find today, an aftermarket 30.5mm screw-in hood will work. Please remember that you must remove the lens hood before closing the camera.

Filters – The Pearl IV takes Konica’s proprietary “Konifilters” in 30.5mm thread. However, Konica produced Konifilters for a variety of their camera, and the Pearl IV took special filters that were very low profile to allow the camera to close with them still attached. The Konihood also took Push-on Y0, Y1, Y2, R1 and P1 filters originally priced at ¥260 each. You can use modern filters, but ensure you get the low-profile type so you don’t damage the camera if leaving them on. Schneider-Kreuznach produced the best low-profile filters that will fit the camera.

Flash – Konica produced a fold-up Koniflash, a fan-shaped unit taking magnesium bulbs, originally priced at ¥1,950. Luckily, the Pearl IV has electronic flash synchronization so will work with any modern electronic flash at all shutter speeds.

Pearl IV Auto-Up System – Like many folding 120 cameras of the era the Pearl IV used a 75mm lens, with a minimum focus distance of 1.1 metres. As a 75mm lens on a 645 camera equates to a 45mm lens on a 35mm camera, the Pearl IV is only capable of taking a head and shoulders shot at the minimum distance. To allow macro and close up head shots a company called PLEASANT devised the “Auto-Up” close-up attachments. They were available in two versions, priced at ¥1,930 each, the Auto-Up No.1 is suitable for portraits from 50cm – 1m, and Auto-Up No.2 for macro shots from 43-60cm. You can read more about the system here.

Cheyenne’s Verdict

Firstly, the pluses which are many. Beautifully crafted, with a razor-sharp lens and whisper-quiet shutter, bright line coupled rangefinder, easy film loading, double exposure prevention and automatic film advance, all packed into one of the smallest and lightest medium format cameras that will fit in a coat pocket, or small camera bag.

Now for the negatives of the camera, which shouldn’t deter you from considering one.

• Right hand opening folding cameras are not as easy to hold on to as horizontally folding 120 cameras, unless you are left-handed. Added to this ergonomic quirk is the fact that the shutter release is not in the traditional position on the body, but a button on the folding door.
• It lacks neck-strap lugs on the body, these were on the original leather case which nowadays can be hard to find. Personally, I carry it in a cheap foam camera case when it’s in my camera bag and use a wrist strap for protection.
• Like nearly all 120 folding cameras the aperture and shutter mechanism on the front of the camera makes it a little difficult to alter with changing light.
• The LV exposure system may not be to everyone’s taste, but personally I like it and use it as a primitive aperture priority system.
• It lacks an internal light meter, but as most cameras of this period used Selenium meters that may not work or be accurate, I see this as a plus. I use a Hedeco Lime auxiliary light meter mounted in the hot shoe and find this works incredibly well.

Thinking of Buying a Pearl IV?

While the Pearl IV is an uncommon camera, 5,000 were produced, meaning that it’s not especially rare and examples are readily available on eBay. If you compare the features of the camera and what other vintage medium format camera are selling for, I think a working Pearl IV is a bargain. As with all vintage film cameras I would emphasize that you should have a CLA done before actively shooting one, and factor that into the price when buying one.

The Konica Pearl IV, Ensign Autorange 820, and the Takane Mine Six Super 66 are the only all-metal 120 folding cameras with big, bright frameline viewfinders, which are easier to use, especially for those who wear glasses. I understand that the Pearl IV is quite collectible and more expensive than other 120 folders, but there are similar cameras produced during this era which you can pick up cheaply with a bit of hunting online.

The natural alternative is to get a Pearl III, which has a smaller viewfinder but is still a beautiful camera. Other superb 120 folding cameras to look out for are the Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta series, Mamiya 6 series, Ross Ensign Selfix 16-20 Auto-Range, Takane Mine Six II-F & Mine Six Super 66, Petri RF aka Karoron RF and Karoron SII, Voigtlander Perkeo, Balda Super-Baldax, Certo Six, and Agfa Super Isolette, all of which have superb lenses and semi-automatic film advance (in some).

If you’re put off by older cameras, then the easiest choice is a Fuji GS645 Pro, which has all the features of the Pearl IV, as well as a built-in light meter, auto parallax correction, and a film advance which automatically cocks the shutter. However, it has a plastic body and the original bellows will need to be replaced.

As readers of Casual Photophile might know, I have bought, shot with, and then kept or sold a variety of rare film cameras over many years. So, despite a lot of research and online comments telling me that the Pearl IV was a great camera, there is always some trepidation when receiving a new/old camera around whether or not it will live up to my expectations. Well, the Pearl IV not only fulfilled my expectations, but it exceeded them.

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What follows is a brief story of why the Hexar found its way into my life and how it found its way out of my life. 

The Rangefinder Mystique

No sooner does a person enter the film photography community today than they are confronted by the cult of the rangefinder. Point and shoots are maligned as a fashion accessory, and SLRs are a dime a dozen, but the rangefinder occupies that upper echelon of 35mm gear. The mythos of rangefinders snakes its way through social media with tales of better lenses and famous photographers. 

Much of the talk is true, of course. Rangefinders don’t have a mirror, which, in turn, results in a smaller flange-to-film distance, quieter shooting, and steadier shooting. Rangefinders, by definition, use a rangefinder viewfinder without any sort of prism meaning lenses can stay stopped down while composing, there’s no viewfinder darkening as a result of slow lenses or filters, and the viewfinder coverage extends beyond what the lens sees. 

The flange-to-film distance and the stopped-down composing allows rangefinder lenses to be smaller and, in some cases, optically superior to SLR lenses. This is because there is no need to either clear the mirror (which means lens elements can extend further into the camera body) or house components for automatic stop-down. So on and so forth.

For me, part of the reason I so pined for a rangefinder was that mystique. Anyone and everyone can find an old Canon or Pentax SLR, but only so many walk around with a rangefinder in its svelte form factor. 

The Canonet 28 scratched that itch early on for me, but after some time, I knew only an M mount camera would do. I started with a Leica CL, which lasted only a few weeks. Next I owned a Voigtlander Bessa R2 in olive green. The Bessa was fun and gorgeous, but ultimately felt cheap in my hands: it was constructed out of magnesium (a low density metal), the exposure indicators flickered in the viewfinder, the shutter release had too little resistance. 

I was faced with a crisis of faith. I praised rangefinders as demigods but my affordable M mount bodies were lackluster. Was the issue the rangefinder or my budget? Having ditched the CL and the Bessa, I thought I’d add in another constraint: aperture-priority.

I laid my options out on a mental table: the Minolta CLE, the Konica Hexar RF, a couple Voigtlander Bessa models, the Zeiss Ikon, and, of course, the Leica M7. The Voigtlanders were out. The Ikon was out here pulling costs over two grand, while the M7 was even greater than that. Left with the CLE and the Hexar, my choice was easy. 

Choosing the Hexar

In all the cameras I’ve loved and lost, only two, in retrospect, broke my heart: the Contax G1 and the Contax 167MT. The former left my collection due to its spotty autofocus, to be replaced by the formidable Fujifilm GA645. The latter left my collection in my pursuit of a rangefinder. 

The reason why my choice between the CLE and Hexar was easy comes down to my love for the G1. Internet-hearsay suggests that the Konica Hexar RF was manufactured by the same manufacturer responsible for the Contax G1 and Contax G2, as well as the Hasselblad XPan. I can’t say with any certainty how true this is, but the cameras themselves certainly seem to confirm it. 

From the matte powder coating to the knobs and switches to even the back cover release, the resemblances are striking. Couple these body similarities with Zeiss’s Planar 50mm f/2 ZM lens and you get pretty close to a manual focus Contax G1. Hence, my choice was an easy one.

I kissed goodbye the Bessa R2, and a few weeks later I met another hobbyist at a Dunkin Donuts in Canton, Massachusetts to test and then leave with a beautiful Hexar RF. 

Before getting down to the brass tacks, let me address one of the two most common disparages of the Hexar (the other being its reliance on electronics): “It’s not really an M mount camera! It’s a KM mount camera!” This debate has raged on the web since the earliest days of turn-of-the-century forums and messaging boards. 

I can’t definitively say that the KM mount is or is not the same as the Leica M mount. I can say that I have used multiple M mount lenses on my Hexar including at f-stops as large as 1.4 and never has my focus been off. I am but one of many, many film shooters who has never had a problem shooting M mount lenses on their KM camera. 

The Brass Tacks

The Konica Hexar RF is a rangefinder film camera for the modern era. Let me quickly point out its defining modern features: 

• Internal motordrive (i.e., automatic film advance) 
• Easy film loading with the motordrive 
• Automatic film rewind
• Capable of 2.5 frames per second on continuous shooting
• 1/4000th of a second maximum shutter speed
• Auto exposure mode with a speed range of 16 seconds to 1/4000th of a second
• Auto exposure lock mode (lock with a half-depress of the shutter release button) 
• Exposure compensation from -2 to +2 in 1/3rd of a stop increments
• 1/125th of a second flash sync
• Self-timer
• DX ISO setting
• Metal shutter

These features come packed inside an aluminum chassis with titanium top and bottom plates and a textured rubber cover on the front and back, weighing in at 560 grams. On the front of the camera, you’ll find an incorporated right-side grip in the form of a modest crag for your fingers to hold. Moving left from the grip, there’s a small lens lock release button in silver with a concentric red circle. Left further still, there’s a small lever for changing which framelines appear in the viewfinder, overriding the default framelines set by the lens. 

(The frameline lever features a three-textured design: a dimpled metal, a matte metal like the body, and a high gloss metal. Of course, this design is irrelevant to the camera’s use or even general appearance, but the decision to design one tiny part with three textures speaks to Konica’s commitment to the details.) 

Above that lever, you’ll find the viewfinder glass: big, multi-coated, and gorgeous. The viewfinder has framelines for the following lens lengths: ​​28mm + 90mm, 50mm + 75mm, 35mm + 135mm, in those combinations (meaning that when a 28mm lens is on the camera, both the 28mm and the 90mm framelines will show up). The magnification is admittedly only 0.6x, which is far from real life. Resultantly, the framelines are good for wide lenses and pretty small for long lenses. In general, I find the viewfinder to be plenty bright and very clear. 

Getting to the top plate, there’s an LCD output that shows, at all times, the battery level and, when turned on, the current frame number. There’s a hotshoe, an exposure compensation dial housing a manual ISO wheel, the shutter speed dial (which locks at “AE” and “AEL,” both painted green) with a red “125,” and the on-off switch that is straight stolen from the Contax G cameras. 

The rest of the camera’s external features are relatively straightforward—manual rewind button, tripod socket, mechanical shutter release, battery compartment, silver-plated brass lugs on the top front, the aforementioned door release switch. These are in addition to my favorite tiny feature, the film door preview. A small, clear, pill-shaped window allows the camera’s user to see if and what film is loaded in the camera. 

Maybe the most standard aspect of the Hexar is its meter, a center-weighted TTL silicon photodiode and no TTL flash metering. Would I prefer evaluative metering and/or the option to choose spot metering? Undoubtedly. Did the Hexar ever botch the exposure in my time with it? Not in my judgment. 

What you get in the Konica Hexar RF is a blazingly fast automatic camera with manual focusing. 

The Hexar Experience

Shooting with the Hexar can best be described as sexy. A sleek, all black camera with a satisfying shutter snap and futuristic “zh-ghzt” film advance sound, the shooting experience is just cool. (And yes, I did spend about five minutes listening to the advance sound, imitating it myself, and trying to put it into letters). 

The Konica Hexar accompanied me on hikes, a wedding, an anniversary getaway to Walden Pond, walks in Manhattan, night jaunts on the Ocean City boardwalk, and quotidian tasks throughout the 21 months I owned it. 

Focusing was easy for me, the camera was hefty in my hands (a plus for me), and produced well-metered photos at the click of a button. Does it feel like a Contax G1 as I might have hoped? Not exactly, but it’s also a far cry from the clunky manualness of the Leica CL or the clickety flimsiness of the Bessa R2. 

For me, it was a Goldilocks 35mm experience–just automatic enough to be easy while still feeling engrossed in the process. Of course, the host of M-mount lenses play a big part in that experience. Perhaps my favorite lens to keep on the Hexar was my 35mm f/2.8 Zeiss Biogon. The f/2.8 is the slimmest of the ZM Biogon lenses but remains to be of the utmost build quality. 

Many favorite photos of mine were taken with the Hexar, but as I write this, the camera has found its way into the home of another hobbyist film photographer. Why so? 

Leaving the Hexar Behind

Two predominant factors led to the Hexar’s exit from my camera collection. The first was the introduction of a Pentax camera, and the second was a renewed fervor for watch collecting. This article is not a review of either the Pentax or any watch, but I’ll briefly explain the impact of each.

Having heard of the illustrious qualities of the Limited lenses produced by Pentax in the late ‘90s, I decided to search out a pristine copy of the 43mm f/1.9. Given the lens is autofocus, I decided it needed to be paired with an AF camera. I landed on the Pentax ZX-5N/MZ-5N after dismissing the MZ-S on account of it being damn ugly and too big and too digital. Long story short, I adore this combination and it quickly became my preferred camera and lens. 

Now in August 2020–five months after acquiring my Hexar RF–I found myself with a revitalized interest in mechanical watches. In earlier years, I had been content with a Seiko SKX013 and a vintage Mido Commander President Daydate. Both were solid watches, but the Seiko was no longer exciting to me and the Mido was just a bit too far on the vintage side of things. Another long story short, in September I acquired a NOMOS Club Campus Night after selling all of my other watches and some camera gear. 

By August 2021, I found myself compelled to somehow get my hands on an Oris Aquis Date. I had tried the watch on in 2020, but never pulled the trigger. Looking at my poor Hexar RF sitting on the shelf having not been used since June and continually losing out to the Pentax when times came to grab a camera as I headed out the door, I decided it would have to be sacrificed on the watch alter. 

So out went the Hexar and in came a beautiful Oris Aquis Date 39.5 with the so-called Mint Green dial. I have to say, as much as it pains me to say this in a Casual Photophile article, that I do not regret the swap. I suppose, after all, I really am just a casual photophile. 

Concluding Thoughts

My camera collection is at present the smallest it’s been in years. I have just four film cameras: my Pentax ZX-5N, my Olympus Pen FT, my Fujifilm GA645, and my Hasselblad 501c. Coincidentally, as my camera collection has dwindled, my watch collection has swelled. 

Part of the fun of being a casual photophile is trying lots of cameras for the heck of it. And tried many I have! But another satisfying realization for me in the past year and a half has been refining my sense of what I really want in a camera and being satisfied with that preference.

It turns out I really like SLRs and I really like small cameras. The Pentax ended up being the camera for me, and now I get to shoot it with a watch I adore around my wrist. Luckily, the Hexar is in the capable hands of Kirk, a photographer from Pennsylvania. Maybe it will be the camera for him–or maybe he’ll swap it with something he loves more. 

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[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post Reviewing My Time with the Konica Hexar RF appeared first on Casual Photophile.

I wasn’t surprised to read this email (I receive similar messages weekly). People want cheap Leicas, even though Leica M film cameras cost more today than they have at any time since the “death of film.” Going back to as recently as 2014, when I launched Casual Photophile and opened my camera shop, prices for some Leica M models have tripled. Even the once-considered-lowly Leica M4-P and M4-2 each now cost over $1,000 on average (I used to buy these for $399). Twenty years ago, the Leica M6 was thought of as “the cheap Leica” and today it costs twice the price of an original M3 (a camera which is, according to the written gospel found in ancient Rockwellian tomes, “the world’s greatest 35mm camera”).

I don’t see the rise in price as a bad thing (and not because I sell cameras for a living). If we consider the trend objectively, it’s only natural that prices of film cameras should rise. Think about it from a distance and through the prism of other “unnecessary things on which people spend money.”

Prices are rising for specific and valid reasons. Especially in the cases of mechanical cameras, which most Leica Ms are, these cameras are (still) useful tools. They’re uncommonly well-made objects which have survived their original intended lifespan. They’re a finite resource, making them inherently collectible. Particular models and variants which were made in fewer quantities are even rarer, and are now bought specifically for their rarity. A new generation of photographer (buyer) has entered the market, and noticed the unique quality of these old cameras. Add to all of this that they’re simply beautiful objects that draw the eye and the hand – equal parts science, engineering, and art – and it’s easy to see why prices are up.

But just because they’re expensive, that doesn’t mean that they’re overpriced.

I’ve said this elsewhere – some popular professional camera likers see the rise in film camera prices and say that it’s all built on undeserved hype. I couldn’t disagree more. While extrinsic prices for certain poorly-made, unreliable, or otherwise undeserved film cameras are unjustly outstripping their intrinsic value (hello, Mju II), the prices of classic, collectible, or exceptional film cameras are not inflated artificially. On the other hand, prices for well-made, reliable, and capable old cameras are now exactly where they should have been all along. Leicas aren’t over-valued today – they were under-valued for two decades, and we got used to it. (The same can be said for other film cameras – the Nikon F3, Canon’s EOS 1, Hasselblads.)

While this meandering preamble around extrinsic versus intrinsic value and the free market as it pertains to sixty-year-old film cameras answers the first part of the two-part question first posed by my hospitalized friend’s email as it appears in the opening paragraph of this article – “Why are Leicas so expensive?” – it does little to answer the second part of that question. And this is the important one – “Where can I get one cheap?”

The answer is simple. You can’t. Leicas cost a lot and you ain’t getting one cheap. The days of finding an M6 for $300 are long gone and they’re not coming back.

Furthermore, complaining about the price of Leicas is like screaming at a rain cloud – you can do it, but buddy, you’re still gonna get wet. Here’s some good news; there are a lot of alternatives to the Leica M, and I’ve got ’em locked and loaded like glistening brass bullets in this magnum revolver hand cannon I call “my brain.” (On balance, I’ve also called my brain “a big bowl of tepid oatmeal.”)

Anyway. That’s enough of whatever that was – without any more of my nonsense, here are five (or six, or seven, I’ve not decided how many yet, and I’m not coming back to edit this sentence later) alternatives to the Leica M.

The Criteria

I’ll outline here the criteria which cameras must meet to find themselves upon this illustrious list of mine. For any camera to be included it must –

• Be all mechanical. 
• Offer some degree of exposure control.
• Be capable of mounting lenses interchangeably.
• Be a rangefinder.
• Be a quality camera with great lenses. 
• Be affordable in comparison to the premium-priced Leica M series (for me, that means that each camera must cost about half of what a Leica M costs).

Some of these selections were decided upon after conversation with my fellow CP writers. If comparing any one of these cameras to the hyperbolically lauded Leica M series offends you, be sure to histrionically yell/type at us in the comments.

Let the listicle begin.

Canon 7 and Canon 7s

Every time that a Canon rangefinder camera from the 1950s and 1960s comes through my shop, I’m stunned by the quality of the things. After seven years of this being my full time job, it shouldn’t surprise me anymore, but it still does. And the last time a Canon 7 came through, I was once again deeply struck. I echoed what Timothy Lebedin said in his article on the Canon 7 – “How the hell is this thing so cheap?”

The Canon 7 is a camera that perfectly meets all of the criteria which I mentioned for inclusion in this list. It is an all-mechanical, manually controlled, 35mm film rangefinder camera with a Leica Thread Mount lens mount, and (in a one-up on the pre-M5 Leicas) a built-in light meter. It’s a smooth shooting, high-quality, reliable and effective camera, and it can make beautiful images (again, see our writeup).

What’s most arresting about the Canon 7, however, is what I alluded to earlier – it is unbelievably inexpensive. You could buy ten Canon 7s for the price of one Leica M6. Astonishing. When buying a Canon 7, make sure it’s in good shape and sold guaranteed to work. If you buy the original 7, don’t expect the light meter to work or be accurate unless it’s stated to be so – Selenium meters fail over time.

The later models, known as the Canon 7s and Canon 7s Type II, swapped the Selenium meter for a CdS battery-powered meter. These meters are more likely to work today. This of course means that prices for the 7s are notably higher than for the original Canon 7. That said, a mint Canon 7s will still cost a quarter the price of most Leica Ms.

You can buy a Canon 7 here

Nikon SP (Nikon S2 for Budget Buyers)

When I started my own business full-time and bought a house, I decided to treat myself to a “forever camera.” Wow, what self-indulgent nonsense. That self-deprecation out of the way, what camera did I choose? A Nikon SP 2005 Limited Edition. And while that specific camera is not the camera that I’m including on this list as a viable alternative to the Leica M (because the 2005 SP is too expensive to meet my criteria), I am including the original Nikon SP.

The Nikon SP of 1957 is the most advanced rangefinder camera that Nikon ever made, and in many ways it’s one of the greatest cameras of all time. It’s a relatively compact, all-mechanical, fully-manual 35mm film rangefinder camera with an incredible viewfinder, precise and luxurious build quality, and a full suite of astonishingly gorgeous Nikon lenses made to fit its S-mount lens mount.

This camera really is all about the lenses. The Nikkor 35mm F/1.8 is legendary. The 105mm F/2.5 was born on this system (and would later go on to be one of the most popular portrait lenses of the manual focus era). The classic 50mm F/1.4 renders stunning images for laughably little money.

And that last point – price – is a good one to mention. The Nikon SP can be bought with the Nikkor 50/1.4 for a few hundred dollars less than it costs to buy a body-only Leica M3. If you’re a budget buyer, get the Nikon S2. It does a lot of what the SP does, but cuts cost by having a much simpler viewfinder.

Buy a Nikon SP here

Konica Hexar RF

With the Konica Hexar RF, we’re sort of scratching at the ceiling of my criteria, for two reasons. First, the Hexar RF is pretty expensive, and again because it’s an electronically operated camera (rather than fully mechanical). But, it squeaks in just under the acceptable limit on price, and it finds its place here on the list because it’s a damned impressive camera in every way.

The Konica Hexar RF is a gorgeously-made 35mm film rangefinder camera that’s most directly comparable to Leica’s M7, Leica’s only M series camera with automated exposure modes (aperture priority). Konica’s camera offers the same aperture-priority mode, plus essentially everything else we get with the far pricier M7. It’s got manual exposure, manual focus, a big, bright viewfinder and excellent rangefinder, frame lines of the usual focal lengths from 28mm to 135mm, generous “outside the frame” viewfinder coverage (with .60x magnification), and a solidly built chassis with fine exterior details. It even uses the same mount (although Konica called theirs the “KM Mount” and never referred to Leica when discussing which lenses would work on the Hexar).

In typical Japanese manufacturer fashion, Konica even outdid Leica in a number of ways (sound familiar, Minolta CLE fans?). The Hexar RF is about the same size and weight as a Leica M3, and yet it manages to maintain these dimensions and heft while adding motorized film advance and rewind. And while some purists will sneer at motorized film and its reliance on batteries, I’m no such purist. I’m too old to be wasting my life rewinding film, and I just repaired a Pokémon Stadium 2 Nintendo 64 cartridge with nothing but a soldering iron and a piece of speaker wire. How hard can it be to repair a Hexar?

Buy a Konica Hexar RF here

Voigltander Bessa R and Bessa R2

While the build quality of the Voigtlander Bessa R comes up short of Leica standards (the Bessa R uses polycarbonate plastic top and bottom plates), its excellence in all other areas lands it on this list. Introduced in the year 2000 by Cosina in Japan as part of the relaunch of the Voigtlander name, the Bessa R is a whole lot of rangefinder camera for very little money.

It’s a simple, all-mechanical, fully manual camera with through-the-lens metering, user-selectable frame lines (35/90mm, 50mm, 75mm), and the Leica Thread Mount capable of mounting any LTM lens.

The Voigtlander Bessa R2, released two years later in 2002, replaced the Bessa R’s Leica Thread Mount for the more modern Leica M mount, and swapped the plastic top and bottom plates for more robust magnesium alloy. For these reasons, the Bessa R2 is the more desirable model, however the price for the better machine will naturally be higher. Buyers can expect to pay about $499 for the Bessa R, while the R2 will cost closer to $800 (bodies only). Remember, these prices are still significantly less than a Leica.

We reviewed the Voigltander Bessa R here

Buy a Bessa R2 here

Minolta 35 Model IIB

Probably the most unusual addition to this list, the Minolta 35 Model IIB is not a camera that many people know about, nor is it one that anyone would typically recommend as an alternative to the Leica M series.

The first Minolta 35 released way back in 1947. At that time it was among the best rangefinder cameras in the world, and in fact featured many advancements over contemporary Leica cameras. These include a combined rangefinder/viewfinder system, self-timer, an integrated film take-up spool and hinged film door which made loading a faster and easier process than with Leica’s machines.

The Minolta 35 Model IIB released in 1958, and is the best Minolta 35 variant ever made, with superior convenience features (such as a lever style film advance mechanism), as well as numerous technical improvements. These include a larger magnification viewfinder, full frame image area (all previous Minolta 35s shot slightly smaller than the 24×36 standard), and an improved effective rangefinder base of 32mm (admittedly sub-Leica standard).

The Minolta 35 Model IIB accepts all Leica Thread Mount lenses. But the real magic is when we use Minolta’s own “Super Rokkors,” a succinct lineup of incredible performing LTM lenses.

It’s not a common camera, so it may be a bit hard to find one. But if you can find a nice Model IIB (and there are always a few on eBay) you should buy it. There are few “sleepers” out there these days, cameras which are truly excellent but undiscovered. The Minolta 35 Model IIB may be one of those – it’s a compact, solid, and beautifully-built classic camera made of metal and glass, and today (with an amazing lens) it costs half as much as a Leica (body only).

Buy a Minolta 35 Model IIB here

Got a great rangefinder to compete with the Leicas that we left off this list? Let us and our readers know about it in the comments. You can see more affordable rangefinder cameras here and here, and some uncommon rangefinder cameras here! (Damn, we write a lot.)

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[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post Leica M Film Cameras Too Expensive? Here are Five Alternatives appeared first on Casual Photophile.

If you are at these venues as often as I am, you will eventually start to notice which products are more likely to fly off the shelves. Brand clothing and 1980s records are top sellers. Point-and-shoot and foldable cameras do not sit for long, either. But certain things are real shelf warmers: Konica cameras, for example. Like brightly colored 5XL suits and Swiss folk music CDs, Konicas don’t get a lot of love. Outside of the thrift shop, among the blogosphere and on camera culture YouTube channels, Konica seems a bit overlooked. 

As a result of this tepid enthusiasm (and my own innate curiosity), I’ve always been left wondering what hides behind the brand. So, I did some research. 

A Very Brief History of Konica

Konica’s history dates back to 1873, making the company older than Kodak. At that time, the pharmacist Rokusaburo Sugiura started to sell photographic and lithographic products in his store called “Konishi-ya” based in Tokyo. After passing the business on to his younger brother, he founded a new venture to design and build a camera. This new business was called “Konishi Honten.” 

While photography had started to gain popularity in the 1890s, many people where still hesitant to use wet plate cameras. Dry plate cameras, on the other hand, made photography more accessible. And it’s this type of camera which Suguira’s company would develop first. 

Konishi Honten’s first camera was called the Cherry. It debuted in 1903 and sold for about 2 Yen. It appealed to the Japanese masses thanks to its simplicity and low price. Although the name below the lens was written in Latin letters, the product was never intended to be marketed internationally. This decision was likely made because international competition was just too numerous – Sugiura had patterned the Cherry after the British “Little Nipper” which was already a copy of a French camera called “the Gnome” – yes, the market for dry plate box cameras was pretty saturated. In Japan, however, the Cherry sold strong enough that Konishi Honten soon became the country’s leading camera maker. [Editor’s Note – no surviving examples of the original Cherry are known to exist in the world today.]

The first Cherry was followed by a second and a third version, which were manufactured and sold until about 1920. Shortly thereafter, while still holding the lead position for Japanese camera makers, Rokusaburo Sugiura’s eldest son took over management and changed the company’s name to “Konishiroku Honten.” 

The company would go on to release the first Japanese-made color film called “Sakura Natural Color Film” in 1940 and follow up with the original “Konica” camera in 1946. Interestingly, it wasn’t until 1987 that the company officially decided to change its name to “Konica.” 

For decades, Konica was the fourth largest film manufacturer in the world, behind Kodak, Fuji and Agfa. But in the end, it suffered the same fate as Miranda, Petri and Topcon. The company floundered as sales of single-lens reflex cameras declined dramatically in the 1980s (in favor of compact electronic point-and-shoots largely made by other Japanese brands). Konica eventually ceased production of its SLR systems and finally withdrew from the SLR market entirely in 1987. 

Konica’s point-and-shoot cameras stood little chance against their competitors, especially in Europe, even though many are of pretty good quality. Not long after ending their SLR production, a decision had to be made. In a last attempt to save themselves from going out of business, Konica merged with Minolta in 2003. But this only delayed the inevitable. On January 19, 2006, Konica-Minolta announced its intention to withdraw from the photographic business. The total withdrawal was completed by the end of the same year. Konica’s film business was abandoned and the camera division sold to Sony. While the recipes of Minolta lenses continued to be incorporated into new Sony lenses, Konica’s centuries-old name (and expertise) has vanished. 

Konica’s Legacy Today

Today, as film photography and film gear reaches popularity not known since Konica’s heydey, the brand’s products are often overlooked. But while the products of its hundred years of manufacturing are overshadowed by more popular competitors, Konica hasn’t entirely faded from memory. A handful of their cameras have regained some popularity in the 21st century – the Recorder, the Tomato and Pop, the Big Mini, and the Hexar RF. But there are many more excellent and important Konica cameras and lenses that have simply been forgotten.

There’s Konica’s very first SLR, the quite rare Konica F, which was also the first 35mm SLR in the world to achieve a shutter speed of 1/2000 of a second. It is the only Konica with interchangeable viewfinders and was introduced with some serious glass worth collecting. Then there is the more popular Konica Auto-Reflex, which was one of the first 35mm SLR cameras with an automatic exposure control. It is a very standard SLR but also a pretty reliable one. Its successors can be had dirt cheap and are pretty good companions for anyone looking to start their film photography journey (Jeb touched on this in his review of the T3, and the 40mm Hexanon lens which often comes attached). The FS-1 was the first 35mm SLR with a built-in motor for film advance. It set the trend for all other cameras after it. And Konica even made the first production autofocus camera, the Konica C35 AF. 

Konica was a true brand of firsts, but somehow the name gets little to no recognition for it today. And we’ve only talked about the cameras so far. The story’s the same for Konica’s lenses.

Oftentimes the Konica lenses we encounter at flea markets or thrift stores have been stored horribly, and they suffer fungus or damage. That is why they are regularly overlooked. But knowing about the demands the Japanese have towards their technology and manufacturing, you should definitely reconsider the brand’s lenses if you find one in good condition. 

The AR-mount lenses produced from 1965 come in four variations. The first version distinguishes itself through a silver collar between aperture and focusing ring. It is probably the most sought after, although the second and third versions look sleeker in their all black appearance. The two successor versions differ optically through their focus ring, which in later lenses is no longer completely made of metal, but covered with rubber instead. The automatic aperture control on version one and two is indicated with the orange letters “EE” standing for “Electric Eye”. In the latest version, the markings are very similar to those on Canon’s FD lenses. The mark is now green and says “AE” for “Automatic Exposure”. We could go into much more detail here but for anyone looking to build a full film camera kit, this information should be enough to start digging. If the glass elements or blades look dirty: do not worry. These lenses feature no electrical components and disassembling them is easy enough. Just make sure you have the right tools. If you give Konica lenses the love they deserve, they will quickly regain the beauty that once made them so popular.

If They’re So Good, Then Why Are They Dead?

Don’t sleep on Konica or other obscure Japanese camera companies just because they’re no longer around. Competition in the Japanese photographic technology industry was (and remains) unbelievably fierce, and many companies died even though they had impressive products and potent designs (even Olympus recently called it quits). The likes of Miranda, Petri, Topcon, Minolta should not be discounted out of hand. These and others made countless contributions to the field of photography through smart engineering and innovative technologies. What’s more, each of these brands has a history that’s as interesting as any other, once we do a little research. 

Take Topcon for example. This lesser-known Japanese camera-maker emerged from the measure instruments section of Seikosha, the predecessor to Seiko, and was a photographic supplier to both the Japanese Army and the United States Navy. Their flagship, the Topcon RE was the first camera in the world to offer a through-the-lens exposure meter. Josh wrote a review of the RE Super which reinforces many of the points I’ve made here about Konica. CP editor James, about the Topcon, wrote this – “The RE Super is one of the finest-made mechanical cameras of its era. It’s a beautiful machine, impressively over-built, and I think it should get more credit in classic camera-liking circles.” 

We admire and covet cameras and lenses from Nikon, Canon, Olympus or Pentax  because their quality and versatility are world-class. The equivalent products from these less-lauded brands are easily their equal. You simply need a bit more research to find these gems. So the next time you see a Konica lens or camera on the shelf of your local thrift store, take a look at it and check the price tag. Is that not one hell of a bargain? I bet it is. And now excuse me, I have to go thrifting! 

Browse eBay for Konica cameras here

Browse for Konica cameras in our shop, F Stop Cameras 

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[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post A Better Look at Konica appeared first on Casual Photophile.

When my Auto S3 succumbed to the inevitable and eventually died its second death, I decided to purchase a Konica C35 FD, the Japanese domestic market version of the Auto S3. The Konica Auto S3 and Konica C35 FD are essentially the same camera. Their differences are only cosmetic. The Auto S3 was available only in black with the distance scale on the lens barrel displayed in feet and in meters. The Konica C35 FD came in both silver and in black with the distance scale only represented in meters. Currently, The Konica C35 FD is more widely available within Japan (where I live) ranging in price between $100-$200. A mint copy will demand more. The Auto S3 is rarer, and commands slightly higher prices. But like many great film cameras their prices are inching upward.

The Konica C35 FD debuted in Japan in 1973 and was targeted at casual shooters who wanted a convenient and compact rangefinder capable of making outstanding images, but also wanted a camera which wouldn’t blow a major hole in their bank accounts. The C35 FD was the top of the line in Konica’s C35 series of cameras. Its counterpart, the Auto S3 cost $199.92. Adjusted for inflation that’s $1,172.14 in 2020. Not cheap, but far cheaper compared to the Leica CL, which also debuted that same year. A Leica CL body paired with a 40mm, f/2 Summicron lens would put you back around $525 or $3,174.38 in 2020. Then as now, a Leica will put a hurtin’ on your wallet.

Specifications of the Konica C35 FD

• • Lens – 38mm f/1.8 six-element Hexanon; 49mm filter thread
  • Focusing – Manual; Coupled rangefinder; Baseline 12mm
  • Minimum Focus Distance – 0.9m (3ft)
  • Exposure Systems – Shutter-priority automatic
  • Metering – CdS (Cadmium Sulphide) light meter; Film speeds 15-30 DIN (25-800 ASA)
  • Shutter – Copal seven-speed leaf shutter; 1/8 – 1/500th of a second, plus Bulb mode
  • Flash – Flash synch at all shutter speeds (1/8 – 1/500) through PC socket
  • Viewfinder – Bright line finder with needle indication of aperture visible on right hand side of viewfinder, Auto Flashmatic system indicator in viewfinder
  • Additional Features – Lever wind, double-exposure prevention, resetting frame counter, self-timer
  • Dimensions – Width 112mm (4.4 inches) x Height 75mm (2.9 inches) x Depth 60mm (2.3 inches)
  • Weight – 410g (14.4 oz)

The Konica Auto S3 (left) and C35 FD (right).

Style, build and use of the Konica C35 FD

The first thing to notice about the camera is its size and weight. It is light and compact and can easily fit into the hands or into a large sized jacket pocket. You will never hear anyone bemoan hauling it around after a day of shooting. The camera body is simple and basic, made of aluminum. Unfortunately, it is prone to being dented. You don’t want to make the mistake of dropping this camera.

Its operation is uncomplicated and Spartan. The majority of its controls are on the lens barrel. The shutter speed (⅛ second to 1/500 second), the ASA/DIN (ISO) film speed settings (25-800), the GN (guide number) settings (7m-56m), the bulb setting and focusing tab are all accessible there. The focusing throw is very short and smooth, which enables fast focusing.

The film advance lever and shutter release button do not feel as confident or secure as other cameras I’ve used but they get the job done faultlessly. The shutter is very quiet and almost stealthy.  Exposure lock is engaged by pressing the shutter release button halfway.

The viewfinder is bright and the information presented within is straightforward. Being a shutter priority camera, the meter needle moves up and down along the various f-stops (f/1.8 to f/16) displayed on the right side of the viewfinder. Over-exposure and under-exposure indicators are clearly highlighted in red.

The light meter is very accurate. I ran a roll of slide film through the camera and it exposed the film perfectly. It is not a TTL meter. However, the light meter is placed right above the lens within the lens barrel.  This is useful if you decide to use color or ND filters. The filter thread is 49mm.

I normally shoot in aperture priority or in manual mode, so I initially found it strange that this diminutive machine was a shutter priority camera. But I adjusted, and eventually conformed to letting the camera do the work. I could focus more on composition and documenting the world around me. More than any other camera, it has made its way into my bag on a daily basis because of its accessibility, size, and simplicity. I can just concentrate on the act of taking pictures.

If you’ve researched the Konica Auto S3 then you have most likely come across the often-quoted article from Modern Photography from the 1970s in other reviews. The lens compares favorably with Leica lenses in its resolution and quality. I could not find the original article with its charts and formal lab test. I will say that it passed my unscientific eye test. The lens is damn good. The fast, fixed 38mm f/1.8 six-element Hexanon lens produces sharp and contrasty images. It creates accurate colors that render slightly cool. Image quality is excellent in the center with no real discernible softness on the edges throughout the aperture settings. I could not see any major chromatic aberrations, a real testament to a lens which is nearly fifty years old. The 38mm focal length took a bit to getting used to. I personally like to shoot wider for street and tighter for portraits. The 38mm focal length is a good compromise between the two.

Konica’s Daylight/Synchro Flash System

One of the major selling points of the camera when it debuted was its ability to effectively balance ambient light and flash. Konica called it their Daylight/Synchro Flash system. This is activated when placing a flash into the hot shoe. This decouples the meter from automatically controlling the aperture on the camera. A second green synchro mark appears in the viewfinder.  This mark shows the flash exposure level based on the film speed setting, the focusing distance from the subject, and the flash’s guide number. By adjusting the shutter speed, you can balance the ambient exposure with the on-camera flash. When the meter needle overlaps the green synchro mark you have perfect exposure. No other rangefinder was capable of this ingenious and effective feature at that time. In practice, it’s a lot simpler than it sounds. Trust me.

Konica’s advertisement states that any flash will do, but Konica’s X-14 and X-20 flashes are best suited due to their compact size. Unfortunately, they are nearly impossible to find these days. You can also utilize the small HX-14 that was made specifically for the Konica Hexar, but it’s pricey. There are third-party alternatives out there as well, if you are so inclined.

Limited Aperture Control Hack

Placing a hot shoe cover or a flash unit turned off within the hot shoe triggers a metal pin that activates Konica’s Daylight/Synchro Flash system. As always, you have control of the camera’s shutter speeds. The meter still reads the ambient light but it no longer directly controls the aperture. You can set the aperture manually by manipulating the GN ring and focusing tab. However, it does not allow for unrestricted aperture control, and so it is limited in its effective use.  I personally do not bother with it.

Batteries for the Konica C35 FD

The Konica C35 FD was designed to use the now defunct mercury PX675 which produced 1.35 volts. But don’t worry – today there are a few options to power our little image maker. You can use the modern SR44 battery, but since these output 1.5 volts there’s a possibility that the increased voltage will skew your light meter’s accuracy. Another option is to use the Weincell MRB675 zinc/air battery. This will give the proper steady voltage of 1.35. However, they are relatively expensive and usually last just a few months. A permanent solution which some utilize is to introduce resistance into the camera’s electrical system by wiring in a diode to stop down the voltage of the SR44 battery. Finally, and this is the route that I took, is to use the smaller LR41 battery (outputting 1.5 volts) paired with a battery adapter that reduces the voltage to 1.35.

Konica Auto-Up 3 Adapter

The camera’s closest focusing distance is around one meter (3 feet). A rare accessory that I managed to acquire (good luck finding one) was the Auto-Up 3. a close focusing lens that attaches to the front of the lens. It allows the camera to focus as close as 1.6 feet. In use, I did not notice any apparent fall off in image quality. It’s a great accessory, and one that allows me to realize shots that I would not be able to make with this camera otherwise.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Konica C35 FD is excellent. Is it a perfect camera? I’m not sure that exists. I’d appreciate a more robust, dent-resistant body. There’s no on/off switch, which means that when the light meter is not covered by the lens cap and exposed to light it continues to draw power from the battery. The battery compartment cover is made of soft plastic instead of metal.  If one is not careful it’s easy to strip away the plastic notch on the battery cover over time. But these issues are minor and do not take away from the shooting experience.

But the C35 FD continues to impress me with its compact size, its simple operation, its silent shutter, its quick manual focusing, its uncomplicated Daylight/Synchro Flash system, and of course its outstanding lens. I have learned to become wholly Zen with my little friend. Accepting it for what it does so well, instead of forever focusing on what it is not and what it never claimed to be. If you can do the same, then you may find that the Konica C35 FD is a little companion that will rarely leave your side as you document your journey through life.

Want your own Konica C35?

Get one on eBay here

Browse for one at our own F Stop Cameras

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[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post Konica C35 FD / Konica Auto S3 Review appeared first on Casual Photophile.

It’s a stylish camera born to succeed in a decade obsessed with airy fashion and unashamed consumerism. It was released in 1985 during the heady days of Japan’s “miracle economy,” a decade in which Japan enjoyed an average annual economic growth of 5% fueled by a seemingly planet-wide demand for slick and simple-to-use Japanese electronics.

The Konica Tomato is itself simply a red tomato-branded version of the identical Konica Pop 10. This writeup, therefore, will apply to not just the Konica Tomato shown here, but to the Pop 10 as well. The only difference between the two machines, excepting the cosmetic differences already mentioned, is that the Pop 10 sells for approximately one-half the price what the Tomato does today. If you’re on a budget, try to remember that both models’ specifications lists are the same – and they’re short lists indeed. So short, in fact, that I can cover them in a single slightly-longer-than-usual paragraph!

The Pop 10 and Tomato are both point-and-shoot fixed focus cameras (focus-locked to 2.8 meters), with just one shutter speed of 1/125th of a second. This simple shutter sits behind a 35mm f/4 multi-coated Konica lens. There’s a built-in user-selectable flash and a flash close-up switch for shooting subjects from 1.5 to 2 meters (more on this switch later). ISO is selected manually by the user in sensitivities of 100, 200, or 400. The last luxuries on this sparse specification chart are a manual film advance wheel and manual rewind knob, film frame counter, and a simple light meter which does nothing except activate a tiny LED next to the viewfinder to warn of under-exposure in low-light shooting conditions. The camera can operate just fine without batteries, though a single AA battery is required to use the camera’s flash.

Shooting the Konica Tomato / Pop 10 Today

The Konica Tomato and its Pop 10 sister model were designed to be accessible, affordable (priced when new at about $40), and fun. This continues on today. There are few cameras as easy-to-use and to carry as this one. Weighing less than half a pound and with dimensions of 4.5″ long x 2.7″ tall x 1.7″ wide, it’s one of the smaller point-and-shoots ever made. The sliding lens cover protects the lens well and locks the shutter when closed. The overall build is plastic, yes, but it’s fairly solid for a plastic point-and-shoot of the era. I’d not like to drop mine, but I wouldn’t be scared to toss it in a bag or car’s console and trust it to survive a week or two on the road.

In the hand, the camera fits well. There’s a slight grip to the front, and the thumbwheel film advance provides an easy hand hold. A wrist-strap keeps the camera safe from gravity. Look through the viewfinder (a simple 0.42x magnification window with static frame lines), find a subject, and press the shutter. If the low-light warning indicator winks into life, flick the flash switch to its on setting. If your subject is closer than 2 meters away, hold the close-up switch and fire. That’s all there is to it. Except, actually, there’s a little bit more.

Yes, we can use the Tomato and Pop 10 this way, the way that the manual would advise, and we’d get decent photos some of the time. But if we’re the kind of photo geek who knows what’s happening when we make a photo, the Tomato’s limited controls actually offer us a lot more flexibility, a bit more opportunity to control the look of our final image. We just need to understand what’s actually happening when we use the overly-simplified controls, and then bend these controls to our whims.

With a single shutter speed, no autoexposure, and no metering system, the only adjustment we can actually make to our Tomato or Pop 10 is to change the size of our lens aperture, and even this isn’t necessarily illustrated on the camera. There’s no obvious aperture control, no switch that says “f/stop” or “aperture.” There’s just an ISO control, a flash switch, and a close-up switch, all three of which change the same setting – the lens aperture. This seems simple, basic, limiting, and it is. But there’s more than meets the eye here. By using the ISO adjustment, the flash switch, and the close-up switch in different combinations, we can change the way the camera renders many different types of images.

The tricky part comes in that the camera automatically opens the lens aperture by one stop whenever the flash is activated. This means that there are only a handful of combinations of settings we can achieve with the Tomato. As examples, the only way to have the lens shoot wide-open is to shoot at ISO 100 with the flash activated, and the ways to get maximum depth of field is to shoot without flash at ISO 400 or with the flash and close-up switch at ISO 400.

This knowledge is a little bit obtuse, however it becomes more critical when we remember that the Tomato and Pop 10 are fixed-focus cameras. There’s no manual focus, no auto-focus. The camera is locked at a focus distance of 2.8 meters. That close-focus switch that I’ve mentioned doesn’t actually change the point of focus, it only stops down the lens aperture by one stop, which increases the acceptably sharp focus of a scene by increasing the overall depth of field. It essentially stretches the area of focus toward and further from the camera.

This oddly close fixed focus point is troublesome for a few reasons. For one, we can’t get an in-focus background unless we’re shooting with some combination of settings which closes down the aperture to its maximum value (f/16). So if we’re making a landscape photo, for instance, the entire landscape will be out of focus unless we’re shooting at ISO 400. Users who load up ISO 100 film, set their ISO to 100 and forget it, will get a bunch of out-of-focus backgrounds. And when using the flash at ISO 100 we can expect even close subjects to be out-of-focus too. It’s just a narrow depth-of-field. I’ve included some examples of images shot at ISO 100 below.

With the Tomato’s single shutter speed and its reliance on ISO (aperture) control to make a good, in-focus photo, it’s a good thing that today’s C41 color negative film has such great exposure latitude. We can shoot ISO 100, 400 or 800 film in the Tomato, and once we know just how dependent upon our aperture setting our final images will be, we can use that knowledge to squeeze the best possible shots from the Tomato. 800 ISO film shot without flash at the ISO 400 setting seems to yield the best possible results – punchy, sharp, and nicely exposed in most situations (in very low-light we’d be smart to pop the ISO control open a bit further to 200 or 100).

Image Quality

A high point of the Tomato’s and Pop 10’s predecessor, the Konica Pop that I reviewed last year, was that camera’s lens. It featured a punchy Konica Hexanon 36mm f/4, a lens very similar to the one found in this the later Tomato and Pop 10. Where the previous Pop’s image performance was let down was not by its lens, but by the camera’s tendency to leak light. The Tomato and Pop 10 seems to retain the earlier camera’s very good lens while rectifying the body’s light leaks. The Tomato and Pop 10 are far less prone. The result is a camera with a very good lens that gives predictable results. [Editor’s note – I know that the snapshot nature of the sample photos included here isn’t the best representation of a camera’s performance. I’ll add more sample photo scans as they return from the lab. I’ve found the best way to shoot this camera is to use 400 ISO film or higher, and keep the camera locked at ISO 400].

When shot wide open, images can be pretty soft, especially on the corners and even more so in areas of the frame that don’t fall within that magical focus band that seems to begin and end at 2.8 meters from the camera. But stop the lens down via the ISO control or by using the close-up switch when the flash is activated and we see a noticeable increase in sharpness across the field. So noticeable is this difference that I’d nearly recommend that users never shoot on any setting other than ISO 400, regardless of what film is loaded. Just rely on the latitude of film and hope for the best.

Final Words

Inevitably, the Konica Tomato and its identical spec Konica Pop 10 are made for fun. They’re decent cameras, attractive cameras, cameras that can make pretty good photos some of the time and look stylish doing it. And for users who commit to the Tomato and learn the best ways to shoot it to achieve the best results consistently, a Tomato will be a joy to own. But they’re not cameras for those who demand the highest image quality or even an acceptable level of control. For users who want better image quality there are countless smaller, better, newer, and less expensive point-and-shoot cameras to buy. And for users who want a compact with more control, the Olympus XA is still the best camera.

But there’s no substitute for charm, and for me, the Tomato has it. I adore the design. I appreciate the way it looks and feels. I relish in the freedom of occasionally leaving my Leica R5 and my Nikon SP and my Minolta a7 on the shelf at home and instead carrying a simple, vibrant, fun camera that I truly do just point at things and shoot. The photos I get from it aren’t always great, but using the camera always is. I bought seven pounds of tomatoes when I decided to shoot the product photos for this review. I wanted to make the Tomato look good, because I really just love it. Maybe you will too.

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