Konica Autorex SLR Camera

The Konica Autorex is an interesting SLR camera that shoots both full and half frame picutres. I bought two of these--each one had various issues. I sent this one off to be repaired along with a couple of lenses I picked up. The repairs fixed the film advance issue, the light meter connectivity, and the repair guy added in the resistor so I can use modern batteries for the metering.

The Autorex is a well-built SLR and I really like the half or full frame option. There's also a nifty "aperture preview" button near the bottom of the lens. One of the drawbacks of this camera is that the light meter is housed inside the shutter speed dial on the front of the camera so there is no TTL (through the lens) metering. This will only really be an issue if you're using filters.

There are instructions printed on the bottom of the ever ready case for switching between half and full frame. For full to half frame, wind the film them flip the lever. For half to full frame, flip the lever then wind the film. It's nice to have the instructions on the camera so you don't have to remember that.

I used several lenses this month. Unfortunately, I didn't write down which lens I used for which pictures. I used a Konica Hexanon 52mm/1.8, a Konica Hexanon AR 40mm/1.8, a Rexagon Auto MC 28mm/2.8, and a Super Takumar 135mm/3.5 (M42 mount used with a lens adapter).

As you can see, the expired film I used (Fujicolor 200 Super HGII) suffered from color shift. In spite of that, some of the shots turned out okay.

Film: Fujicolor 200 Super HGii (expired)
Developer: Unicolor C41 Kit
Scanner: Epson V550





















Next month's camera: Olympus XA

Konica Auto S Rangefinder

The Konica Auto S was the second camera I bought when getting back into film photography. I settled on this camera because of the examples I found online. The lens is very impressive. I do have to say that the camera and this film roll fought me from start to finish so this month's examples aren't the best but that's the name of the game with old cameras.

The top shutter speed on this camera is 1/500. The Hexanon lens is very capable with a max aperture of 1.8. The battery is only required to operate the meter and auto mode. It can be used as a fully manual camera if desired. I decided to let the camera make the decisions this month--so I used the camera in shutter priority mode.

Overall, I really like this camera when it's working properly. It's easy to focus and the aperture selection is clearly visible in the viewfinder.

Camera: Konica Auto S
Film: Kodak 400 (expired 2009)
Developer: Unicolor C41 Kit
Scanner: Epson V550




























Next month's camera: Konica Autorex

introduction

I knew it was a bad idea to count up the number of film cameras I own. I thought I had maybe 12 and had a great idea of using a single film camera each month for an entire year. As it turns out, I actually own 18 vintage film cameras. 

So I've decided to spend the next year and a half using these cameras and sharing my results here. I’m not setting any rules regarding film (black and white? color?) or how many pictures I can take in any given month. My only rule will be that I will only carry one single camera for the entire month.

The Line-Up:

Manual Cameras:

Agfa Solinette

Agfa Isoflash Rapid C

Canon Demi EE17 (half frame)

Medium Format:

Ansco Color Clipper (w/flash)

Petri

Ansco Titan

Franka Solida III

Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex 1b

SLR’s:

Sears TLS

GAF L-17

Konica Autorex (full and half-frame)

Rangefinders:

Olympus XA

Konica Auto S

Chinon 35 EE II

Vivitar 35ES

Yashica Electro 35 CC

Ricoh 500G

Fujica 35 EE

I will try to mix it up from month to month but—due to the disproportion of certain camera styles—this won’t be mathematically possible. Actually, I think I’ll shoot these cameras in alphabetical order because it’s a pretty good mix that way.