Konica Auto S3

I'm having an exhibition of some photos I took in the late '70s and the ones on the roof were taken with an Auto S3. This was a great little camera and, as pointed out, the lens was a cracker particularly when combined with wonderful Ilford HP4. If anyone in London wants to come to the private view tomorrow evening, do let me know. The exhibition runs till 23rd September.
 
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Hello Folks,
I just picked up one of these - with the X-14 flash unit - in a second-hand shop in Penzance. Initially, I thought only the flash worked, as the camera aperture opened and closed when the focus was adjusted. I've since discovered that the hot-shoe pin mentioned in this article:

http://www.cameraquest.com/kons3.htm

was stuck in the forward (flash) position. Now I've pulled this back, and tried a zinc-air battery, it seems that the camera works fine too - although the exposure seems a little off, compared to my Canon Powershot. Does anyone know where I can get a manual and instructions for replacing the seals?

Best regards,
RoyM
 
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Thanks again Barrett - I also found a site with the seal replacement, so I am all set to get this job done.

Which batteries do you use? I seem to get a 1-2 stop overexposure when using Zinc-air. Does the extra 0.05V make such a difference?

Best regards,
RoyM
 
Roy: I had Nippon Photo Clinic (in Manhattan) modify my Auto S3 over a year ago to use silver-oxide cells, which has been a great convenience.


- Barrett
 
I will check this out - the voltage regulated adaptors sell for around £27, which is just under what I paid for the camera and flash!

Best regards,
RoyM
 
Have now replaced the light seals and am ready to take this for a run:

5196492382_658ae512df.jpg


Best regards,
RoyM
 
I've had the Prinz 35 ER. It is the same camera as the rest of that "bunch". Also, I doubt that all of these companies made their own unique lenses. Results were similar for this and the Auto S3.

4783755479_3cd0cc5f89_z.jpg
 
Owned one, loved it back when I shot exclusively with rangefinders. Sold it, painfully. Yes, extremely sharp lens and an outstanding street shooter. Given the quality of the lens, its quietness, and its size - not to Leica-bash, but in my opinion it might be a better tool for this kind of shooting. - Certainly, it's more pocketable. It's tiny.

I read somewhere recently on a blog, take it with a grain therefore, that it's not the Himatic or Vivitar, but actually the high-end model of the Konica C35. The author said that it's the C35 with the only change being a 1.8 lens. In order to distance itself from the down-market C35, Konica gave it a different name but according to him they're the exact same cameras - different lens. This makes sense, since the camera was sold as the C35FD in Japan. If this is true, it's "possible" that the C35 was a "crippled" Auto S3, where on the C35 only allows you to go to f2.8. Unlikely, but possible. Camera makers did this sometimes. I've heard great things about the C35 but never owned one. Anyone who can live with an f2.8 lens might consider a C35 over any of these as they're pretty plentiful and much cheaper.

Two things about this camera. First - its lens is sharp wide open. Secondly - it's whisper quiet, a little "tsp" that's barely audible. Finally, it has a great manual flash system using a little indicator in the viewfinder. Master it (in 10 minutes) and your flash and fill-flash pics will be perfect.

To me, it's a better choice than the later Hexars or CL or CLE. It's even smaller than these cameras, but more importantly, it has less electronics that break and can't be repaired. It's also less expensive than any of these others. I can't imagine any lens at any price beating it by much. Downsides are it's shutter priority only, most sample have a slightly loose lens (mine did) that doesn't effect anything, doesn't have the greatest build-quality (but it's fine...), and it's not the camera to own if you don't like really, really small cameras.
 
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