First samples from my Konica SIII ...

[paulfish4570]

... and boy am I happy. Thanks again, you-know-who.
All shots handheld, hallelujah!
Konica S III, 47mm/f1.9 Konishiroku Hexanon (I think I much like this lens).
Exposures determined by the cam's built-in selenium cell meter.
Ferrania 400 (thanks to chabusco for sending me a roll to try).
Walgreens processing/scanning (this is two rolls of color in a row that were done very well).

250 at f8 or so, neighbor's backyard still life:

500 at f8, early morning:

125 or 250 at f5.6, self-portrait, sort of:

500 at f2.8 or f4 or so, late afternoon, almost straight into sun (love the bokeh):

500 at f11 or f8, church graveyard discards:

250 at f8 or f11, church playground:

250 at f8, big float in the morning on Black Creek:

125 at f2.8, our front porch:

 

[raid]

Excellent! I like the images, Paul. This camera is a keeper.

 

[Krosya]

Looks very good - I have never met a Konica I didnt like!

 

[paulfish4570]

Thank you, Raid and Krosya.
It is a keeper, indeed.
I had a little Konica C35 zone focus camera in 1974-75 or so. It was a great little pocket cam. I have no idea what became of it ...

 

[raid]

There is a reason why I have Konica I, II. III.IIIM, Auto S2 and Auto S3. They all have superb lenses.

 

[Roger Hicks]

It is indeed a superb lens, and a very well designed and well made camera, but when I realized that I hadn't used it since EIR was introduced (and it was discontinued in 2007) I decided it was time to pass it on. I bought it at a camera show in California, and given that I left Califrnia in '92, this means I had it at least 18 years, maybe 20 or more. I'm very glad you're happy with it and that it's delivering the kind of results I remember. The EIR pics from Paris in my IR module were shot with that camera: http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps ir.html My favourite among yours is the porch/chair/windows shot with what I take to be a bug killer.

Cheers,

R.

 

[paulfish4570]

Roger, I really like that "disturbing" sunflower shot. I am not much of an IR fan but that one speaks to me.
Thanks again,
Paul

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Paul,

Frances says, "Thank you very much." She said also to tell you there's a hand-coloured version.

We're not great IR fans either, but SOMETIMES it works.

You're more than welcome to the camera. I felt bad about not using it, because (as you've shown) it can deliver excellent results.

Cheers,

R.

 

[paulfish4570]

It sure can deliver. I will run some B&W through it as soon as I can replace my scanner.
Paul

 

[paulfish4570]

I could not get such consistent sharpness handheld with my former Bessa R/Canon 50/1.8 kit. Hand tremors plus lightweight body plus a standard shutter worked against me. The Konica is heavier, and it has a leaf shutter, both major pluses for me. Hallelujah!

 

[btgc]

Paul, do this Konica has AE mechanism or meter is just for reference? If latter then it should be as good as Lynx in release department. Most of AR-equipped FL RF's suffer from long and stiff release.

 

[xayraa33]

That Ferrania film looks so 1970s.
Nice sharp Hexanon lens.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Paul, do this Konica has AE mechanism or meter is just for reference? If latter then it should be as good as Lynx in release department. Most of AR-equipped FL RF's suffer from long and stiff release.

No AE. And MUCH better than a Lynx. I've had both. The Konica survived a lot longer in my possession than the Lynx (~20 years instead of ~3).

Cheers,

R.

 

[paulfish4570]

Yep, all manual, all the time bt ...

 

[raid]

Paul,
Is it the Auto S3 or the III ?
I thought that the Auto S3 has AE.
The III is fully manual.

 

[btgc]

Uh, right...it doesn't has Auto in name. If finder is like on Auto S and S2 then it is wonderful camera.

Raid, it's a cross of two generations - body of Auto S and nature of III.
Here are few pictures of it (not very informative, but best I could find)
:
http://syabel.exblog.jp/11669269/
http://neco.aki.gs/neco99/neco30/00/sakura/ks3000.html

 

[paulfish4570]

Yeppie, S III, as in bt's link.

 

[raid]

It is built like the Auto S2.
The III looks very different.

 

[raid]

I wonder if anyone has compared the lenses for the Konica RF cameras. I bet that they are all very good to excellent.

My collection was nearly complete but then the Auto S failed mechanically. The film advance broke ... twice.

 

[paulfish4570]

Bummer ...