Just won a Konica S2

Byuphoto

Byuphoto

Would like to upgrade
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Jun 11, 2005
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I won one off e*** and was wondering what someoen might know about this model. It is unfamiliar to me except what i read in the manual. I gave $43 dolloars for it. If it works was this an ok deal
 
Sturdy build, awefully sharp lens. It is bigger than the compact 35's like the Canonets. I like the built-in retractable hood.

I am sure you will love it.
 
Nice SHARP lens, great viewfinder (which does not only correct for parallax, but also for changing field-of-view - ie., the size of the area inside the framelines changes with focussing).
Also works on manual, without batteries.
A bit on the heavy & bulky side.

Roman

PS: Mine does not have a built-in hood.
 
Nearly all the 70's full size RF's are the same size.. at least mine are.

Here's the GS & S2 back to back.
 
Got it in and it is a beaut. Almost mint except for a slight brassing around the rewind knob. The everready case is absolutly gorgeous.
 
It's a nice camera. I have one and it still works beautifully after all those years. The only downside is the base length is short, (there must be a term for it but I don't know) and it is not easy to focus accurately; images tend to blur with lens wide open. But I don't know it's just me.
 
If the shots are blurred at close focus, I would check the RF accuracy of your camera. I have not had problems wide-open and close-up with my S2.
 
My S2 has no problem. I was mentioning a character of S2 in general. Please see the following quotes from "cameraquest.com":

[begin quote]
The entire idea of Rangefinders is accurate focus. The longer the RangeFinder Base and the larger the Image Magnification size, the longer the Effective Base Length.

RF x IM = EBL

The longer the EBL, the greater the Rangefinder and focus accuracy.

The longer and faster the lens, the more important EBL becomes for accurate focus...
[end quote]

The rangefinder base of S2 is shorter than, say, leica M.

The image magnification size of S2 seems not large either. For sure, I focused with more ease with my M6 .85 than S2.
 
I really did not buy it expecting it to be a Leica. Why does everyone insist on comparing every camera to one. I bought it for what it is.
 
Good luck with it - I have heard only good things about it and there are quite a few threads on here about S2 repairs. I am quite tempted by an S2 because of the added versatility over a Yashica GSN.
 
Byuphoto said:
I won one off e*** and was wondering what someoen might know about this model. It is unfamiliar to me except what i read in the manual. I gave $43 dolloars for it. If it works was this an ok deal
Click to expand...

Auto S2s are always excellent deals as they seem to be unusually cheap. Mine had first class optics and a wonderful almost silent shutter. It was very large - the body is about the same size and shape as a Praktica SLR - although not overly heavy. I eventually sold mine as I didn't like the focus; the lever has a very short throw and I kept overshooting, and it was heavily damped so it was difficult to make small corrections without overshooting the other way! Tremendous lens though, a 'collectable' camera costing ten times as much will not give you 10 times the picture quality.
 
jaemyung_shim said:
My S2 has no problem. I was mentioning a character of S2 in general. Please see the following quotes from "cameraquest.com":

[begin quote]
The entire idea of Rangefinders is accurate focus. The longer the RangeFinder Base and the larger the Image Magnification size, the longer the Effective Base Length.

RF x IM = EBL

The longer the EBL, the greater the Rangefinder and focus accuracy.

The longer and faster the lens, the more important EBL becomes for accurate focus...
[end quote]

The rangefinder base of S2 is shorter than, say, leica M.

The image magnification size of S2 seems not large either. For sure, I focused with more ease with my M6 .85 than S2.
Click to expand...

This is true for rangefinders in general, not just for the S2. The S2's EBL is just like any of the "compact" 35mm RF's we all like. In fact, the Leica CL's is just a little bit better.

To complete the quote, and place it in proper context: "The longer and faster the lens, the more important EBL becomes for accurate focus. If you are having trouble getting consistent focus with the 75/1.4 or 50/1 on your M6, you might want to try a M3 (or the new M6 .85) for increased focusing accuracy. "

I think the point is, if you are shooting a very fast lens, especially a longer lens, this makes a big difference. With the 45mm lens (or shorter) of the compacts, less so.

Just a matter of the right tool for the right application.
 
>>>>>>Why does everyone insist on comparing every camera to one.

Sorry.. I wasn't trying to compare it with another camera.. that was not the purpose. As I said earlier I like my S2. I just mentioned its short base length as one possible weakness, especially when you want to take quick snaps.
 
Last edited:
>>>>>>>This is true for rangefinders in general, not just for the S2. The S2's EBL is just like any of the "compact" 35mm RF's we all like. In fact, the Leica CL's is just a little bit better.

Ray, I agree. I used to have a Canonet 17 GIII as another compact 35mm RF and I don't think it was better in this department.
 
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