Konica Auto S2 Help

[Phoenix Phil]

Hi All,

I was lucky enough to win an Auto S2 on eBay. Then I was unlucky enough to actually get it. It is not in shape that the seller described (he omitted certain facts), so I have a couple of questions and need some help to get this camera working perfectly. Luckily, the auction was won for 99 cents.

1. The camera seems to operate in auto mode only. Even when set to manual, the camera behaves like in auto mode. Does anyone have a clue what might be the issue? And then have some detailed instructions on how to fix it?

2. There seems to be extra felt added by the previous owner. Can someone confirm if there is felt around the catch release on the body side? There is felt that is above and below the film door catch release on my example and it makes the camera hard to open.

3. The rewind crank seems to missing its spring action. Can someone describe what provides the pressure on the rewind crank? It just flops open and close.

Thanks in advance and happy holidays.
Phil

 

[Jon Goodman]

It is difficult to say anything about the auto v manual mode question...can you give a bit more info? Essentially, if you set the camera for 1 second & f: 5.6 what happens? Does it look like the camera is doing what it should or no?

As for the light seal question, originally the latch end only had foam set into the trough below the latch pin. Please see here: http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/seal/Konica_AutoS2.pdf However, if you have 1mm self-adhesive fabric, you may add a line to the door as shown at the end of my instructions. If this was thicker than 1mm, it won't work. I've seen people try to use stuff they bought at a craft store for this purpose, and that is sadly a waste of time as well as money. The seal isn't needed as long as the other seal is reproduced/installed correctly, but all in all not a bad idea.

Good luck. Nice camera when working right. As for the rewind knob, usually there is a spring bar which holds the lever put. If it is installed upside down, it won't work, and some folks lose them.
Jon

 

[Phoenix Phil]

Jon,

Thanks for the link. The previous owner put the seal on the body side instead of the latch side as shown in your link. I think it is greater than 1mm thick too.

Regarding manual operation, I try to set it to 1 sec and f1.8 and the camera closed the aperture down to something like f4 or f5.6 (it was an indoor shot). It looks to be metering correctly in auto mode. But I was expecting that the camera would allow me to set any combination in manual mode, which it isn't doing.

Thanks
Phil