Konica Auto S2 / S3? - best lens fixed RF cameras?

[denmark.yuzon]

Im yet to find a good Konica III, there are some in evilbay... but i always lose out because i dont want to pay higher than what my budget is.. the KAS2 gave me GAS over konica cameras..

 

[btgc]

Im yet to find a good Konica III, there are some in evilbay

Unless they have broken parts, these gems are easy to revive. III is solid, sturdy piece of metal with inscriptions of glass.

I'd suggest to ask seller of "as is" camera if aperture works (tell which ring to move and if iris seen from film compartment increases/decreases and has regular shape). Frozen shutter isn't hard to cure.

 

[denmark.yuzon]

Unless they have broken parts, these gems are easy to revive. III is solid, sturdy piece of metal with inscriptions of glass.

I'd suggest to ask seller of "as is" camera if aperture works (tell which ring to move and if iris seen from film compartment increases/decreases and has regular shape). Frozen shutter isn't hard to cure.

is it going to be easy to "do-it-myself" kind of repair?

i have always been scared of opening my cameras.. i have a busted minolta hi-matic 7s with a very wobbly lens and a stuck aperture ring.. you would have to hold the lens back in to fire the shutter..

i found one seller, jiri-e, which sold one konica III, in good condition, but it went out of my budget..

 

[btgc]

is it going to be easy to "do-it-myself" kind of repair?

i found one seller, jiri-e, which sold one konica III, in good condition, but it went out of my budget..

hm...it depends on what needs to be done and what you are ready to do yourself. If you have not opened leaf-shutter FL RF's before, I'd suggest to pick up cheaper training camera, like Yashica Lynx 5000 or Konica Auto S/S2 ($10 in non-working as-is condition) - if you get lucky, you will have also good camera in addition to experience.

Those in North America can find famous cameras, III including for next to nothing in yard sales and charity shops, while most of us outside US/CA have to rely on ebay supplies.

 

[denmark.yuzon]

hm...it depends on what needs to be done and what you are ready to do yourself. If you have not opened leaf-shutter FL RF's before, I'd suggest to pick up cheaper training camera, like Yashica Lynx 5000 or Konica Auto S/S2 ($10 in non-working as-is condition) - if you get lucky, you will have also good camera in addition to experience.

Those in North America can find famous cameras, III including for next to nothing in yard sales and charity shops, while most of us outside US/CA have to rely on ebay supplies.

okay.. thanks! i will try my best!

 

[lawrence]

I have a soft spot for the Auto S3 as I took some of my favourite photos with one. Yes, it had a great lens and the flash was close to it, so not too much shadow (the second photo looks almost like it was taken with a ring flash).

 

[denmark.yuzon]

Nice photos! I cant wait to get my test roll developed!

 

[lawrence]

There was another thread about the Auto S3 a few years ago:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=709

 

[jazzwave]

I'm using S2 now , its better than Canon QL and Yasica. Hexanon give superb image quality(some people said it's Leica class lens) .So you ca choose S2 or S2 depend on your purposes and what focal lenght do you like.

I prefer to use S2 bucause longer focal lenght than S3, so I can use for potrait and street .

 

[luiman]

I don't know if this is the best lens fixed RF camera, but my first experience with the Konica Auto S2 was terrifying: I really like the performance of this lens. I I like also the Olympus RC, but Hexanon seems even better ...

 

[caspert79]

I really like the Auto S2. It's well build and takes stunning pictures. Unfortunately mine was involved in an accident, and is broken beyond repair. The lens is still good however, I'm currently trying to rebuild it to fit my Olympus E-P1 🙂

I've also owned the Auto S3, which is a great camera, as well as the Revue 400SE and the Vivitar 35ES. The close resemblance between these camera's (as well as the Hi-Matic 7sII) has often been noted. In fact, I think, these camera's might even share the same lens. I could never tell the difference between images taken with each of these camera's (I think the focal length is actually the same). Nevertheless, image quality is great.

Still, my favorite fixed-lens rangefinder is my Yashica Lynx 14E. It's superfast, takes great pictures, and it's just a lovely big chunk of metal and glass.

 

[GSNfan]

I recently bought a Yashica GSN that turned out to be useless, so I kept searching and came upon a very clean Konica Auto S2 in excellent condition with a leather case and very well-kept. The price was very good. Had the GSN turned out to be ok, I would have never got the Konica auto S2. I got something even better than what I wanted for Christmas. 🙂

i didn't even bother to brush some of the dust and took this pic. otherwise the lens is flawless.

 

[lxmike]

I call it the Gandy effect, on becomming a cameraquest profile, prices rise dramatically. Konica S3 are seriously expensive at the moment, unfortunately

 

[lxmike]

I might add, if your not after fast glass I would recommend the Olympus 35 RC

 

[GSNfan]

I have long fingers and larger RFs such as Yashica Electro series and MF RFs are the ones that fit perfectly in my hand, while smaller RFs feel fiddly. So KS2 is almost perfect for my hands.

I also have an evil plan. The GSN that I bought came with a wide angle lens adopter. I'm going to buy a step up ring (57mm to 55mm) and use the GSN lens adopter on my KS2, thus making its lens 38mm which enables me to use all of its viewfinder. KS2 is already pretty large and in fact the lens adopter will balance it nicely.

 

[GSNfan]

In fact I don't even need a step up ring, the Yashica wide angle lens adopter fits perfectly!

sorry for b&w pics. my p&s default is set to b&w.

 

[wakarimasen]

The S3 has some magic flash capabilities the S2 lacks. The S2 may feel more solid in you hands but the S3 is just about the perfect size for a carry every where.

Run a roll through to check the shutter and seals. You should be able to fake out the battery with a small O-ring around the battery.

B2 (;->

I'm interested in the comment about using an o-ring around the battery. I thought one connection was in the bottom of the battery chamber and the other was the part that surrounds the circumference of the battery. Is that not correct?

Best regards,
RoyM

 

[btgc]

KAS2 has got nice lens but ergonomically is step back after Konica III - little too big, ratcheted advancing is loud (though I like it's short), DOF scale is very small and placed awkwardly so one can not see it without turning camera upwards, shutter release is stiff and has long travel. VF is good, though. Sliding lens hood tends to slip closer to body - need to check it regularly.

I'm going to sell my Electro 35G and KAS2 and stay with KIII.

 

[Matus]

I got a Konica S3 recently - really nice little camera. It took me a while to find the correct way to hold it and focus it. Probably because of its light weight and rather long shutter push-action I found that it is rather easy to move the camera in the very instance of taking the image. I ordered a soft release for it and try to be more careful too.

The photos that were not shaken look nice indeed. I hope to have some on my flickr after Christmas.

I am also trying to locate the X-20 flash - seems to be hard to find.