Konica Model I, Made in Occupied Japan

[bmattock]

I obtained this camera recently from the first owner's granddaughter; he had purchased it in Japan just after WWII. It is a Konica I fixed-lens rangefinder with a Konirapid-S shutter (B-500) and a Konishiroku 50mm Hexar 1:2.8 lens. It is marked on the bottom "Made in Occupied Japan," and the leather case for it is likewise marked "Made in Occupied Japan." Serial number is 316XX, which I estimate makes it a fairly early post-war camera (please correct me if I am wrong on this).


Konica Model I by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr

I took this camera (along with my treasured Canon FX SLR) to Metamora-Hadley State Park yesterday, as the weather was nice for a change. I loaded it with expired Shantou ERA 100 B&W film, rated at EI 200. I used a Voigtlander 310/32 push-on lens hood, which seemed to fit well and based on the resulting photos, did its job without infringing on the frame. I used an external Sekonic L358 meter in reflective mode. Most photos were taken between 1/100 and 1/250 shutter speed and between f5.6 and f/16, as it was a fairly bright day.


Canon-2016-02-20-0008_v1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr


Canon-2016-02-20-0007_v1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr

The above shots were taken of the Konica with my Canon FX at f/1.4. Sorry for the over-the-top OOF effects.


Konica-2016-02-20-0033_v1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr


Konica-2016-02-20-0031_v1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr


Konica-2016-02-20-0029_v1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr


Konica-2016-02-20-0025_v1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr


Konica-2016-02-20-0024_v1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr

Konica-2016-02-20-0015_v1
by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr


Konica-2016-02-20-0018_edit by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr

The rest of the shots are here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wigwam/albums/72157664743051362/with/24540955534/

The Konica is a knob-wind camera with some rather primitive features. The shutter must be cocked manually on the lens for every shot. There is no double-exposure prevention, so you must train yourself to wind on after each shot, or you end up with either blank frames (wound on twice) or double-exposures like this one:


Konica-2016-02-20-0019_v1 by Wigwam Jones, on Flickr

On the whole, I really enjoyed using this camera. It is so solidly made, it feels like a little jewel in your hand. Winding is tight, but focusing is easy. This camera fortunately had been well-kept - the lens is bright and clean, the viewfinder is lovely, the rangefinder patch is contrasty and easy to focus. Shutter speeds all seem about right to me. I have no doubt I'll be using this camera quite a bit in the future; it's fun!

I did notice that compared to shots from my Canon FX with a Canon FL 50mm f/1.4 II lens, the Canon was much higher contrast, and to be honest, sharper.

However, that's not really a bad thing. The Konica is a product of its time; the Canon was made 20 years or so later and of course technology had marched on. The Hexar lens is plenty sharp and has enough contrast for me; but I could see where others might find it a bit old-fashioned for their tastes.

Hope you enjoyed my little exposition.

 

[Dante_Stella]

This is the second variant of the body and the second of the three lenses.

The Konica Standard is a modified Rubicon X-Ray camera. Same as yours but has no flash synch. It has a 50/3.5 Hexar. My Standard, which lives on the mantle, has a s/n <10,000 and is MIOJ.

The Konica I has a post-type flash sync (M only, if I recall), and you can see it with the 50/3.5 Hexar, the 50/2.8 Hexar, and the 50/2.8 Hexanon.

These are fun cameras. Not very much fun to adjust the RF (which is oddly similar to the one in the Hexar RF with its barrel prism), but when the viewfinder is good, it's quite contrasty. The 50/3.5 (at least) is a decent Tessar-sty;e lens. The shutter is a Compur-Rapid knockoff and not particularly hard to fix.

Dante

 

[venchka]

I have my father's Konica I No. 30897 with Hexar 1:3.5 f = 50mm lens No. 38622 sitting on my desk next to my keyboard. This is the first camera I ever used, with dad's instructions of course. I also have the Sekonic meter he used with this camera and Kodachrome II. While the Konica is in perfect working order, the meter died decades ago.
Film transport, shutter cocking and manual exposure counter aside, this is a solid camera. The rangefinder rivals my mint M5 and the leaf shutter is a treat. Shame on me for letting it sit idle. I must use it.

Wayne