koniflex vs. yashica mat

[flip]

I'm wondering if anyone has comparative experience with these two cameras and can offer comments on the relative strengths.

With thanks,
Phil

 

[Moto-Uno]

Just own the YashicaMat (3 actually),Yashinon lens are fine glass,they are plentiful,not too much seems to go wrong.They work well enough I gave one to my daughter and she loves it. Highly recommended!!!
Regards,Peter

 

[flip]

Out here, you get the lot from topconflex to olympusflex and all the rest. Mostly 75mm. That's appealing, but being a konica guy, I will likely keep it in the family.

 

[Mablo]

Koniflex must be super rare. UK *bay looks like it never had one listed.

 

[flip]

it's 85/3.5

 

[Krosya]

Yashica Mat is a well known camera and many, including me have used it. Good , solid camera, good lens. Not my favorite, but still a good choice, IMO.
Koniflex - rare. Dont have personal experience with one. It looks like a good camera and they had several kinds - I think it was version II that had interchangable backs, lenses, etc. If you have one - pls post some pics from it, would be nice to see how good the lens is. I have a feeling - its a good one.

 

[fotobiblios]

yes koniflex are super rare -- at least 3 versions but all v similar except one allowed change of the 85mm with a 135mm (screw in lens front) total numbers produced v small. - however an excellent camera and many years ago Jason Schneider rated the 5 element Hexanon as one of the very best. (never heard of interchangeable backs -- sure you aren't referring to the Koni-omegoflex 6x7?)

danny

 

[flip]

yes koniflex are super rare -- at least 3 versions but all v similar except one allowed change of the 85mm with a 135mm (screw in lens front) total numbers produced v small. - however an excellent camera and many years ago Jason Schneider rated the 5 element Hexanon as one of the very best. (never heard of interchangeable backs -- sure you aren't referring to the Koni-omegoflex 6x7?)

danny

I know I mean koniflex. 🙂

 

[KoNickon]

This camera is on my "life list" -- I'd love to have one since I understand it's got a fine lens (no surprise). So in terms of a comparison between a Yashica Mat and a Koniflex, it seems to me it's almost an illusory matter since finding a Koniflex would be a feat in itself.

 

[fotobiblios]

sorry flip -- regarding interchangeable backs for Koniflex -- just that I'd not heard of them for Koniflex -- for plate film use like Rollei or 35mm film, or mid roll change?? -- do you know how they fit on? -- I have two Koniflexes and except possibly for a Rollei-type plate film or glass pressure plate, I cannot see how they would fit

regards -- danny

 

[Marinne]

I got a KONIFLEX (type I) in early 2012. It IS rare. In late 2011 I searched the entire eBay ,Taobao and Yahoo! Taiwan/HK/Japan for months but could not find even one listed for sale. Finally I got one from Yahoo! Auction Japan. The condition is Ok. Not too expensive (30,000 YEN), but very difficult to find.

One of the ways to realize the rareness of KONIFLEX is to search it on Flickr. If you pay attention to the search result you'll find:

1. There are only about 300 images totally.
2. These 300+ images are uploaded by about only 5 users.
3. Among these 5+ users there is only one who is still actively using it, contributing 80% of the 300+ images (that's me 😀)

I've read somewhere on the web that one of the reasons Konica has produced and sold only a small amount of Koniflex is the price tag. It's priced unusually high in its age.

It's my first and currently only TLR so sorry I can not give you advice on how it compares to Yashica Mat. But if you ask me if I like this camera, the answer is: Definitely!

To me the quality of the Hexanon lens is good. I only use a conservative "good" instead of "excellent" or "extremely good" because sometimes I feel there is a degrade of image quality on the edges of the image, especially when the edge is out of the depth of field. I could not describe it precisely but if you are interested, these are some examples (notice the edge of the images):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marinne-_-/9655947118/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marinne-_-/8305675721/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Not sure if it's only my Koniflex that has this issue or all other Koniflex also have it. But overall I'm still satisfied with the image quality. Mostly the images are very sharp.


(To those who want to own a KONIFLEX: Forget about eBay. Right now there are 3 items for sale on Yahoo! Auction Japan! Check it out)