Minolta 7s II or Konica S3

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unkabin

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Hi, this is my first post. I'm choosing a rangefinder right now, and after some looking around, I'm leaning toward one of the above. Does anyone have experience with both? I've used a Minolta XE-1 SLR happily for a lot of years now, so I am keen on older Minolta equipment. I've heard raves about the 7s II lens, but of the Konica, I've heard mostly about the ambient-light flash metering (which appeals to me). Opinions about these two lenses (or cameras in general)?

Thanks.
 
I'd choose between S3's superb Hexanon lens + flash ability and 7s][ also very good lens and manual override.
 
Facts: The 7SII will cost you less in chrome, but, a lot more in black. The S3 comes in black only. The S3 has less distortion in the viewfinder. The 7SII has full manual controls without battery. The S3 has mechanical flash coupling. The S3 has a slightly wider lens. The wider is a bit noisier on the S3

My 2c: I love the look and feel of my S3. I wish it had full manual control without a battery (remember it takes mercury batteries -- unless you get it modified). I care less about the flash coupling, though it does work! The lens, and camera finish are great. Now days, my favorite rangefinder is the Konica III. No batteries, great lens, great viewfinder.
 
As mentioned, the 7SII is fully mechanical and can run without batteries. And I think the Rokkor is just about the same grade as the Hexanon. I compared the 7SII and the S2 (same lens as the S3) and found them to be neck by neck in all aspects. I don't like auto cameras as they limit your creativity. So it's got to be the 7SII.
 
Windscale, I'm not about catching you. I guess that S3's lens has stronger coating, not sure though.
 
I own the Konica S3, and I don't like at all the lack of manual override.

Manual override is not to be confused with no-battery capability, which is another issue that does not concern me.

My issue is the lack of manually setting for both the aperture and speed. You only have a speed ring to set and then you get the corresponding f/stop without legal appeal. Therefore you have to eat each exposure gross mistake, or start doing triple manoueuvres with the iso speed lever, or start looking into the grounds for a piece of something that will resemble the light combination (our famous Exposure Index story again!) you are looking for.

Yet the Konice is hold by many as having the better optics, superb by itself.

But in case you go for the Konica, you can contact me for business.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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Thanks for the quick responses.

Honestly, I hadn't considered the fully manual ability of the 7s II very strongly in my considerations, since there is no meter available in manual mode. This lack in these small, fixed-lens rangefinders has been my biggest surprise/disappointment.

Hearing your opinions so far, I may just let this decision boil down to price and condition.

Thanks.
 
I own th 7S

I own th 7S

I got it recently, the images are excellent and and colour rendition is sublime. The downside is that the ergonomics are rubbish and the lens vignets even at f8 but no considerably. It cost me $40 so I think it was great value.
 
I tilt to the Konica cameras. I went overboard and I ended up with:
Auto S, S2, S3. plus the all mechanical I, II, III, and IIIM. The lenses are awesome, and the viewfinder in the III and IIIM are unbelievingly bright.
 
I have never used the S3, but recently got a 7SII. I find the vf pretty difficult when wearing spectacles. There is significant barrel distoration. While that doesn't affect pictures, it's annoying. But the big problem is that the meter needle is difficult to see when I wear glasses. I haven't tried it while wearing my contacts, so that might change my opinion.

The meter seems accurate, as it has Minolta's CLC system, plus there is exposure lock. The lack of metered manual in this class of RF is a bit of a disappointment, but really, you can get a base reading on auto and then switch to manual and just compensate as lighting or scene changes.

And I do agree that the ergonomics of the Minolta are not fabulous, but they are better than the Olympus 35RC. The RC blows VF blows the Minolta away, though.

Having metered manual in my Olympus 35SPs is a big advantage, though! 😀
 
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unkabin,

Welcome to the forum. You have hit on one of this forum's recurring debates. The battle between the Konica S3 and the Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII has appeared more than once with the same results. No clear winner when it comes to lens quality and feature sets. My adives is to check out the well done reviews on these cameras on Stephen Gandy's CameraQuest site under Compact 35's.

Personally, I can only speak to the Hi-Matic 7sII. I really like this camera. It handles nicely and I like shooting shutter priority cameras. The controls are easy to use and the shutter release is nice. The camera is deceptively quiet. The first time I released the shutter, I thought that I had a misfire and that nothing had happened. The lens is great with a good angle of view. The difference between 40mm and 38mm is not very appreciable in real world shooting. However, the Hi-Matic's 40mm field of view may have slightly more "composed" feel and the 38mm more of a "snapshot" quality. That the camera does not use a Guide Number Flash system is not a bother if you pair it with one of the Minolta Electroflash Auto units. I use the well matched Auto 14 with the camera. Set the aperture indicated by the flash and the flash varies the stobe's brightness based on distance to the subject. As to unmetered manual, it is great to have as a backup, but I have yet to use it.


The balance between personal preference, i.e. camera styling and shooting style, price, condition and availability are going to be your deciding factors and not any great difference between the cameras.
 
I had both, despite being a big fan of the Hexanon lenses, the one on the Auto S3 just doesn't impress me at all. The one on the much cheaper Konica C35 is better (to my eyes, of course).

The 7sII is definitely my pick given the choices. Outside, do look for an Olympus 35 RD, to me, its blow-by-blow the equal of the 7sII.
 
unkabin said:
Hi, this is my first post. I'm choosing a rangefinder right now, and after some looking around, I'm leaning toward one of the above. Does anyone have experience with both? I've heard raves about the 7s II lens, but of the Konica, I've heard mostly about the ambient-light flash metering (which appeals to me). Opinions about these two lenses (or cameras in general)?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Welcome. Odd comment. The Konica Auto S3's claim to fame is its lens, which I can attest to.

Everyone praises the Hexanon lens which reportedly gets between 62 and 82 lpi, which is amazingly high performance (Leica-class) for a compact rangefinder.
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?KonicaAutoS3.html~mainFrame


The six element four group lens is an exceptional performer, called "one of the best semi-wide angle optics of its speed we have ever tested" by Modern Photography. Amazingly, ALL apertures had center values between 64 to 82 lines per mm.
http://www.cameraquest.com/kons3.htm
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