Possibly My Favorite Rangefinder? Konica IIIA

Konica IIIA

Konica IIIA

I also have a Konica IIIA which I purchased from Greg Weber back in the mid 90's based on a review by Dante Stella; unfortunately, the review is no longer visible on-line. Mine is in the same condition as yours. Agree that it is a wonderful camera, but heavy. I've exposed several rolls of B&W in it recently; images are very sharp, a testament to the f/1.8 lens.
Colorado CJ said:
I just picked up an immaculate Konica IIIA. I've been looking for one for some time. Either they were pretty beat up, or price plus shipping was too high. I finally found one in excellent condition and it arrived Saturday.

It looks GREAT, but there was a problem. Shutter speeds were all over the place. Yesterday I took the lens assembly and shutter apart for a thorough cleaning. What surprised me when I took it apart, was that I found an extra leaf in the shutter. There were six shutter leaves with only room for five. Two shutter leaves must have been stuck together when this one was built at the factory.

After a good few hours of soaking in naptha, the shutter assembly was as clean as new. After putting everything back together, now all the shutter speeds are accurate.

For a camera this old, it is in like new condition. I wonder if that extra shutter leaf made this camera not work correctly so it was relegated to a shelf some where. It certainly looks like it didn't get much use.

And yes, the rangefinder is HUGE, BRIGHT and a pleasure to look through.

I've loaded it up with some film and will be shooting a roll or two today. I'll post back once I get some shots with it.

Oh, and this one has the nice 50mm 1.8 Hexanon lens.

What a beauty. Probably one of the nicest looking rangefinders I've seen.

Konica IIIA by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

Konica IIIA 2 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

Konica IIIA 3 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr
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