Konica Autoreflex TC

<p>Hi everyone,<br>

I am new to photography and I was wondering if Sony Alpha lenses will fit a Konica Autoreflex TC SLR camera because finding lenses for this camera is becoming very difficult. Also I have a Besler Topcon D-1 and one of the lenses that came with it is a Vivitar Auto 2x Custom Tele-Converter model 2X-15 is that used for macro photography?</p>

<p>1. Konica mount and "Konica-Minolta" mount are totally different so obviously you can not mount a Sony Alpha lens on the TC</p>

<p>2. I doubt that anyone would ever make an adapter for that</p>

<p>3. Your tele converter is to double the focal length of your lens, not to allow your lens to focus closer (macro)</p>

<p>4. The 40mm 1.8 is very common to be sold together with the TC on the bay</p>

<p>5. Use Konica Hexanon lens to keep Shutter Priority AE feature</p>

<p>6. Goto Classical Camera Forum for more info</p>

<p><a href="http://www.buhla.de/Foto/Konica/eKonicaStart.html">More info</a> on Konica SLR cameras & lenses. I believe Konica has a short flange distance and can be relatively easily adapted to other lenses including M42 though you'll lose shutter-priority operation and you'll have to stop the lens down yourself -- <strong><em>if</em></strong> you can find the adapter.</p>

<p>KEH.com (well recommended) usually has a decent range of Konica AR-mount (I have assumed this stands for Auto Reflex) lenses, often labeled 'Hexanon'. Plentiful on e-bay as well, sometimes with camera bodies included. The more common ones are a real bargain in terms of quality for money.</p>

<p>T-mount or Tamron Adapt-all adapters for AR seem readily available...these would expand the sorts of lenses you can mount on an AR body.</p>

<p>A tele-converter like that is not a lens intended to be used by itself--it is mounted between the lens and the body to alter the image produced by the main lens. It has the primary purpose of effectively doubling the focal length of the lens you attach to it, so a 50mm lens would offer a field of view like a 100mm lens at a cost of two stops of light (e.g. a f/2.8 lens would transmit light like a f/5.6 lens). It may also have magnification benefits for macro photography.</p>

 

<p>Konica Tc is a very good camera - I have one sitting in my office - problem with mine is that I can't get the batteries any longer due to the US ban on mercury in batteries. Good thing about the camera is that the only thing you need the battery for is metering... that was one of my driving factors in selecting that body vs. the competition at the time.</p>

<p>Lenses can usually be found fairly cheaply on E-bay.</p>

<p>Since the Konica TC is 30 plus years old and they had a unique mount even for back then... I doubt that there is an adaptor for them.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>Like Andrew said, keh.com should have lots of Konica mount lenses at very low prices. Konica SLR's were very popular before autofocus took over.</p>

<p>Hi Marcos...... I have the Konica TC and FS1 with an assortment of lenses and did the exercise some time ago to see if I could use these lenses on my Sony DSLR. Unfortunately the simple answer is NO. There is nothing out there to support this thought. I even contacted a company in the UK that makes converter plates, and in all their years of business they had never had the request. They were prepared to try, if I sent a lens over to them but advised that any conversion would result in a manual focus only and that I may well lose a few f/stops.<br>

I didn't bother. Incidently I still have the lenses if you are interested.....email me.<br>

Regards</p>

<p>When Konica and Minolta merged each had their own lens mount. The Minolta line was continued and the Konica SLR's were dropped (they may even have been discontinued before the merger). When Sony took over the Minolta camera division they continued the Minolta mount, but the Konica mount was long since gone.</p>

<p>Hi Marcos,<br>

This camera has Konica's proprietary mount called the K/AR mount. As the K/AR mount is not in widespread use, these lenses are some of the cheapest available. The best lenses by far for this system are Konica's own lenses. These are called Hexanon, which was the Konica in-house brand name for its lenses (like Olympus-Zuiko, Minolta-Rokkor, Nikon-Nikkor and Pentax-Takumar). Hexanon lenses had an outstanding reputation for optical quality in the 1970s and 1980s. They are probably the best deal on the market right now in terms of value for the dollar, especially in the US.<br>

Besides Hexanons, all third-party lens makers made lenses with the K/AR mount. These include makers like Tokina, Tamron, Kiron and Sigma. A great quantity of their lenses were also sold under other name brands, notably Vivitar, Soligor, Sun, Asanuma, Bushnell, Makinon, and scores of others. The third party lenses are usually even cheaper than the Hexanons. They are usually very decent lenses, while some are excellent, like the Vivitar Series 1 line. <br>

Do remember though that lenses that have anything to do with Minolta will not fit your camera. The K/AR mount was discontinued in 1987, while the short lived Konica-Minolta association lasted from 2003 to 2006. Often sellers on the bay refer to K/AR mount lenses as Konica-Minolta lenses on the bay. They are not.<br>

You will find the TC is a joy to use. Have fun with it. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>One more thing:<br>

For more information about the Konica SLR system, see Andreas Buhl's site: <a href="http://buhla.de/Foto/Konica/eKonicaStart.html">http://buhla.de/Foto/Konica/eKonicaStart.html</a><br>

There is also a lot of interesting information about Hexanon lenses on Denis Graham's site: <a href="http://cybernetdenis.net/lenses.htm">http://cybernetdenis.net/lenses.htm</a><br>

There is a Yahoo discussion list devoted to the Konica SLR system with many knowledgeable and friendly<br />Konica buffs: <a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/konicaslr/">http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/konicaslr/</a><br>

If you know French, you may also find this site interesting: <a href="http://konica.awardspace.com/">http://konica.awardspace.com/</a></p>

 

KONICA AUTOREFLEX TC

fully mechanical shutter, B 8 15 30 60 125 250 500 1000

ASA 25 50 100 200 400 800 1600

LENS KONICA HEXANON AR 50mm F1.7

APERTURE 1.7 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16

 

MADE IN JAPAN DIAMETER 55mm FILTER THREAD

My very first SLR was a KONICA AUTOREFLEX T with HEXANON F1.7 LENS

Ancient thread but I'll just add that I recently acquired an Autoreflex TC with a Hexanon 55mm macro lens. Nice camera and lens.

 

Now there's a label near the battery cover with a dire warning about only using 1.35V Mercury cells. In the event I fitted two 1.5V PX625 alkaline cells and was surprised to find that the metering was pretty accurate.

I have an Autoreflex TC, which a nephew gave me a few years ago - someone at his work was going to dump it. It came with 2 zoom lenses, and a Konica macro lens, none of which looked like they had been used.