A Konica Weekend ahead

In the past, I was a Canon guy and now am a big Nikon guy. With that said, when my grandfather was still living he was a big Konica fan and we had many discussions about it. When he passed away in 2014, I specifically asked for-and was given-his Autoreflex TC that he had for years.

 

I loaded some Zinc-Air batteries in it and finished his last roll of film, but after developing it I sort of forgot about it.

 

Fast forward to the past few weeks, and I had a couple of things happen that made me think I SHOULD get the camera out and use it.

 

The only lens he had with it was a Hexanon 55mm f/3.5 Macro-an outstanding lens, but there again one I hadn't used. I recall seeing a Sears brand 70-210 at one point(he was a long time Sears employee), but that was nowhere to be found.

 

In any case, about a month ago I bought an F2S that had a "Hexagon"(yes, that's what it said in the description) 50mm f/1.7 jammed on it. That made me think of the camera again-it had been sitting on a shelf for a while, and I dusted it off and stuck that lens on it.

 

Then, last week, a member of my church texted me and said she had some lenses that wouldn't fit her camera and asked if I wanted them. She didn't say much more, but I said "sure" since I have at least one SLR in every common mount and figured I could at least put them to use. She left them on the front porch while I was out.

 

I got home and found two lenses in nice leatherette Konica cases waiting for me-one had a 135mm f/3.5 and the other a 2x TC.

 

If that wasn't enough to tell me I should get Autoreflex out, I don't know what.

 

So, this weekend I'll load it up and shoot a roll or two. Tri-X is definitely in the plans, but I think I have some 35mm Konica-branded color negative film back in the freezer that might be worth a shot(I know I have a bunch in 120).

 

I'll report back here with the results, but I'm looking forward to using this neglected camera.

I look forward to seeing your results. Konica has a special place with me. When my family owned a camera shop Konica was the first brand of camera we sold. Also, my first 35mm camera was a Konica Auto S2. Our first SLR line we had was the Konica Autoreflex T3 and A3. As the trend for compact cameras continued, the Konica Autoreflex T4 and TC hit the market. We sold quite a few, especially the TC. Good luck.

I have a TC. I don't know if they came in a black and chrome version, but mine is all black. It has a 40mm f/1.8 Hexanon AR lens that is almost, in my opinion, a pancake lens. I've seen people advertise them as pancakes but I think that 1 3/8" is too thick to qualify as a pancake. My TC seems to work well enough, but the meter is dead. New batteries didn't help. I've read that this is a weak point for Konica.

 

I got mine as part of a large lot I bought, along with 2 Konica T3's, although I wasn't specifically buying it for the Konicas. I like the light weight and compact size of the TC. It seems like it would be a pleasant camera to use, so I hope you enjoy yours.

 

One of my T3's is fully working and seems like a very well built higher end camera, but the other has a bad "shutter", so that takes away from the overall impression. I don't know why, but the mirror won't return on that one. I can pull it down, but it just goes back up. The shutter curtain is MIA, as well, so if I open the back, I can look right through the camera.

Thanks guys.

 

The TC reminds me a lot of cameras like the AE-1 or the Nikon FG, but unlike the former the shutter definitely is a point of pride. I know that Canon later switched to Copal-type shutters for the T series and Nikon had used them pretty much since the beginning of the Nikkormat line, but with the lone exception of the Canon EF, Konica definitely had an advertising point with the Copal square. When I was using an A-1 pretty extensively(my first SLR) my grandfather ALWAYS mentioned the shutter in his TC as a point of pride :) .

 

I too really like the size and weight of the TC. It reminds me a lot of an A-series Canon or Nikon FG.

 

As colors go, mine is black also.

The camera that caused me to get into photography was my brother's m42 mount Sears camera. I think it was a re-badged Konica. After using it a month, I took it to the camera store and said I wanted to buy a camera that functioned the same. They gave me an AE-1 and I still have it. Best of luck this weekend with the Konica.

As Konica dealers we handled cameras returned for warranty service. Never had an A3 or T3 returned, but a couple of T4's and at least one TC for-- you guessed it, metering. Apparently the "trap needle" AE lock was more trouble prone in those models.