Konica AutoReflex booklet Product booklet

with a telephoto lens and the admonition , "Try your hand        Japanese kids were lovely. But, Iike moppets everywhere,
 at picture taking with our new camera!"                              couldn't  care about a photographer's problems, running
  As we  all now know,  they had handed me the  first        from sunshine to shade and back again. In the past I would
 professional focal plane shutter 35mm SLR r,vith full expo-       have had endless changes of apertures and worries about
 sure automation, plus the ability to shoot full frame or half-         correct exposure. Not with the Auto-Reflex. I found myself
frame on the same roll.                                          chasing the kids with my camera and pushing the button
   Automation!  It freed me from one of                                                 excitedly every time  I focused and saw
the most worrisome and time consuming                                         what  I wanted in the way of expression
operations in picture-making. And there-                                        and attitude. All my exposures,in bright-
by hangs a tale.                                                                           est sun or full shade were right on the
  No  sooner did   I  leave the Konica                                          nose.
factory with the color-film loaded Auto-                                                                                  If the story ended here, that would be
Reflex, than  I spied a piece of colored                                         cause enough to give the Auto-Reflex my
paper wafting  its way downward, mak-                                                unqualified endorsement, but this amaz-
ing an interesting contrast with the wiry                                                           irrg camera came to the rescue again
branches of a tree. To stop the motion,                                                 with  its half-frame feature. In my excite-
I flipped the shutter speed dial to the                                           ment,  I had failed  to notice just how
right as far as it would go  (L/ 1000),                                                                   many shots  I had made.  I wanted  to                                                               Kitls  tktrt't  tur(   ulxtut
focused quickly and pushed the button.                                                      finish on the same type of film in order
I got a correctly exposed, sharp picture! In less time than  it          to get the same color values. It was my last roll (besides,I
takesfor you to read this. (with yesterday'scameras,I would           didn't have time to reload, even if  I had a spare roll ) . With
have missed the picture while   I  either took time out to        a flip of the switch to half-fram€,  I turned the remaining
measure the exposure or match a needle). On the way back        5 exposures on the roll into 10, and finished the sequence.
to my hotel, I spied a Tokyo cab driver with an interesting                  If  I sound enthusiasticit's only becausef'm always excited
face, in the vehicle next to mine. Once again, I jdst pointed,        about anything that will make  it possible for me to create
focused and pushed the button. And once again, the result       images without stopping to pull out a slide rule.
was a correctly exposed, spontaneouspicture.                       But  I am at the point now when  I will calm down to ask
  The final test came on a visit to a park in the Asakusa       you to examine the interesting features of the Konica Auto-
section of Tokyo.  I love to photograph children, and these        Reflex with me -  point by point.

www.butkus.us  Once you set EE position,you needneDer
                                                                              againtouch the diaphragmring.
1) ExposureAutomation
As I've intimated, once you've dialed the                              OK to shoot, so long as the needle is not
EE position on the lens barrel, you need                                                inside one of the red markers. With other
never go near the diaphragm ring again,                                           lenses it's OK  if the needle is opposite an
unless for some special reason of your                                             f/stop  actually obtainable with  the
own choosing. Exposure automation lets you continue shoot-      lenses you actually have. (Example:  If the needle is opposite
ing and capture the important moment even though the sun            f /2.8 and your lens is the 135mm  f /3.5 Hexanon, youd
        may suddenly slip behind a cloud, or your subject       better switch to a slower shutter speed!)
         emerges from shade into the sun.                    As I've already intimated, you're not tied to automation
            But you do have to do something, even though        for those special situations. If you want to go manual, simply
           not much. That  is to set the correct film speed       turn the diaphragm ring ofi EE and place it at the f/stop  of
          from ASA 8 to 800 on the ring provided  for this       your choosing, using the needle in the finder as a reference
          purpose, then choose a shutter speed. If you wish       point  to know how far from the norm you're departing for
            to stop action, simply choose a high shutter speed.       special effect.
         The correct f/stop  will be selected automatically.         And,  if for some special reason you wish to pinpoint your
                  If  you want  greater depth  of  field, choose a      exposures critically with close-up readings, this is easy too.
          slower shutter speed. The correct f/stop  will  still       With  the lens on EE, move the meter close to the portion
         be set automatically.   If you want  to check the        of the subject you wish to read. Now depress the shutter
          depth  of field visually, turn the diaphragm  ring       release gently   till  the needle locks. Finally,  holding  the
          manually to the f/stop  indicated by the needle in      needle in place, move back, focus, compose and ffnish the
           the window  and press in on the depth  of  field       stroke on the release lever. This kind of technique  is valu-
          preview  lever. A  flip back to the EE setting will       able with backlighted subjects where you want extra shadow
           put  the exposure automation  in operation once        detail; with small very light subjects against Iarge dark back-
          more.                                               grounds, or small very dark subjects against a light back-
             During  all these operations, the needle in the       ground.
         window  will  let you know at what f/stop  you're       And last but not least, the meter needle will always indi-
           shooting.  It  will  also tell you  if  it's safe or not       cate the  correct  f/stop,  making   it  equally  useful when
            to shoot. With  the extremely fast f / L4 lens, it's      working with Konica manual or preset lenses.
           This cumera tells you what it's
          doing . . . not uohatyort mu.stdo.

3) LoadingAND the Often ForgottenUnloading          4) All MetalFocalPlaneShutter
             Earlier  I made a point of not having to unload as frequently              It's the latest Copal Square S, and  it synchs electronic flash
          when half-frame shooting was put into operation. But in the          at speeds up to L/L25. This is not just a statistic! If you've
           Konica Auto-Reflex, loading and. unloading  is simple, not a         ever tried shooting an electronic fash exposure of an action
            chore. Let's start with the basket-weave Insta-Grip Loading          subject in relatively bright  light,  you'll know what  I mean.
            (IGL)  spool. This innovation  lets you slip the leader of the        To be sure, the electronic flash will stop motion. But at the
,t            film into any of an entire series of grooves. You don't have        slow shutter speeds at which most focal plane shutters syn-
 I            to look for a thin slot, try to fumble your way to attach the         chronize electronic flash, a blurred ghost image is recorded
              fflm to a little hook or go through any of the usual maneuvers        by  the  existing  light. The  I/I25   second electronic fash
         when loading the Auto-Refex. The film end is firmly gripped         synchronization of the Copal Square S shutter does much
            the moment you slip  it into the Insta-Grip takeup spool.              to minimize and indeed eliminate this trouble.
              This is great in itself, but to my delight   I made another                   If you use expendable flashbulbs, you're in luck too. The
            discovery that made me feel good the first time  I unloaded        Konica Auto-Reflex synchs these at  all speeds up  to and
            the Konica Auto-Reflex. In the usual35mm setup you pull up         including f/1000  second.
            the takeup knob after rewinding,  in order to free the car-           For your convenience, there are two  separate, plainly
             tridge for removal. This can be a traumatic experience, and        marked synch outlets on front  of the Auto-Refex, one for
            often  is. Cartridges are hard to grip and pull  out. So you          electronic, the other  for expendable fash.  There are no
            often either try pulling   it out by the felt  lip portion at the         switches to throw. Outlets are of the standard PC type.
              risk of fogging the film, or turn the camera upside down         A metal focal plane shutter makes for durability.   If you
          and drop the film into your hand (more often, on the floor).         operate in the tropics or other wet climates you'll appreciate
              In the Konica Auto-Reflex, there are no such problems. First          that fungus cannot destroy the blades of the Copal Square S
              of all, you don't have to pull up the takeup knob. Secondly,          shutter, nor can pinholes develop from the wide variety of
            the bottom of the film chamber is contoured to let you sim-        sources that seem to plague the photographer on the go. And
             ply  lift the exposed film out via the edge of the cartridge.           like all previous Copal Square Shutters, the S measures time
          And presto! Y<ru'reready to reload your Auto-Reflex.                 with  utter accuracy.

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5) Full Lenslnterchangeability
The Auto-Reflex is the only focal plane shutter 35mm SLR
that has full exposure automation plus unrestricted choice
of lens focal length interchangeability. Because it uses a
focal plane shutter, the variety of focal lengths and types it
can accept are not restricted, as is generally the case with
leaf-shutter lens interchangeability.
  Konica supplies fine lenses for the Auto-Reflex in focal
lengths ranging from a 2lmm   f /4 Hexanon to l000mm. In
this series there is a 47 to 100mm f /3.5 Y-Zoom Hexanon
EE lens, that retains needle-sharpfocus throughout its zoom
range. Of the entire series 6 lenses couple to the Konica
Auto-Reflex exposure automation. Meanir,g, you don't have
to re-set your electric eye when changing lenses.These Are:   Lenses from 27 to 7000ntm
2lmm  t/4  Automatic Hexanon; 35mm  f /2.8  Automatic   47plus-100ntman amazinglyzoom lenssharp
Hexanon; 135mm f /3.5 Automatic Hexanon; 57mm  f /L4          f or half -f r ame shooting.
Hexanon; 52m^f   / l.B Hexanon and the 47 - l00mmf /3.5
\/ -Zoom Hexanon.
   I've had the opportunity to test and use Konica Hexanon
lenses.N{y fir'strecent experiencewith these was in personal
tests of the rangefinder Auto-S. At that time  I felt that the
performance left little to be desired. Today, f remain con-
vinced that  I can depend on these lenses,rrade in Japan's
oldest, yet among the most highly sophisticated,camera and
lens factories, to girre me superb results.

6) Easy,Bright Focusingand Composing
                  The secret ingredient  is the Microdiaprism  portion  of the
                      Auto-Reflex's focusing screen. This consists of 1728 micro-
                      scopic prisms.  If the image is out of focus a moir6like  pat-
                        tern appears. The moment your lens is brought  into sharp
                       focus, the pattern disappears. The really sharp character o17728 microscopic
prisms help make     Hexanon lenses makes this operation a decisive one. I never
                        ffnd it necessary to rock the lens to and fro, going from sharp
                         to unsharp and back again in order to find the sharpest point
                        via a process of elimination. In the Microdiaprism  area, the
                   image is either "in" or "out"  of the ballpark, no ifs, buts or
                  maybes.
                       Surrounding the Microdiaprism  you'll note a doughnut-
                   shaped plain groundglass area. The balance of the focusing
                    screen is of the fresnel groundglass variety. These areas are
                     provided  for such things as checking depth of field, and for
                   use with extra long focal length lenses.
                          Visible  in the finder are two engraved lines demarking
                      the half-frame area. On moving the half-frame switch, two
                        triangular marks show up at the top of these lines, letting
                   you know you are shooting the smaller size.
                      Needless to say, the image  in the Konica Auto-Reflex
                        finder is bright, and undistorted right to the corners. As an
                     eyeglass wearer, I can testify that  I can clearly see the entire
                      focusing screen for precise focus and composing.
                        Last but not least, the needle in the finder tells you the
                        f/stop  you're using. (As described in the section on EE
                      operation.)

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                                                         E --t:r t1thirrg tl t t : t:c r,suti Ic
                                                                                  pluttttgrulirL'r clukl usk t'or





                                                                                E y e P i e c e C o r r e c t i o n  L e n s e s

7) A Full Lineof Accessories
If  all you ever owned were a Konica Auto-Reflex
with a normal 52m^   f / 1.8 or 57mm  f /I.4  Hexa'
non lens, )'ou could easily make fine, outstanding
pictures. But as you become more advanced, it's a
comfort to knorv that a full line of Konica acces-
sories is available to help you carry out special
tasks. These are perfectly matched to the camera
both optically and mechanically. Included here are
a microscope adirpter; bellows; slide copier; exten-                                                           A n g l e F r n d e r
sion tubes; close-up supplementary lenses; right
angle r,'ieu'finder; accessory shoe and a host of                                                            A c c e s s o r - y S h o e
other useful devices for the versatile photographer.





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