The Konica IIIA – One of Konica’s Best

I’ve talked about Konica before on the site – last year when I did a review of the AutoReflex T3. And how I thought that they’re not always given enough credit for pushing the envelope of what cameras can actually do. Konica can trace its roots back to the early 1870s when it began as a pharmacy that eventually got into the business of selling photographic products. And by 1903, they were producing their own camera. And what do we owe to Konica? Well, for the Konica AutoReflex of the late 1960s – it being the first 35mm focal-plane shutter SLR to use shutter-priority auto exposure. And in the 1970s, they were the first to market for a true autofocus camera – the Konica C35. And they were the first to market with a camera with a built-in winder. These are all big camera-evolution moments because these features would eventually become standard on almost all cameras. But between 1947 and 1960, they also gifted the photography world with a series of rangefinders with excellent build quality.

They started with the Konica I around 1947. Actually, at that point, it was just called the Konica. It used a retractable 50mm lens (either a 3.5 or 2.8 version), and over the next few years there would be a ton of minor changes made. Some were marked “made in occupied Japan”, later ones were just marked “made in Japan”. Shutter markings might be different, minor things like that. But the camera was basically the same.

In 1951, the Konica II was released. It also used a retractable lens – this time a 50mm 2.8 Hexanon lens. Then there was the Konica IIb (lowercase B) which was a bit of a budget version which sported a 50mm 3.5 Hexar in place of the Hexanon

In 1956, the Konica IIA was released as the new top of the line model. It’s highlight was the use of a brand new 48mm f/2 Hexanon lens that was fixed and not retractable like the earlier models. And there was also the Konica IIB (uppercase B) that was again a more budget model sporting a 45mm 3.5 Hexar lens.

Up to this point, advancing the film and cocking the shutter were two separate steps. But also in late 1956, the Konica III was released. And it was a step up from the II models by way of a single lever advancing the film and cocking the shutter at the same time. And this lever wasn’t on the top of the camera, but mounted on the front of the camera. And this model also sported the fancy f/2 lens.

Now with all of these different models 1, 2, and 3 and all the little variations within the model series’ – like Uppercase B, lowercase b, etc, etc – makes for a very confusing and overwhelming number of choices to contend with if you’re interested in buying one of these. BUT, I’m going to make it simple. What you’re gonna want to get your hands on is…the Konica IIIA -uppercase A. Because it’s not just a sub-model of the Konica III series. It’s different enough that it could’ve been it’s own series. It was released in 1958, and it has a much better viewfinder than the previous models. But the story’s not done! The following year – 1959 – saw the release of the Konica IIIM. It added a meter AND the ability to shoot in half-frame mode. And that was the last one of the series.

Man, I thought going through all the different versions of the Minolta SRT series was complicated. But I’ve just barely scratched the surface on all these. The Konicas could be a camera collector’s dream – or nightmare – depending on how you look at it.

The standard lens again was the 48mm f/2 version – which is what I have here. But, Konica also had the option of a 50mm 1.8 lens – and that was the fastest lens that had been offered so far. Both lenses are coated, 6-element designs based on the Zeiss Planar.

I’ve read that the 50 1.8 was for the export market and the 48 f/2 was for the domestic Japanese market. And I’m wondering that if that is the case, why would it be? If you know the answer to that, please let me know in the comments.

The shutter on both of the available lenses is a Seikosha MXL. However the one of the 50mm version is larger. And one difference that I’ve read about AND one you might need to be aware of is that the Seikosha shutter on the 48mm version is harder to repair these days due to a lack of parts. Apparently, the shutter on the 50mm is more common and easier to repair if the need should arise.

Check out the video below for the full review and photoshoot with the Konica IIIA.

Now, historically, I’ve not been much of a rangefinder user. I always like to crop my shots in-camera without leaving a lot of extra space to deal with later. So I’m trying to get more acclimated to not trying to frame everything up in the finder. Having parallax-correcting frame lines in the viewfinder is great. But I still need to loosen up on my framing just a little bit so I have some room to play around with cropping after the fact.  But, this is strictly a “ME” problem, not a camera issue.

As for the Konica 3A – well, it’s a great camera. Feels precise and well-made, and the lens is excellent. At least the f/2 version is, but I can’t imagine the 1.8 version to be a less-than-stellar performer, either. The viewfinder is superb – very bright and clear with an equally bright rangefinder spot. This is a fine machine.

If I have to knock it for anything, it’d just be the way the shutter and aperture settings are hooked together to make use of the erstwhile Light Value System. But there are work-arounds – as we covered earlier – so don’t let that be a deal-breaker for you.

The method of film advance is …unique, but not at all cumbersome. And it’s kinda cool, if you ask me. Do you need to add a Konica 3A to your wish-list? Um….yeah, I think so.