Konica C35 EF is Effin' Amazing!
5 13I finally have enough photos to do a review on this camera!!! :)
For starters:
Hello. My name is [insert name here]. And I have GAS.
whew! glad I got that out of the way.
My obsession for cameras:
It’s summer 2010. I’m doing my usual thing surfing the net and I crash onto a site called Lomography[dot]com. Man, I am blown away by the creativity and randomosity that is Lomography! And the cameras…Look at my wish list and you would see a Lomo LC-A+, Diana F+ (Snow Cat, when it was still in the make), Lomo Fisheye 2, etc. I got a Lomo Fisheye 2! Whoo! Under-fish-out-of-water-camera-awesomeness! but like probably most of you I was hungry for more cameras!
This cool guy, you probably know him as Mijonju owns an empire of cameras. He did a video strictly on rangefinders. One camera that caught my eye was the Leica M3. Ooh baby was it sexy! But I’m too poor to hit that. So, MJ talks about the next best thing: Konica C35 FD. This cute little rangefinder was perfect for quick, discreet, street photography and an all around fun camera to use.
I set out on a camera search for this amazing camera! eBay listed this camera well into the $200/$300 price range. I’m a broke college student. I got bills to pay. Ironically, that didn’t keep me away from my passion.
First redscale roll:
How we met:
So I’m searching through eBay and I found a Konica C35 EF. It’s a pretty sweet camera. All black with orange text for the Konica C35 EF logo and flash words. And yes, it has a built-in flash that pops up. ASA is 25-400. There is also a tripod thread mount, a built-in light meter and battery check which you can see through the viewfinder. No interchangeable lenses and no bulb setting; but for a 38mm 2.8 Hexanon lens zone-focus camera, this ain’t bad.
Kodak BW400CN
The mission:
This was a “buy it now/make offer item” and I had to act fast, but first I had to ask a couple of questions to the seller. What’s the condition of the camera? Did it have battery corrosion? Does the flash charge up and fire? Have you ever used the camera before? Is there a case included in this listing? etc etc. Just my luck, it was in excellent condition, no scratches, no signs of corrosion, the flash functionality is unknown and he has not used the camera before, but there is no reason it shouldn’t work. And there is half a case. It was a fitted case, back only because the front part was missing.
Redscale DC
Mission accomplished:
The listing price was 17.99 USD, but there was a “Make offer” option. I submitted my price at 12.00 USD + S/H. Boom diddy. He accepted my offer! I have to tell you though you might have a hard time buying a Konica C35 EF in good to excellent condition. Most sellers have listed this camera from 40-200 USD. IF you do find one, you will not be disappointed!
Washington, DC
What I like about this camera? It’s a Konica. ’nuff said.
Konica has reprised it’s reputation for Hexanon lenses. Not too big and not too little, the Konica C35 EF has a vintage feel to it. Very simplistic in its features, I love the pictures that it takes. Once you get a feel of how far 3.5ft or 1m is, you’ll get perfectly blurred out backgrounds. This is one of my main cameras. Connor (my nickname for the camera) is loyal to the 10 Golden Rules of Lomography. Especially the “Don’t think” part because we’re both trigger happy!
St. Augustine
Specs:
Lens: Konica Hexanon 38mm, f/2.8
Filter thread size: 46mm
Auto-exposure via CdS metering cell. Exposure setting is locked with half-press of shutter release button.
Shutter speeds: 1/60, 1/125
Focus range: Zone Focus
person chest up: 3.5ft (1m)
half body: 5ft (1.5m)
full body – 7ft (2-3m)
mountains or landscapes – 15ft (5m) to infinity, with display of zone shown in viewfinder.
Integrated auto-flash, with automatic adjustment of aperture according to ambient light and focus distance. (Guide number: 14m at ISO 100. Recharge time: 5-7s).
Manual loading, advancing and rewinding of film.
Film Speed Range: ASA/ISO 25-400, set manually by turning disc around lens.
Power: Light meter requires a 1.3V PX675 mercury battery. A 1.5V button cell should work almost as well. Flash requires two AA alkaline batteries.
Hollywood & Santa Monica
San Diego Zoo and then some
written by itsdebraanne on 2011-06-16 #gear #review #awesomeness #zone-focus #lomography #film-camera #user-review #konica-c35-ef
5 Comments