Konica Auto-Reflex P Half/Full Frame

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vonfilm

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I am about halfway through my first roll on the Konica Auto-Reflex P that I just received through the Bay. It is the basic version of the Auto-Reflex without a light meter. I have been enjoying good photos from my original Olympus Pen of 1959, but wanted something better than zone focusing. I had been looking hard at Pen F's but they were pretty expensive and seemed to have a lot of issues. When I learned about the half frame/full frame choice mid roll on the mid sixties Konica Auto-Reflex's I started to follow their auctions. I worked out an offer/counteroffer deal for a very nice Auto-Reflex P for about half what a nice Pen F would go for.

I already had the following Hexanons: 28mm 3.5, 40mm 1.8, 50mm 1.7, and 135mm 3.2. A nice 52mm 1.8 came with the camera. I have an Autoreflex TC and a T3N is on the way to me.

I will post some pictures in the near future. I would love to hear about the experiences of others with the Auto-Reflex half frames.
Konica Auto-Reflex P by vonfilm, on Flickr
Konica Auto-Reflex P by vonfilm, on Flickr
Konica Auto-Reflex P by vonfilm, on Flickr
Konica Auto-Reflex P by vonfilm, on Flickr
 
Very cool! What does the viewfinder look like in half-frame mode? What do the instructions on the sticker on the back mean?
 
vonfilm said:
I am about halfway through my first roll on the Konica Auto-Reflex P that I just received through the Bay. It is the basic version of the Auto-Reflex without a light meter. I have been enjoying good photos from my original Olympus Pen of 1959, but wanted something better than zone focusing. I had been looking hard at Pen F's but they were pretty expensive and seemed to have a lot of issues. When I learned about the half frame/full frame choice mid roll on the mid sixties Konica Auto-Reflex's I started to follow their auctions. I worked out an offer/counteroffer deal for a very nice Auto-Reflex P for about half what a nice Pen F would go for.

I already had the following Hexanons: 28mm 3.5, 40mm 1.8, 50mm 1.7, and 135mm 3.2. A nice 52mm 1.8 came with the camera. I have an Autoreflex TC and a T3N is on the way to me.

I will post some pictures in the near future. I would love to hear about the experiences of others with the Auto-Reflex half frames.
Click to expand...

this camera is very underpriced for its features.
 
The instructions on the back are how to switch from half frame to full frame or vice versa in mid roll. Flip refers to the half/Full frame selector. Wind refers to the film advance. Doing this will mess up automatic scanning at your lab. I will probably only use this camera for half frame.

In half frame you see portrait film lines in the middle of the finder.
 
CameraQuest said:
this camera is very underpriced for its features.
Click to expand...

I thought it a fair deal.

I have just recently purchased a much more advanced full frame only Konica Autoreflex T3N for $40 plus shipping.

The half frame were only built from 1966 to 1968 and are much rarer. That being said there are several available on eBay now. The Japanese market versions are called Autorex.
 
This is an interesting camera, but the resulting half-frame photos are cropped full-frame rather than the equivalent of the Olympus types because the Konica lens is 52mm rather than the 28-30mm of the Pens. I guess it's not really a problem as long as you understand and accept this difference.
 
I’ve got an Auto Reflex — not the meterless P version — and really enjoy using it. I generally hate microprism focusing devices in cameras, but I find the Auto Reflex’s microprism device very easy to use. Put your 28mm on the P and shoot some half-frame. The diagonal of a 24mm by 18mm negative is 30mm, so the 28mm will be like a 43mm lens on a full-frame 35mm camera — so actually a bit wide-angle in comparison to a 50mm lens. It’s a bit weird, but somehow my half-frame shots almost seem sharper than when using the camera in full-frame mode. Enjoy your Auto Reflex P!
 
I am pleased with this first roll. I used the app my Lightmeter Pro for most of the exposures.
Also used my Panasonic GX7 as a light meter.

Most of the shots are pretty sharp. I will be using the Limo 800 again. Really like its' colors.
 
Lee Rust said:
This is an interesting camera, but the resulting half-frame photos are cropped full-frame rather than the equivalent of the Olympus types because the Konica lens is 52mm rather than the 28-30mm of the Pens. I guess it's not really a problem as long as you understand and accept this difference.
Click to expand...
Could you explain a bit more? It's cropped in that the blinders switch on / off over the full frame size, but the gearing changes to make it shoot in half frame and doubling the rolls.

@vonfilm Are you still shooting with the Konica? I just got one, very beautiful build and handling.

The viewfinder is interesting how theres always the full frame visible. With a 40mm lens, the half frame area is more tele than a wide. I wonder how Konica lenses compare to the Pen F lenses - Olympus made them specifically for half frame I think.
 
vonfilm said:
I am pleased with this first roll. I used the app my Lightmeter Pro for most of the exposures.
Also used my Panasonic GX7 as a light meter.

Most of the shots are pretty sharp. I will be using the Limo 800 again. Really like its' colors.
Click to expand...
Really impressive -- half frame and 800 speed! I would love to get one of these cameras -- I have a fair amount of T series Konicas and Hexanons but I've never used one of these cameras.

You really do need an "age-appropriate" lens cap though. :)
 
I have the one with the meter and used it a fair bit when I got it though not recently but really liked it. The first thing I noticed when I got it was the 'clang' from the shutter ... it caught me by surprise! I used mine for making diptychs and triptychs when I got it ... actually on the negative!
 
There was a lot of pissing about to get things where I wanted them but it was a lot of fun.

tychs_2.jpg
 
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