The Konica II A was the top-of-the-line Konica II series of 135 rangefinder film cameras manufactured by Konica, which began the series with the Konica (later known as the Konica I or Konica Standard) after the war. Konica I series includes the Konica I Type Ab (1947), Konica I Type As (late 1947), Konica I Type B (1948), Konica I Type C (1949), Konica I Type Cs, Konica I Type D (1950), Konica I Type E (1950), and Konica I Type F.
The Konica II series was first introduced in 1951, fitted with the same retractable Hexanon 50mm 1:2.8 lens, Konirapid-S shutter (later updated to the Konirapid-MFX), and the addition of an accessory cold shoe, a shutter release button on top of the camera, and accidental double exposure prevention. Firing the shutter allows the film to be wound further and prevents the shutter from being cocked and fired again unless the film is wound.
This was followed by the Konica II B (1955), a cheaper version with a 50mm Hexar rather than Hexanon lens, without the Time mode button, but still with the Konirapid-S shutter with the full range of shutter speeds 1s to 1/500s, plus B. The Konica II 'F' (February 1956) continues with the 50mm 1:2.8 Hexanon lens, with a Konirapid-MFX shutter.
The Konica II A (March 1956) has the Konirapid-MFX shutter and was the first model to be fitted with the very well-regarded six elements in five groups 48mm 1:2 Hexanon, a fixed lens, not retractable as on earlier models. The Konica IIBm (February 1957) is a revision of the IIB, fitted with a 45mm 1:3.5 Hexar, and a Seikosha-MX (B, 1–500) shutter.
Basic Camera Features
An elegant and very well-designed camera with a curvaceous body panel that silhouettes the hands when the camera is held up to your eyes, fitted with a super bright viewfinder and rangefinder patch that is hard to match compared to other vintage cameras.
The Shutter Speed dial is on the frontmost of the mushroom-headed fixed lens/shutter assembly of the Konica II A (B, 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 100, 200, and 500). Behind the dial, vertically at rest, is the Shutter Cock button, and the Shutter Release lever at 9 o'clock on the left. Next is the Aperture Dial ring with a tab lever on the lower right of the front lens assembly. The aperture setting is displayed vertically on a small window on top of the back part of the lens/shutter assembly.
At the base of the assembly, almost flush with the camera body, is the Distance Dial with a lever dial and distance scale etched on its barrel. The distance mark is set to the index located on the depth-of-field scale set against the front panel of the lens mount housing. On the top plate area of the front panel are the viewfinder and rangefinder parallax windows.
The Konica II A is also fitted with a Time Disc, located on the upper left of the front plane, which is used to set the shutter to remain open for long exposure shots. The disc is set to either the 'I' or 'T' indicators.
On the top plane, from left to right, the Film Rewind knob, integrated with the Film Indicator dial, Accessory Shoe, Shutter Release button, and the Film Forward knob, integrated with the Film Counter dial.
On the back, the Viewfinder Eyepiece on the back of the top plane, a plain hinged film back. The film back release lock is located within the Film Back Lock Knob located on the bottom plane of the camera.
On the bottom plane, from left to right, the Film Rewind Release button, the Tripod Socket, and Film Back Lock Knob.
The film box is a straightforward film load system with the film canister chamber, shutter window, film forward sprocket gear, and multi-slot take-up spool, configured from left to right. The film is wound emulsion side up.
Film Loading and Rewind
Start by opening the filmback by first turning the Film Back Lock Knob located on the bottom plane of the camera from its closed position 'C' to open position 'O' and pressing the small latch lock located within the indent of the Lock Knob.
Next, pull the Rewind Knob up from its resting position on the top plane of the camera, place the film cartridge in the chamber, and push the Rewind Knob back into position to secure the placement of the film cartridge. Next, pull the film tab across the film box opening, insert the tab end into the slit of the take-up spool, tension the film properly across the back, and make sure that the perforation is aligned with the sprocket gear before closing the film back.
Do the two-blank shot sequence to forward the unexposed part of the film to align with the shutter window, reset the film counter to '0' (press the rewind release button and turn the film forward knob clockwise until the number '0' is aligned to the arrowhead point on the camera's top plate), and you are ready to go.
To rewind the film back into its canister, first press and hold the film rewind release button, and start turning the film rewind knob, in the direction indicated by the arrow (clockwise) until the film is fully wound back into the canister. Open the film back to unload the film canister for processing.
Viewfinder Readout
The viewfinder of the Konica II A is a single bright frame eyepiece with the rangefinder parallax patch located centrally within the image frame. The Shutter Cock lever is visible within the viewfinder when the shutter is uncocked.
Rangefinder Focusing
Focusing on the rangefinder on the Konica II A is fast and easy, and the super bright viewfinder makes the camera a takeaway that is very convenient to use.
Shutter Release Lock
The shutter release on the Konica II A is only activated once the film has been forwarded and the Shutter Cocking lever is cocked. The Shutter Release button will remain locked if the film has not been forwarded, and the Shutter Cocking Lever is not cocked.
Double or Multiple Exposure Images
For intentional double or multiple exposure images, you can bypass the Shutter Release button block by cocking the hutter Cocking lever and releasing it with the Shutter Release lever manually.
The Sunny 16 Rule
The Konica II A is a fully manual 35mm film camera and it does not come with any battery requirement or a film ISO dial for film speed setting. The only source of exposure information, if you need one, is from a light meter app installed on your smartphone, or by relying manually on the Sunny 16 Rule, the method of estimating correct daylight exposures without a light meter in photography.
On a clear sunny day, for example, when you are using an aperture of 1:16, the rule recommends a shutter speed equal to the reciprocal of your film ISO (1/ISO) speed. So, when using ISO 100 film, set the shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, or 1/200 second when using ISO 200 film.
Camera Body Weight
On my kitchen scale, the body weight of the Konica II A is 730 grams naked (without case) and empty (without film).
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