Konica AF3
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The Konica AF3 is a nicely designed 35mm compact camera by Konica, made from 1984. It was available in several colours. The AF3-D version has a date function. Unlike the earlier C35AF and C35AF2, this smaller model utilized active autofocus with an infra-red beam instead of the passive Honeywell system. It has a body similar to the Konica pop and features the same folding rewind crank. While competing manufacturers of the era were keen to put motor-drives in their compact cameras, Konica chose not to with this model. While it means that shooting is not particularly rapid, candid photography is perhaps easier with the AF3 because it doesn't suffer from the noise associated with automatic winding. Effectively, the camera has the benefit of autofocus for quick snapshots but also the quietness of a rangefinder, so it is a good choice for a stealthy street photographer on a budget that won't stretch as far as the later and much more advanced Hexar.
Specifications
- 35mm Hexanon lens (4 colour-coated glass elements in 3 groups), aperture range f/2.8-16. Nearest focus at 1m.
- Active infra-red autofocus and focus lock.
- Auto-exposure from 1/60-1/500s for EV 9-17.
- Manual loading, winding and rewinding of 35mm film.
- Manual setting of film speed. ISO range 25-400.
- Integral pop-up flash with effective range of 5m.
- Albada viewfinder with framelines and LED warning for low-light/flash.
- Self-timer.
- Tripod socket.
- Dimensions: 117x74x46mm.
- Weight: 320g
- Power: 2x AAA alkaline batteries.
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| AF3 in red image by Vagn Sloth-Madsen (Image rights) |
Links
- Konica AF3 manual at Butkus.org
- Konica AF3 in yellow in Sylvain Halgand's collection (in French).
- Review and example photos on classicameras.blogspot.com.
