Konica FR

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The Konica FR (コニカFR) is a prototype 35mm rangefinder camera made by Konishiroku in 1960–61.

Context

Before the development of the Konica FR, Konishiroku had released the Konica S 35mm fixed-lens rangefinder camera, and the Konica F 35mm SLR. The Konica F introduced a vertical metal focal-plane shutter, whereas the Konica S provided fully automatic correction of the parallax and field of view with the distance, a feature introduced on the earlier Konica IIIA and called "living finder" (生きているファインダー) at the time.

The Konica FR was an attempt at combining these two features into an interchangeable-lens rangefinder camera. The project was directed by Kurita Yoshikazu (栗田善一), chief of the design department, and the rangefinder, lens mount and lens barrel were designed by Yamada Yutaka (山田豊).

The Konica FR was never announced to the press and never went into full production; Konishiroku seems to have thought that a rangefinder camera such as this could not compete with the increasingly popular SLRs of the time.

Description

The Konica FR has a very large body, whose dimensions are 155×87×36mm, looking oversized when placed side by side with a Leica M3. The viewfinder is large and the design emphasizes rectangles, combining to make the camera look rather like a precursor of Cosina's much later Zeiss Ikon. The rangefinder is combined with the viewfinder in a single rectangular eyepiece at the far left (as seen by the photographer). The viewfinder has an illuminated bright frame for 50mm focal length, and four dots indicating the field of view for 60mm lenses — certainly for the Hexanon 60mm f/1.2 released by Konishiroku some times earlier. It provides automatic compensation for parallax and reduction of the field size with the distance.

The film is advanced by a lever, which contains a film sensitivity reminder. The exposure counter is visible through a window placed in front of the lever, certainly automatically reset when opening the back. The rewind crank is situated underneath the camera, next to the tripod thread, and is geared to the film axis — it was placed that way to leave space for the viewfinder. The rewind unlock button is on the bottom too, underneath the sprocket shaft. The back is hinged to the right, as seen by the photographer, and is retained by a sliding bar on the left. There is a cut-out on the bottom plate at the left, to make insertion of the film cartridge easier, because the film axis is fixed.

The shutter is a focal plane Copal Square unit (B, 1—1000), with vertically travelling metal curtains. It allows flash synchronization at 1/125. The control dial, placed next to the release button, is black and has evenly spaced settings, certainly with click stops. The self-timer is actuated by a lever at the front. Two PC synch sockets are provided nearby, labelled as for M or X synchronization.

The camera takes Leica screw mount lenses, and a Hexanon 50mm f/1.8 standard lens was specially made for it. (Konishiroku had already sold various lenses for the Leica screw mount.)

Bibliography

• Hagiya Takeshi (萩谷剛). "Konika FR" (コニカFR, Konica FR). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.58, March 2001. ISBN 4-257-13032-6. Tokushū: Raika bukku '01 Raika kenkyū (特集:ライカブック'01・ライカ研究, Leica book '01: Leica research). Pp.80–3.
• Hishida Kōshirō (菱田耕四郎). "Konica History 11: Maboroshi no kamera to tokushu kamera" (幻のカメラと特殊カメラ, Phantom cameras and special cameras). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.10, September 1987. No ISBN number. Konishiroku kamera no rekishi (小西六カメラの歴史, special issue on Konishiroku). Pp.81—2.
• Konika-Minoruta-ten (コニカミノルタ展, Konica Minolta exhibition). Exhibition catalogue. Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2005.

Link

• Photo of a Konica FR from Fukusenbankō's site