Konica L
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The Konica L is an early-1960s[1] camera for 35mm film from Konishiroku. (The serifed "L" engraving also might resemble a "1".) It was aimed at non-technical users, lacking a rangefinder and simply offering click detents at near/middle/far positions (1.5, 3, and 10 meters, or their foot equivalents) on the 40mm f/2.8 lens's front scale focusing ring.
There is a selenium meter cell above the lens and a large exposure adjustment ring around its barrel, which the user simply twists until a needle in the viewfinder is centered (also visible on the top deck), without reference to any numerical settings. Despite the amateur orientation of the camera, the owner's manual is clear on how the exposure system works:
The Seikosha L shutter of the Konica L is of a special construction designed to give a specific aperture-shutterspeed combination depending on subject brightness. This type is known as the LV shutter or programmed shutter.
Exposure settings vary from f/2.8 at 1/30th sec. for the dimmest light up to f/22 at 1/250th sec. for the brightest. (For each full F-stop of aperture change, the shutter speed increments by half a step.) Apertures can also be selected manually for use with B or flash (1/30th sec.) positions.
Notes
- ↑ McKeown's 12th edition states "c.1961" (pg. 542) and it was advertised in January, 1963 (Popular Photography Vol. 52, No. 1; pg. 81).
Links
- Konica L manual (PDF) from Mike Butkus's OrphanCameras.com
