The Carefully Crafted Konishiroku Konica II

     If you enjoy collecting and using cameras that are as well made as they are pleasing to the eye, you'll like the Konica II. That said, if you want to use this camera, you'd better be a patient person.
     For example, because the camera's 2.8/45 Hexanon lens is retractable, you have to make sure it's extended. If you don't perform that action, you won't be able to to advance the film.
    Then, with the lens extended, you advance the film; set the f stop and shutter speed; cock the shutter using the small lever in the photo (yel- low); frame the image through the viewfinder; and focus using the focusing knob (purple). You set the iris opening with the little serrated lever just above and to the left of the focusing knob. Because the iris settings aren't click stopped, you have to be careful when setting them.    
       You can release the shutter either by depressing the shutter release on the top plate of the camera or by depressing the lever on the lens barrel (green). Hopefully, by that time the image you want to capture won't have disappeared. Incidentally, the red protuberance you see in the photo at seven o'clock is the old style fashioned K-type synch post.
      The focusing knob has a little tip on it. To retract the lens, pull up the catch on the tip and rotate the focusing knob counter clockwise until it's in the same position as the shutter release lever on the lens barrel. In the photo the knob is shown at the infinity position, which is where you pull up the catch on the tip. When I received the camera, I had to go to the manual (on the Internet) to discover how to do this.
       Weighing in at about a pound-and-a-half, the Konica II surely isn't a lightweight. And it doesn't even have lugs for a carrying strap. But it does have a wonderfully bright viewfinder with a very nice rangefinder patch; a sharp lens; and an extremely quiet shutter. What's more, the hinged back swings open for easy film loading.
         There's a fairly large selector dial on the front of the camera at about ten o'clock in the photo (right). The dial is marked "I" for instant shutter settings from 1-1/500 and "T" for time settings. Atop the lens barrel is a little window that shows the iris settings, f2.8-f22. The lens hood shown here is a must if you want to avoid problems with flair. 
       
      Viewed from the top, the Konica II is a model of simplicity. The robust film advance knob on the right incorporates its film counter. The equally sturdy film rewind knob on the left includes an adjustable film reminder that indicates ASA 25, 50, or 100; Panchro, Color,  Reversible, or Empty. As you smile at those reminders, remember that this camera was born during the 1950s. But notice that it has a combined view- finder/rangefinder eyepiece, which is something many cameras of  that time lacked. 

      I think this is a wonderful camera that's as aesthetically appealing as it is mechanically sound. And I'd love to take it out for a trial run. But if I did, I'd want to use a carrying case because I think it would be a bit cumbersome to handle without one.

COMING SOON: The Konishiroku Konica III