Konica Auto S

The Konica Auto S is a 35mm camera. It was built in the 1960s and was the Japanese company’s first rangefinder camera with a CdS cell.

The Konica Auto S was followed by the Auto S1.6, S2 and S3.

It was sold under the name Revue Auto S by Foto Quelle, then a large mail-order photo retailer. In the USA, it was also available from a mail order company under the house brand, once as Wards on 450 and once as Wards on 550.

The Konica Auto S is a rangefinder camera with a fixed lens, more specifically a 47mm Hexanon with a maximum aperture of f/1.9. The imprint around this lens reads “Konishiroku Hexanon 1:1.9 f=47mm”. A lens hood is built right into the camera.

The aperture and exposure time, the Copal shutter offers times between 1/500 second to 1 second and a Bulb mode, can be selected by the photographer or left to the camera. For this, the Konica Auto S has a built-in CdS exposure meter, designed for a PX625 1.3V mercury battery.

The distance to the lens must be set manually, but this is made easier by the rangefinder. A tripod can be screwed to the matching thread on the bottom of the camera. A flash can be fired via the sync flash socket. The thread on the lens for filters is 48 mm.

The Konica Auto S is designed for 35mm films (eBay / Amazon*). The manual does advise using films such as the Adox KB 21, Agfa Isopan FF, Ansco Super Anscochrome or the Ferrania P 30, but of course today’s films from Kodak, Fujifilm and co. can be used in the Konica Auto S as well.

For color images, you can reach for the Kodak Ultramax 400*. Great black and white images are possible with the Ilford Delta 100*. Both films are produced by reputable manufacturers and deliver solid images with the photo camera.