Fall photo

This is a scan of a negative from the Konica Auto S2, taken a few weeks ago in a valley near Owasso. While it may look like a slice of wilderness, there's development all around it, most of it gated communities. I was on the receiving end of some hard looks as I ambled along the road taking pictures.

The valley reminds me of those trout streams I fished in Pennsylvania. In fact, before all the development came in, the kids and I used to go out there in the evening to watch the deer. I'm sure the whitetails are still around, but I didn't see any on this trip.

The only thing that bothers me is that bit of flare coming from the upper left corner. It makes the colors a bit purplish, and to be truthful, I'm not entirely sure I dislike the effect.

Chances are I'll be out there again soon.

B-17 Flying Fortress visits Tulsa

There's a post over on the Examiner about the B-17, including a slide show. But there are even more photos posted on my Flickr account. This photo was taken just after dawn with a Konica Auto S2 on Fuji Superia 400. The film photos look better than the digital ones, or at least they look better to my old eyes.

I could only shake my head...

On Saturday, I went to the Tulsa Flea Market which was held at the Rose Bowl along old Route 66. I looked for old cameras, old photos, and a few other odds and ends. The Rose Bowl is smaller than the usual venue at the Fair Ground, so I wouldn't expect it to be a long-term substitute. Regardless, it's an interesting building, more than a bit worn down by time.

Sure enough, I found a table with some old cameras. They were beyond being merely dusty. They were encrusted in dirt, like something stored in a garage next to the lawn mower and weed eater for many years. So of course, I found something of interest!

Maybe it's a kind of bad karma. Maybe I did something bad in a previous life, and I get to be tormented in this one. But lying there on the table was another Konica Auto S2, filthy enough that with the addition of a little water, it could sprout grass seed from all the caked on dirt. I looked through the viewfinder, but in all honesty, I could see better with a thumb stuck in my eye. All the parts were there, but the film advance wouldn't budge. Sigh. Another dead camera.

The price tag said $42.50!

Are these people insane? Is there some lucrative broken camera market that I don't know about? I offered $10 but the seller wouldn't consider it! I wouldn't make an offer unless I had another camera for parts, and I do. Maybe it was the Rose Bowl. Maybe it was the proximity to Route 66. Maybe this woman just tumbled off the turnip truck from the planet Trafalmadore where turnips are more precious than diamonds and a broken camera is priceless. She acted as if I'd spit on her shoes. Maybe next time I will. It could be the highest compliment on her planet.

Konica Auto S2 update

A neighborhood cat taking up residence on our porch.

The first roll of film through this camera was wasted. It was an old roll that a co-worker had given to me, and apparently it was exposed to high heat for a very long time. The negative was entirely magenta. I was worried, of course, that one of the light seals I'd installed was bad, so I gave the camera a careful inspection before loading another test roll. This one came out much better, as you can see.

Storm clouds over 76th Street.

Some of these were taken using a Minolta Autometer IIIf to determine exposure. Yes, I know the meter is worth more than the camera! Some were taken using the camera's auto exposure. I took two of this locomotive, and to be honest, I can't see a difference between the manual and the auto exposure.



The Konica has a depth of field scale as does the Yashica Electro series. That can make the camera almost a point-and-shoot model if there's enough light. The Canon Canonet doesn't have a scale, but it's definitely smaller and lighter than either of the others.

Tally's Cafe, Tulsa. Portrait by window light.

In the full size original, there's a tremendous amount of detail. I like shooting by window light but it can be a trial for both the film and the lens. Oh, this is some guy from Texas.

Some guy from Oklahoma wearing a LOUD Hawaiian shirt.

Like I said, when you use the depth of field scale, you can guesstimate the range and still get good photos. Just be thankful that more of the Hawaiian shirt isn't showing, especially if you haven't eaten yet. Thousands of years from now, someone will dig this thing up from a landfill and say, "Dang, this shirt still looks like new! But whoever wore it had lousy taste!"

Konica Auto S2

I managed to repair the Konica Auto S2 that I fumbled a couple of months ago. The impact broke off the wind lever, leaving a broken threaded stub down inside the shaft that winds the film. The photo above is from the donor camera. The top end of this shaft has the frame counter assembly, and it's possible to remove this as a unit.

These are the two springs that have to be detensioned and moved. The small one around that brass screw in the corner is attached to a lever that resets the counter when the camera back is open. It has to be moved in order to get to that larger coil spring around the shaft. You can just see the end of it hooked around the casting behind that brass screw.

The frame counter has been removed. There are just two screws holding it in place, and from this view you can see the two springs very well.

This is the bottom of the camera. That large screw on the right holds the bottom end of the film winding shaft. The big U-shaped spring on the left has to be removed, as well as the small circlip next to the end of the shaft. Then the brass retainer can be bent back and the big screw on the shaft will come out. It's a very thin slotted fastener, however, and it would be very easy to strip. If I did this regularly, I'd make a dedicated screwdriver just for this task. I very nearly gorfed this one.

Reassembly is fairly easy. Just watch for clearances and see that you retract some of the mechanisms to get the shaft installed. It's not rocket science. Just work slowly and carefully being careful not to force anything.
Here's a 'while-you're-at-it' job. The dustcover over the rangefinder is held on with a screw, not glued on like the Canon Canonet or Yashica Electro. Take out that single screw and you have access to the beam splitter.

In the full size shot, you can actually see some of the crud on the back side of that beam splitter - the diagonal piece of glass across the width of the rangefinder. I used a bit of cotton held in a pair of tweezers for cleaning because a Q-tip is too large. I used a lens cleaning solution from my eye doctor because I know from experience that it won't damage anything. This is another spot to work slowly and carefully, because you don't want to scratch anything.

All in all, I'm impressed with the Konica. It offers both automatic and manual operation much like the Canon Canonet. And the viewfinder is much brighter than either the Canonet or the Yashica Electro. But the most critical thing is how the lens performs. That will probably be something to investigate this weekend.

By the way, all these macro shots are from a refurbished Olympus FE-320. It has a macro and "super macro" that focuses as close as 2 inches. And it's roughly half the size of my Canon A590IS.

Konica Auto S2 update

Things have been busy here in Chateau CycleDog. I'm facing deadlines for three pieces, and I'm more than a little anxious about the biggest of them. It's been quite a lot of work. That's detracted from both CycleDog and the Examiner column, so if anyone's wondering, that's where I've been. Once the big project is finished and accepted, I'll paste some links. All writers are egotists, after all.


But not all has been glum. I snagged a replacement Konica Auto S2, a parts camera that will be used to fix the one I fumbled earlier this summer. This one has a very badly dented lens that - while it still works - is probably beyond repair. I'll post photos of it soon.


The real find in this one was the original owners manual with these outstanding illustrations. They are perhaps a bit overdone unless you're deliberately trying to attract 14 year old boys.


And what's with the little guy and his tiny little camera? Is he some kind of up-skirt perv?

Regardless, this too is on the back burner.

I am such a klutz!

This is the Konica Auto S2 that I received last week. On Thursday, I dropped it. The camera landed on one corner and apparently the wind lever took the brunt of the impact. It sheared off the tiny screw threads holding the lever in place. What's left of the fastener is that small brass piece down inside the rewind shaft - the one with two flats on either side.

After some colorful language, silently expressed inside my head as Mary and Lyndsay were in the room, I thought of a solution. I'd seen another S2 at a flea market in Tulsa. It was inoperative, so I'd go buy it as a donor camera for parts. This was gonna be easy!

At the flea market, I found the S2 quickly, then spent some time untangling it from the other junker/clunker cameras. I found the booth owner and offered $5 it.

"What! I can't believe you'd insult me like that so early in the morning! The lens alone is worth $25!" He snatched the camera from my hand, turned on his heel, and walked away.

"For $25 I can get one that works," I said. The guy seemed genuinely angry so I left. But then I started thinking. If an S2 in very good condition fetches maybe $100 on E-bay, and he wants at least $25 for the broken one, it should cost roughly $75 for a repair at a shop. That still doesn't account for any other defects, rotted seals, or cleaning. So his apparent value for the camera is way out of line. And in the final analysis, it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I'm willing to pay five bucks. I'll probably go down there in a week or so and insult him again. It's one of my strong points, and I really kinda enjoy doing it.

Konica Auto S2

Yep, another rangefinder! This is from roughly the early to mid-1960s if I remember right, and it's very similar to the Canon Canonet in that it offers both manual and aperture-priority operation. The 45mm f1.8 lens has a built-in hood. It appears to be in very good condition. The rangefinder is just a little cloudy, which is expected in a camera this old, but it will benefit from some light cleaning - probably after I've run a roll of film through it!


I like cameras that offer both manual and automatic modes because you never know when a battery may give out. With a light meter or by applying the Sunny 16 rule, I still have the capability to take good exposures. That scale to the right of the accessory shoe is the light meter. I haven't put a fresh battery in to see if it works.


My only quibble is that the battery cover was over torqued once. You can just make out the divots where the coin cammed up and out, taking part of the plastic cover away. No problem, though, as I took it out with a pin spanner. And I know where I can get another S2 for parts.

I bought this from a seller on Ebay. He said the camera worked and he'd replaced the seals. That appears to be true, so it saves me a job. It also has a name lightly inscribed in the rear of the top cover. "E. Konstant 3-29-37." I'd assume the latter is a birthdate. So, if Mr. Konstant is out there anywhere, just know that I have your old camera and I'll take good care of it. I'm not a collector, so expect that this one will be used frequently. Still, you took good care of this one. I will too.