Gear & Software

Konica Autoreflex T3

In 1973, Konica released this full-featured camera. In 2024, I review it. Better late than never!

Dominik Marczuk

Oct 18, 2024 — 7 min read

As soon as I got into analogue photography, I knew I'd purchase a Konica SLR body sooner or later. I'd been hooked to the Hexanon line of lenses for a while and had gathered a decent collection. They couldn't go to waste, could they?

As for the choice of camera body, I didn't have as much of a selection as with other brands like Nikon or Pentax. I could either go for an older Autoreflex series or a newer F series. I bought one of each. This particular unit was in an unknown condition but it was cheap on eBay and I had nothing to lose.

Upon arrival, it turned out to be in near-mint condition. There was much all over it but underneath all the dirt, the camera was in perfect working order. Hadn't it been for the shipping costs, VAT and import fees, I'd call it a steal. Even with all the additional costs involved (which exceeded the camera price by a factor of two), I think it was a bargain.

Features

This camera is built like a tank and is said to handle abuse very well. Not that I plan to abuse it, of course. As a flagship SLR, it has all the bells and whistles available in 1973:

1/1000 to 1 second exposure times, plus bulb mode,
self-timer,
depth of field preview,
exposure time displayed in the viewfinder,
needle-style centre-weighted light meter, visible in the viewfinder,
on/off switch (basically just a shutter button lock),
multiple exposure lever,
focusing aid in the form of a microdiaprism patch in the centre of the focusing screen,
hot shoe,
two PC sync ports for remote flash connectivity (marked M, for cord-operated flash bulbs, and X, intended for electronic flash units).

The camera is not without drawbacks though. It uses 1.35 V batteries. Originally, these were mercury cells, but nowadays they're available as zinc-air cells that cost an arm and a leg. Due to their elevated price, I rely on a Sekonic light meter instead. The 1.5 V LR44 button cells fit and make the light meter come alive but the readings are off by 1-2 stops. I could learn to live with this if it wasn't for the dark viewfinder. It's so dark that the light meter is unreadable in darker conditions or when using a darker lens.

Performance in the Field

Loading the film seemed easy at first glance. The mechanism is a slotted spool thoughtfully designed by Konica to make it nearly impossible to load the film incorrectly. Despite this, I still managed to out-fool this fool-proof mechanism and "shoot" an entire roll of film only to realise that it hadn't engaged with the takeup spool in the first place. I guess some minimal experience is still required. On the positive side, I consistently got 39 frames out of every 36-frame film with the T3. Due to the camera's width, the first frame occasionally has an overexposed left edge. Still, I'll take this over the predominantly diminutive designs of the 80s that don't fill the palm of my hand.

Rewinding the film also seemed straightforward until I managed to rip it instead of getting it back safely into its cassette. I'm unsure why, but the clutch button depressed itself during rewinding. I didn't notice and twisted the rewind crank too strongly, thinking it was jammed. It only happened once though and I'm sure it was something I'd done wrong.

The size and shape of the camera is acceptable. It was designed before Olympus started the trend of fitting SLRs into as small a package as possible. It's a big piece of gear and fits in my hands quite well despite the lack of a protruding grip. The controls work with a reasonable resistance and I can reach everything without flexing my fingers too much. The shutter speed dial could have a bit less resistance. I need to use two fingers to turn it; I'd prefer to be able to use just one. I guess that's the beauty of mechanical cameras though.

I tried the camera out with a flash as well. At the time, It was unclear to me what the difference between the M and X sync ports was. The camera's sync speed is supposedly 1/125" but the manual gives different values for different port and flash mode combinations. I started with the M port and the flash didn't sync with the shutter At 1/60". The subject was completely black, while the background, lit with continuous LED light, was exposed correctly. Now I know to avoid the bulb flash port.

Underexposed subject due to flash missychronisation using the "M" flash sync port

Luckily, the X port worked fine when I connected a wireless remote flash trigger. The camera is therefore perfectly suitable for studio photography with flash as long as the correct PC connection port is used.

Correctly exposed subject using flash connected to the "X" sync port

The shutter speeds are accurate, or at least seem to be. I've never had any problems with missed exposure. I noticed one thing about the shutter and mirror mechanism though: it's insufficiently dampened. Whenever I set the camera up on the extended central column of my travel tripod, which is far from the sturdiest out there, the camera shakes visibly. A slower shutter speed (such as 1/15"), especially with longer lenses, results in blurry photos.

The self-timer is easy to use and produces a clockwork whiz when engaged. The same sound can be heard when using shutter speeds of 1/8 s and slower. It's fascinating how the shutter speeds are all mechanically controlled and are still accurate after half a century. And while we're on the subject of sounds, it's worth mentioning that the shutter emits a loud clap capable of startling anyone and anything in the range of a few metres. Copal shutters are loud, but luckily, also very reliable.

Then there's the focusing screen. I was disappointed at first to see only a microdiaprism patch. I'm spoiled by split-prisms. Still, I quickly realised that I was able to nail focus much faster with this type of focusing aid. It's easier to use in certain lighting conditions than in others but overall, I find it fairly comfortable.

One final observation: the frames on the negative seem to be somewhat unevenly spaced. Some are under 1 mm apart while others are as far as almost 3 mm apart. This can make cutting the negative a bit tedious. Luckily, they never overlap.

Summary

In summary, here are the pros and cons of the camera.

- Dim viewfinder
- Uses 1.35 V batteries
- Insufficient mirror/shutter dampening
+ Easy focusing
+ All mechanical; batteries are optional
+ Lies well in my hands
+ Has all the bells and whistles of a flagship camera of its era

Overall, the camera is a fine piece of kit that I desperately want to love, but can't. Hexanon lenses are among the most highly regarded; I am a big fan. But not the camera. Sure, using it is fairly enjoyable. But the lack of a working light meter is a pain. Having to measure light using an external tool makes taking photographs slow. Poor dampening means longer lenses are more difficult to use. The dim viewfinder makes my eyes struggle in low-light situations, especially when using darker glass. I like the Autoreflex T3, but I cannot love it. I am anxious to see my Konica FT-1 back from the repair shop. I'm curious to see how they compare.

Images

My previous camera reviews featured images taken with them so I'll continue with this trend. As usual, let me stress though that these say nothing about the camera body. I could have taken identical images literally with any SLR.