Favourite Konica lens

[Zamo]

I was recently asked in a different post what my favourite Konica lens was. So I thought it could be fun to ask other people which is their favourite Konica lens and why. I think we can include Hexanons and Konishirokus, and also even medium format and M-mount ones. Less common, but also interesting I imagine. If anyone wants to mention more than one... well, go ahead, this is not a competition and there are no rules. I have many other lenses than Konicas, but I am particularly fond of this particular Japanese brand. Maybe other people can start threads about other brands.

My favourite is probably the Hexanon 50 1.7. Not because it is the one that impresses me most or because its performace is clearly above others. It is just a wonderful lens, but I am particularly fond of it because it was the first manual lens I fell in love with. I took it out years ago, a couple of days after getting it, for a walk in Barcelona with my son (around 3-4 months by then). It was cold and late, and I took a few pictures of him in the stroller, with the last few rays of sun on his face, and they turned out beautiful, special. I enjoyed the process a lot (a lot!), and then the results... they opened me a new world. So it might not be the most special Konica lens, but I would say it is my favourite.

[caspert79]

The 100mm f/2.8 is still on my wish list.

[D1N0]

I don't have Konica's because they won't fit my Pentax but the Konica hexanon AR 40mm f1.8 has a good reputation as a versatile fast widish standard prime.

[nimoythecat]

Regarding my favorite Hexanon AR lenses, I have to say above all it is the 35mm f/2. Just 100% a lovely lens with great rendering. The 35mm f/2 is outstanding for a 1960s SLR design. The 135mm f/2.5 is another favorite. Konica has a good reputation but not all of its lenses are super great. The late-model Tokina-made ones are generally not anything special. It seems that it earliest generation of AR lenses were among its best.

[caspert79]

The only Hexanon I currently have is the 135/3.2, very nice. Other Hexanons I tried were a mixed bag. Most of them didn't stand out IMO.

[fiftyonepointsix]

The Konica 50mm F1.7 is my favorite. I have the 50/1.4, 28/1.8, 40/1.8, 50/1.8 v1, and 135/3.5. Had the 135/3.2. The 28/1.8- mine is mint, found it to be not as good as the Nikkor 28/2. The 50/1.8- not as good as the 50/1.7.

The 50/1.7 was the stand-out that came closest the the 50/2 Summicron-M in the 1976 test of 32 normal lenses.

I converted it to RF-Coupled M-Mount.

[Lightshow]

My favourites are the AR 28mm & 35mm presets.
Edit: I can't believe I didn't mention the 21/4, definitely recommended.

[papasito]

The 135/3,2 and 2,5, the 50/1,7 v.2, 57/1,4, 85/1,8.

Now I only have the 57/1,4 and the 50/1,4 v.2.

[jamaeolus]

Fifty seven 1.2. I also really like my 21mm 2.8 and the 24mm 2.8. Actually though, I like all of my Konicas to some extent. I think they are generally underrated. Prices are still relatively low for the IQ available. Partly I think that reflects the relatively short flange distance and thus the inability to shoot on all the CaNikon DSLR's that dominated the market for most of the digital era. With mirrorless making rapid strides and the newfound popularity of our pastime I expect them to outpace other marques on a increase in value assessment. I pick up the odd FL here and there when I see them for bargains even though I may lready have a copy or two.

[Oldhand]

I have a few Hexanon AR lenses.
I like the AR 50mm f1.4 because I have shot some of my favourite images with it

#1


And I like the AR 40mm f1.8 because of its size, weight and general overall performance.
It is a good match for a small camera like my Fuji X-E2s when out and about

#2

[jamaeolus]

I see why you like those images. Just great.

[stevemark]

[KEO]

My experience is limited to only four Konica AR lenses, but I like the 135/3.2 best, followed by the 40/1.8. The former is excellent for macro, being super-sharp at small apertures. The latter is a good landscape shooter, being very sharp with good contrast.

The 57/1.4 is an interesting character lens. Some images I love, some I dislike.

The 28/3.5 is just fine, but I hardly ever use it because it has failed to make an impression.

[Zamo]

[eggplant]

If I could afford them!

[y]

57/1.4 - It is a very nice old lens. Also the design is very stylish. It's definitely not a sharp lens like those from 80s or later, although it's interesting due the >50mm focal length.

50/1.7 is often highly praised but mine copy of version 2 (compact) was nothing interesting. Very sterile with above average CA - at least that is my experience.

135/2.5 feels and looks nice but loses to cheaper Canon FD.

[tomasg]

I like my Konica lenses, not the best in everything and not without flaws. One thing i like is the short flange distance which makes for a thin adapter. I don t have a favourite but i use a lot the 40/1.8 for it s size and FL, 21/2.8 super small, prices are crazy and completely off for it s performance, very flare prone, the 24/2.8 again size. I have a hate/love relationship with the 28/1.8, designed by Toshiko Shimokura a female lens designer, value for money is the same as for the 21. The 35/2 is very nice, btw is was made in 1973 not in the 60ies according to this: https://www.hexanon.net/konica_lens_detail/35f2/, the 57/1.2 is nice, this is my second copy the first was very yellow and i couldn t get rid of it, it s a long story. The 85/1.8 is very nice, the 100/2.8 is ok, the 135/2.5 also ok. The 50/1.4 i have is slightly yellow, it has a "funky" bokeh. The 50/17 is my least used Konica, very milky" wide open, the 50/1.8 has a very sharp center but it starts to get soft quickly towards the edges, nice bokeh. The 28/3.5 later version, strikes a nice balance between portability and performance.

[stevemark]

That's a really nice set of Hexanons - thanks for sharing te image and the additional information.

Concerning the 2/35mm, Alex Buhl says in his website that the optical formula was the same starting from the (Konica) F-mount 2/35mm around 1960: http://buhla.de/Foto/Konica/Objektive/35_2.html

I don't know who's right, though ... at least it seems the first AR 2/35mm was introduced along with the Autoreflex in 1965, and thus way earlier than 1973!

S

[papasito]

In this forum, Attila was one of the first Konica lenses fan.

He said sometimes that Konica was the made in japan Zeiss .

I don't know where Attila is now, but he was right about konica lenses IQ

[benadamx]

the AR 50/1.7 and 40/1.8 are both very sharp and have really lovely, unique color rendering, but the wide-open bokeh of the 40/1.8 is pretty unpleasant to me.. just have to be careful how one uses the lens.

[nimoythecat]

[stevemark]

[konicamera]

Just to add my 2 cents' worth:

It is true that the F-mount 35/2 and the AR-mount 35/2 are different lenses, if similar. They both have a 9/7 construction and both focus to 0.3cm. But one takes 72mm filters and the other 55mm.

The first was not only an F-mount lens, it was also one of the 4 lenses proprietary to the Konica’s first SLR and was only made for as long as the Konia F. By proprietary I mean that it had an aperture arm on the outside of the barrel for coupling with the Konica F’s build-in light meter (Japan’s first coupled light meter SLR). This lens could be mounted on later F-mount bodies, but depending on the aperture chosen, the external arm could get in the way. That 35/2 is far rarer than the Konica F itself, of which 1,600 at most were made. If you scroll down on the following web page, the second photo shows the Konica F with 3 of the 4 proprietary lenses, including the 35/2: https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Konica_F

While the AR-mount 35/2 was not introduced with the Auto-Reflex (1965), it is a little older than the T3 (1973). I have 316 of them in my database. The first production codes on them appear in April 1972 and about 18% of the sample is without code, meaning that they were made before that date. As the lens was made until mid-1980, I estimate the first ones came out in early 1971, or perhaps as early as late 1970. Incidentally, in case anyone is interested in such things, the serial number range of the entire sample suggests a production run of about ~11k lenses.

[nimoythecat]

[stevemark]

@ konicamera: Thank you as well - it's always astonishing to see how much you know about the Konica cameras & lenses!

S