Konica Auto S3
As this was my first go with the Konica Auto S3 I used some outdated Fuji 400 film just to make sure it worked and boy did it ever. Despite the film handicap I placed on the camera it gave some excellent results. The lens is 38mm f1.8 with 6 elements in 4 groups but its the smooth nature of the out of focus areas that I think make it great. This image being the best example of the look it produces at wide apertures.
As for flash photography the Auto S3 has a unique feature. Without a flash the camera operates as a shutter priority exposure system with a needle in the viewfinder indicating the aperture that will go with that shutter speed. However when you place a flash on the hot shoe there is a little lever that then switches the camera over to automatically select the aperture based on the focus distance. Of course this is intended to be used with a dedicated flash that had a fixed guide number. Fortunately the guide number can be set with the little button at the base of the lens from 22-180. So if you are using a fancy flash that can adjust its output set it to manual and then set the guide number for that flash on the S3. With a flash on the camera a green indicator (synchro mark) becomes visible in the viewfinder and points at the aperture that will be used. If you then adjust the shutter speed so that the aperture needle matches the synchro mark you will have balanced the metered light and the flash. With the Auto S3’s leaf shutter you can sync all the way to the maximum shutter speed of 1/500 second. This should allow for some interesting daylight flash techniques.
