The Thing (Konicazilla)
Look ma, it’s a mirrorless camera!
I picked up this Konica Autoreflex TC for a mere $5 due to its broken mirror. That wasnt a problem because I only wanted it for the lens which was also damaged. The Lens was twisted such that it couldn’t be focused. After repairing the lens I figured why stop at that, so I removed the broken mirror and its mechanisms, the metering and prism. Not wanting to leave a gaping hole (not sure but that might let light in) I cut and shaped pieces of plastic and rebuilt the top plate to be flat across the top like a rangefinder. only now the camera has absolutely no viewfinder. Luckily I had a broken Konica X15 flash that I cut and shaped into a case for a viewfinder. and as you might guess I had previously taken a viewfinder from a broken point and shoot. I really see little point of a how-to because it’s a matter of taking whatever you have on hand and adapting it to a new purpose. I will say though you can accomplish quite a bit with patience and little files.
This is all possible because the cameras is completely mechanical and doesn’t require any battery power or metering to operate.
To recap I’ve gone from an SLR with a viewfinder and metering to a….scale focus….thing….with an external viewfinder….thing. Now I’ll run a roll of film through it and see if it works.
