{"id":7642,"date":"2013-02-01T07:00:12","date_gmt":"2013-02-01T15:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wkoopmans.ca\/notebook\/?p=7642"},"modified":"2013-01-31T21:29:11","modified_gmt":"2013-02-01T05:29:11","slug":"the-thing-konicazilla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wkoopmans.ca\/notebook\/?p=7642","title":{"rendered":"The Thing (Konicazilla)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Look ma, it’s a mirrorless camera!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Konica_Scale_focus40mm\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0a viewfinder\u00a0from 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.<\/p>\n

\"Konica_Scale_focus40mm-2\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is all possible because the cameras is completely mechanical and doesn’t require any battery power or metering to operate.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\t\t