Konica S2 worth the cost of restoration?

George Mann · Aug 8, 2021

BradS said:
Yeah. The light meters in these, especially those that use CdS cells seem to have no fared very well. I have two with DP-3 finders and they both work and are accurate (knock on wood). I've owned probably seven or eight F2 with DP-1 or DP-11 finders - all were inaccurate at best, many were wildly inaccurate and a few were just plain dead. Still, tey are better than the DE-1 that everybody seems to want because even a dead DP-1 shows the camera setting in the finder.

built in light meters are a dispensable luxury.

Mine came a late DP-1, which has a wire resistor ring. It happens to be accurate in daylight.

I haven't tested its low light tolerance.

mklw1954 · Aug 19, 2021

Contact Greg Weber, a Konica repair expert, www.webercamera.com. As a possible reference on cost, 12 years ago I bought an Auto S2 from him, which he had refurbished to mint condition, for $200. It is still going strong and an excellent camera (which I knew because that was my first camera, bought new in 1970).

zanxion72 · Aug 19, 2021

One better ask thyself if loves that camera and how much use is it going to take. Then the repair cost should be considered.

George Mann · Aug 19, 2021

Zack quoted me $100. I will send it there.

Paul Howell · Aug 19, 2021

If it were me, I would get a S3 and send that in, assuming that a CLA will be about the same. The S3 has a better lens, Pop or Modern Photo mag tested it and called it the sharpest semi wide on a fixed body, rivals Leica.

George Mann · Aug 19, 2021

Paul Howell said:
The S3 has a better lens

Well, the lens on the S2 renders like a Zeiss-Contax, which is world class.

Who has actually compared the two to validate if one is actually better than the other?

I much prefer the ergonomics of the S2 over the S3, and I only paid $10 for it.

Helge · Aug 20, 2021

Paul Howell said:
If it were me, I would get a S3 and send that in, assuming that a CLA will be about the same. The S3 has a better lens, Pop or Modern Photo mag tested it and called it the sharpest semi wide on a fixed body, rivals Leica.

I’d really like to see that often mentioned test.
The S3 lens seems very ordinary to me from the high res scans I’ve seen.
I doubt it’s even made by Konica.
I wouldn’t be very surprised if it’s the same basic config as the Tokina made Hexanon 40mm f1.8 AR mount, from few years later. Or indeed, as has often been pointed out, the 40mm in the 7s II.

Anyhow the tiny finder, the small ergonomics and no metering in manual, makes the S3 uninteresting to me.

Craig75 · Aug 20, 2021

$100 to get a nice camera like konica tuned up for the next however many years sounds entirely worth it.

Huss · Aug 20, 2021

George Mann said:
I much prefer the ergonomics of the S2 over the S3, and I only paid $10 for it.

Some people would pay that for a Leica.

Huss · Aug 20, 2021

Craig75 said:
$100 to get a nice camera like konica tuned up for the next however many years sounds entirely worth it.

Agreed, and I really hope it works out because Zack has done some great work for me.

Konica S2 worth the cost of restoration?

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