My Konica IIIa Back from the Shop... and it Works!

Konica IIIa

I was terribly excited when I first took reception of my vintage Konica IIIa a few months ago. However, as you may or may not have previously read, I discovered, after my first test roll of film, that the range finder was off and therefore, I was unable to focus accurately as attested by the sample photos below. 

One of the great things about living in South Korea, as a photographer, is the abundance of reputable and reasonably-priced camera repair shops. So I wasted no time in taking my Konica IIIa in for some tender loving care.

As you can see, the range finder is off considerably...

Thank goodness for the awesome repair shops here in Seoul!

Below, photos from my test roll AFTER the Konica IIIa came back from the shop. Nice!

As you can see, they did a great job. The camera is now functioning "like new" and the range finder is dead on! Such a relief. Now I can go out and start taking some nice shots with the confidence that the photos will be in focus! Thanks camera repair guy!

When Your Rangefinder is Out of Whack - Konica IIIa

My vintage Konica IIIa is in really good condition. It's well-built with a nice 40mm lens. I was really excited to put my first roll of film through it, however, I noticed that there was something amiss with the rangefinder. It would not align correctly at shorter distances and was therefore in need of a calibration. I have since had the rangefinder calibrated and it is in good working order, however, I already had a roll in it when I noticed the rangefinder was out of whack, so I went ahead and had the roll developed knowing full well that most of the photos would be out of focus.

I also noticed that in low light, I will need to overexpose the picture a little as the Konica does not
appear to like low light.

Below are a few images form my test roll.

Here you can see that the rangefinder is out of calibration.

Underexposed even with correct settings from a light meter.

The Konica IIIa took nice shots when the focus was set to infinity, obviously because it did not need

to focus at exact, closer range distances.

Looking good at longer distances when the rangefinder was not needed.

I can't wait to put a second roll though it now that I have my Konica IIIa back from the repair shop.