KONICA C35

THE CAMERA:

Konica C35 from 1968. I got this a year ago (spring 2012) on eBay for a song but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. I was still learning about vintage cameras (still am now) and didn't know much about this model and I couldn't tell from the pictures how bad off it was. It was a mess. the focus ring was frozen, the thing was filthy, the leatherette was shrunk and curling on all edges (front only) and somebody hacked the focus knob. The meter didn't work But alas the shutter fired!

I've torn this thing apart three times. A year ago after I first got it, I took the top and bottom off to clean it and work on the frozen focus ring. I warmed it up under a lamp and played with it and it snapped to life, it seems fine a year later, no sticking. I then got some batteries and tried it out. That's when the meter showed it's ugly head and I put it on a shelf for a year.

Recently, out of boredom, I got it down and began messing with the wiring. The battery compartment and wires looked good. I had to remove the crappy leatherette, (it was falling off anyway) and after removing the top and bottom plate, I got the main lens mount off. I got the black plastic ring inside the front of the lens holding the CDS cell and ASA adjust. One of the wires was detached from the CDS cell and was spliced inside the camera a few places.

I put it back together and the meter needle moved but only just off of the bottom, about 1/30 sec. Apparently I needed to completely rewire the thing. It is a simple job really, just 2 wires. No circuitry boards or anything like that, the Auto feature, much like the Canonet QL17 works off of the meter needle itself. There are two fragile blades that, as you press the shutter release, move over across and touch the meter needle, the position of the needle determines the shutter and aperture setting.

Easy but time consuming. About 4 hours total, (I suck at soldering) it worked but discovered the CDS cell is bad as the meter needle now pegs out all the way to the top.. I gave it a new coat of Leatherette and cleaned it up real good. It's a nice little camera. I can't wait to try it out with some film. My real dream camera I'm looking for is a Konica Auto S3 Black (or the Japanese model C35-FD in Silver)

UPDATE:

I just finished the light seals in the film compartment. Pain in the rear! almost the same pain as the Canonet's. I did however, simplify the project by removing the door from the body. Just take the top plate off (probably the easiest of all the cameras I've dealt with so far) and slide the hinge pin up through the hinge. Mine was no problem and it sure made it easier. You could also peel back the front leatherette from the hinge and un-screw the hinge , I later did this to get at the old gummy felt light seal that was lodged under the hinge, this way you could avoid taking the top plate off. Either way, if you don't want to mess with the leatherette, take the hinge pin out and just dig out the gum under the hinge.

Here is a sample photo from this camera

Manual: Konica C35 Manual

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