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Konica Autoreflex T3: manual and user guide

Konica’s shutter-priority SLR, for AR lenses. Its original manual, then the essentials for using it.

View the manual on butkus.orgOriginal scanned manual · 81 pages · in English, German, French and Swedish

Manual scanned and put online free of charge by Mike Butkus, whose library runs on donations. The link opens his model page, where you can download the PDF.

Getting started

Batteries Unscrew the battery compartment cover with a coin, anticlockwise. Put in two 1.35 V mercury batteries, “+” side up as shown on the drawing in the compartment, then screw the cover back on firmly. The manual mentions National H-C, Mallory PX-675 or Eveready EPX-675. They power the light meter.
Loading In the shade, pull the back catch, put in the cartridge and slide the film leader into a slot in the take-up spool. Wind on while holding the cartridge, check that the teeth engage the perforations, close the back by pressing it with a finger and take up the slack with the rewind crank. Wind on and fire until the counter reads “1”: the rewind knob should turn anticlockwise, otherwise rewind and start again.
Sensitivity Lift the outer ring of the shutter speed dial and turn it until your film speed is opposite the mark, in the ASA or DIN window. Let go: it drops back and locks. The scale runs from ISO 12 to 3200 (ASA).
Your first photo Turn the aperture ring until it clicks onto the AE mark. Choose the shutter speed: the manual suggests 1/125 s outdoors and 1/30 s indoors. Aim, focus, check that the viewfinder needle stays out of the two red zones and press the shutter button: the aperture sets itself.
Rewinding When the lever locks at the end of the film, don’t force it. Press the rewind button under the body, it stays down, then unfold the crank and turn it in the direction of the arrow until you feel the tension suddenly give. Open the back out of the sun: the counter returns to “S”.

What it can do

Shutter-priority automatic exposure with AR lenses bearing the AE mark: you choose the shutter speed, it sets the aperture. It also has manual shooting and stop-down metering, by matching the needle to a mark.
Shutter speeds from 1 s to 1/1000 s plus B, on a vertical-travel Copal Square-S metal shutter.
A self-timer adjustable up to about 10 s, and a multiple-exposure device.
In the viewfinder: the light meter needle, the chosen shutter speed, the aperture, the exposure marks and the battery check mark.

Good to know

The switch around the shutter button, set to OFF, turns off the light meter and locks the shutter button. Set it to OFF to carry the camera when it’s wound on. A stroke of the lever sets it back to ON by itself.
A mercury battery lasts about a year, then weakens suddenly. If the needle stays still in bright light, it’s run down.
To test the batteries: with the lens removed, set ISO 100 (ASA) and 1/125 s, then push the switch towards “C” while looking through the viewfinder. The needle should come to the mark between f/8 and f/11.
Batteries of the same shape exist with a different voltage: check for 1.35 V. If the camera is stored for a long time, take out the batteries and keep them somewhere dry.
Never open the back before rewinding: the whole film would be fogged.

Which lenses?

Konica Mount II bayonet mount, 47 mm in diameter, 40.5 mm flange distance.
Automatic exposure needs an AR lens with the AE mark. A preset lens is metered stopped down, by lining the needle up with a mark.
The manual lists three standard lenses: Hexanon AR 50 mm f/1.7, AR 50 mm f/1.4 and AR 57 mm f/1.2, all with AE lock and focusing down to 0.45 m.
To remove the lens, hold the release button down and turn the lens anticlockwise until the red dots line up. To fit it, line up the red dots, push it in without forcing and turn it the other way until it clicks.

The flash

Two sockets on the side of the body: M for a bulb flash with a cord, X for an electronic flash with a cord.
On X, electronic flash syncs at 1/125 s. On M, M, FP and MF bulbs sync at all speeds.
The contact above the eyepiece takes the Konica shoe: the small Konica X-20 and X-14 flashes connect to it without a cord.

Autoreflex T3 specifications

Format: 135 film in cartridges, 24 × 36 mm frames
Mount: Konica Mount II bayonet (Hexanon AR lenses), 47 mm diameter, 40.5 mm flange distance
Shutter: vertical-travel Copal Square-S metal focal-plane shutter, from 1 s to 1/1000 s and B
Viewfinder: pentaprism, 92% coverage, 0.78× magnification with a 50 mm at infinity, microprism or split-image screen as an option
Metering: through the lens, two CdS cells, at full aperture with AE lenses, stopped down otherwise, from EV 1.5 to EV 18 (ISO 100, f/1.2)
Sensitivity: ISO 12 to 3200 (ASA), DIN 12 to 36
Flash: M and X sockets on the side, X sync at 1/125 s, contact for Konica shoe above the eyepiece
Power: two 1.35 V mercury batteries (National H-C, Mallory PX-675 or Eveready EPX-675), for the light meter
Dimensions and weight: 150 × 95 × 45 mm, 740 g body only