# 1983 Konica FT-1 Motor?



## AaronLLockhart (Jul 15, 2012)

First of all, Keith or any other moderators. I really don't know if this is in the right section or not, but I couldn't find a "film photography" section that this suited either. So, I'm posting it here. Sorry if posting in the wrong place.

Anyway, I have the opportunity to get a Konica FT-1 motor. I know NOTHING about this camera. However, I think I'm going to take it, because it's free. Anyway, I don't know what lenses will fit it, what mount it is, so on and so fourth. Literally, I don't know anything about it other than it's a 35mm SLR film camera. Anyone know about this thing?

I'll take any and all help. I'm native to Digital. I started with an Asahi Pentax K1000, but I really only used it long enough to figure out how to meter an SLR, adjust aperture and focal point. So, needless to say, I know _*squat*_ about film photography. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.


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## compur (Jul 15, 2012)

It's called the Konica AR mount. Most of the Konica-made lenses for this camera have "Konica Hexanon AR" on their name ring.  There are also lots of third party lenses with this mount from Vivitar, Tamron, etc.

The FT-1 Motor is a motor-driven manual-focus 35mm SLR that runs on either AAA or AA batteries (depending on which battery holder is mounted). I suggest checking to make sure it is functional before buying lenses for it.

Manual here:
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/konica/konica_ft-1/konica_ft-1.pdf


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## AaronLLockhart (Jul 15, 2012)

compur said:


> It's called the Konica AR mount. Most of the Konica-made lenses for this camera have "Konica Hexanon AR" on their name ring.  There are also lots of third party lenses with this mount from Vivitar, Tamron, etc.
> 
> The FT-1 Motor is a motor-driven manual-focus 35mm SLR that runs on either AAA or AA batteries (depending on which battery holder is mounted). I suggest checking to make sure it is functional before buying lenses for it.
> 
> ...




Thank you so much for the info!!! I got the camera. It was suffering from "Mirror stuck open" syndrome. I got the mirror free, and what do you know, the mirror is shattered. Not a big deal. It came with a 50mm 1.7 and an 80-200mm zoom, so I hopped on ebay and bought a new (working) body for $30.00. Should be here within the next couple of days 

I'm looking forward to shooting with it. What lens recommendations would you make?


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## compur (Jul 16, 2012)

Original Konica-made prime lenses are excellent and the main advantage in using a Konica SLR.  There are no bad Konica lenses so any you find will do a great job. The more common focal lengths (28,35,50ish,135) are fairly easy to find and not too pricey except for the 57/1.2 which goes for around $400-$500 in mint condition.  The 40mm has become a "cult classic" and currently goes for around $75 in good condition but it's not going to be much different than the 50 you already have. Lenses wider than 28 and longer than 50ish (except 135) are harder to find and some are getting quite pricey.  But I would start with a 28 and 135 in addition to the 50 you already have. 

For years Konica lenses were cheap because it was difficult to adapt them to digital mounts. That's all changed now since the introduction of Micro 4/3, and other newer digital systems like NEX and others. So, Konica lens prices have shot up recently.


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