Konica Autoreflex T3

Hello, and welcome again to another sporadic Dusty Shutter post!

Yes, it's not Wednesday. I'm starting to wonder whether that schedule will jive with my schooling and what have you. Anyway, I'll keep trying to do a post a week, and maybe I'll change the header if/when I have time.

Anyhow, this week's cam jam is none other than the Konica Autoreflex T3. This is a bit painful for me, because my dad gave me his old T3N, which I cannot find now to save my life. I imagine it might be in the house somewhere.... but for now, let's talk about the T3.

The Konica Autoreflex T3 came out in the early 70s, and at the time it had every feature you could possibly want: automatic exposure control (with shutter priority), depth of field preview, a multiple exposure function, and a self timer with a mirror lock up function. On top of that, it's sturdy (and very heavy) and reliable.

So what makes this SLR stand out from other models, and what are the differences between the T3 and T3N? Wellllp, the T3, other than all those previously mentioned neat functions that I have yet to try out, has a very apparent switch for your light meter. For some reason a lot of cameras have stubborn or small switches, or activate with light, which I find makes it a lot easier to run down your battery. The T3 uses PX675 mercury batteries, so you don't want to go wasting them. (By the way, you can find environmentally friendly replacements for PX675s at WeinCell. Check it!) The sturdiness is a plus, of course, and the shutter makes a very satisfying noise.

The differences between the T3 and the T3N are pretty negligible. The T3's hot shoe is removable, while the T3N has a built in shoe. The T3N also has an eyepiece shutter beside the eyepiece, while the T3 does not. Other than that the differences are cosmetic: the T3N has a stripe on the self timer lever and a grip on the multiple exposure lever.

I'm pretty happy with the shots I've taken with the T3N, although I'd like to experiment more with all it can do. I need to get more of those rare batteries, unfortunately! All in all, if you end up with one of these cameras, you'll have a nice machine that will probably last you for generations, and that will most likely perform as well as a lot of newer cameras.

The following shots were taken on a T3N with cheap-o 400 ISO film from Shopper's.

Thanks for stickin' around!

Caity