Lomopedia : Konica FT-1 Pro Half

Ask around your photography group about the Konica FT-1 Pro Half and you'll probably get puzzled and bewildering looks as replies. Maybe some would quip that you were really talking about the Konica FT-1 and you can't blame them for that. It's actually the second iteration of the renowned FT-1 only that instead of taking full-size photos, the Pro Half is a dedicated half-frame camera.

Variation of the Konica FT-1, the Konica FT-1 Motor Linus via Flickr, Images used under Creative Commons license

From the name itself, the FT-1 Pro Half is a half-frame camera that captures 18mm x 24mm images on 35mm film. It bumps up the exposure count by half and still maintains the many loved features of the original FT-1. What really made it rare even in the current market is that it was intended as special corporate gifts to customers so not a lot of units found its way to the camera market.

The Pro Half inherits a lot of the great features that made the Konica FT-1 such an amazing camera. It has an accurate electronically controlled Copal shutter, a well-functioning metering system, built-in film winder, and the ergonomic battery grip (it actually comes in two versions, AAA and AA.) It's also a host to a wide array of accessories that make customization exciting, to say the least.

One thing that made the Konica FT-1 and the Pro Half great cameras to work with is the electronic AE lock that made shooting backlit subjects easy. Light pressure on the shutter release locks the exposure and in turn, helps in proper metering for shots.

Rare, beautiful in design, and has quite a background, the FT-1 and FT-1 Pro Half make for great collection pieces. So much so that a couple of our resident "camera geeks" here at the Lomography HQ are caught swooning at the thought of seeing an actual Pro Half in metal.

Technical Specifications

Lens Mount: Konica bayonet II, diameter 47 mm , flange-film distance 40.5 mm
Standard Lenses: Hexanon AR 40mm f/1.8, Hexanon AR 50mm f/1.8, Hexanon AR 50mm f/1.4, Hexanon AR 57mm f/1.2
ISO: ISO 25/15° – ISO 3200/36°
Shutter: Vertically travelling, electronically controlled metal focal plane shutter, Single, non-rotating speed setting dial, B, 2 s – 1/1000 s in constant progression
Aperture Control: Fully automatic and manual
Exposure: Fully automatic exposure control (AEC) with shutter speed priority
Flash: X synch: 1/100 s with dedicated electronic flash Konica X-24
Film Type: 35mm
Winding Mechanism: Auto-winding system with electric motor. Index mark turns in the film advance window to indicate
positive film wind
Film Rewind: Crank system, LED end of roll indicator. Rewind button automatically returns to the original position.
Automatic resetting frame counter
Dimensions: 143 x 91 x 46mm
Viewfinder: Pentaprism eye-level finder with upright, unreversed image
Weight: 570g
Battery: 4 pieces 1.5 V alkaline manganese batteries type AA or AAA, depending on version
Body construction: polycarbonate exterior

All information used in this article was sourced from Camerapedia, Buhla, and Butkus.

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written by cheeo on 2018-02-04 #gear #lomopedia #half-frame #rare #lomopedia #konica-ft-1-pro-half

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