Koni-Omega

[John Z.]

Curious to know if anyone has tried a Koni-Omega 6x7 camera hand-held for photographing street scenes. I would like to know your opinion, as I am thinking about trying one, as an inexpensive alsternative to a Mamiya 7. Thanks,

John

[Darin Cozine]

I havent used one in the field, but I did get a chance to handle one at a store.
I was very impressed with how comfortable it was in my hands. The rangefinder is bright. And the lenses performed superbly in chris perez' lens tests.
For more info, you should probably check out photo.net or apug.org

[tim atherton]

Yes, I have.

it's not bad - bit of a big heavy sucker, but sturdy - you could knock nails in with them.

Optics while limited are very sharp - limited for close ups though.

You can change "magazines" on most versions, though they are a bit bulky. And you need to get used to the push-me-pull-you film advance...

Biggest problem is the rangefinders can be dim or discoloured with age. They can be refurbished, but it's a bit of work. Also, many/most were hard used - either by wedding photographers or police photogoraphersetc. So if you buy one, it can be well worn - especially the wind on mechanism, which leads to overlapping film

The standard 90mm optics are very good, as is the 65mm wide angle (though slower than the 90mm). The telephoto wasn't quite so hot.

If you can find model in good condition, it is a very sturdy and handy camera. I still have one (it needs some work these days) - a major advantage for me was that it worked well in the cold.

I used to have some links to a bunch of Koni stuff - I'll see if I still do.

A sightly more expensive option (limited to one lens per camera though) is the Fuji 67 or 69. Nice optics and bright rangefinders - wish I'd not sold my 69 GSWII sometimes

[tim atherton]

try these

http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/korapid.html

http://www.peterlanczak.de/koni_overview.htm

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?KoniOmegaRapidM.html~mainFrame

http://www.koni-omega.org/

(Oh yeah - as well as the odd wind on, I also forgot the slightly odd focus mechanism - they all work very well, sometimes better than the "standard methods" - but it's a bit like someone said "now, lets try and figure out a way to do things that's different from how everyone else does it...)

[tim atherton]

it's getting late - the WA is variously a 58/60mm I think, not a 65mm

[Mark Sampson]

I remember a few instances when the advance lever would pull right out of the camera while advancing. That was with cameras owned (and worked hard) by the chain of portrait studios I once worked for. A few of the more experienced photographers there were still using K-Os, the company was transitioning to the Bronica ETR when I was hired.

[Kevin M Bourque]

I had one of these for a while. I never warmed up to it, but I'm not a big fan of rangefinders in general. The mechanics take some getting used to.

The lenses are great, however.

[Craig Schroeder]

I wish I still had my KO stuff that was sold many years back. When I look at those old negatives, they are very, very sharp. I felt it was fast and easy to use, with quick focus capability. I never had a bit of trouble with any part of my equipment. The 135 is stunning but the close focus capability of the system doesn't allow you to do tight head shots, however. For a complete wedding duty camera, it was excellent. Like others have mentioned, most were pro tools with a rugged life behind them so hold out for a clean, lesser used example.

[John Z.]

Thanks for the very helpful replies, and thanks Tim for the very very helpful threads. Anyone know where I might look at various photos online I could peruse online to see what different large format hand-held photography and cameras look like? In particular 6x9, and 4x5, also 6x7. Thanks again,

John

[Nick Morris]

Hello John.

Like Kevin, I had one for a while, and never warmed up to it. I bought it for your same reasons. I'm a big guy, but I found it heavy and ackward. I have started to use my Rolleiflex TLR again, which I find much faster to focus, lighter, and easier to use. After using an 8x10 almost exclusively for the past three years, it feels more natural to focus with a ground glass viewing screen. Because of the 6x6 format you will need to mask the viewing screen or get use to stepping back to allow for a rectangular crop. Also you are limited to a single lens, but it is a pretty good lens (mine's a 2.8 Plannar), and the Rollinar close-up lens attachment makes good pictures as well.