As much as I love my Konica Pearl III, I just don't use it enough to justify keeping it. Manufactured in the late 1950s, the Konica Pearl III III is the second-to-last of Konica's Pearl series, cameras which were quite popular until the surge in interest in the 35mm film format. Like its predecessors, the III shoots 6×4.5 sized images on 120 or 220 medium format film, but it has more features than the original Pearl and the "Baby" Pearl. These features include a coupled rangefinder, semi-automatic (auto stop) film advance, and flash synchronization. This camera had a full CLA at Nippon Camera in Midtown Manhattan soon after I got it. The 75mm f3.5 Hexar lens is clear, and the shutter speeds--up to 1/500th--are now accurate, and the rangefinder was aligned. Easy to see through coupled viewfinder with a bright rangefinder patch. Film advance works perfectly. Cosmetically, it's in great shape overall, but as you can see in two of the pics, some of the finish has worn off the chrome struts, but they work fine. The only issue I had with this camera and which the next owner will have to deal with is some pinholing in the bellows. You can see in the pics that I did put some bellows tape on the corners but eventually, as with all bellows cameras, the bellows will have to be replaced. Asking $300 for this handheld jewel, which is what the CLA cost me at Nippon. I just want someone to use it! It's a wonderful little camera. Will include a wrist strap and small Tamrac camera bag for free.
