C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Konica Konilet B is a direct evolutionary follow-on to the original 1953 Konilet, introduced by Konishiroku Photo Industry in approximately 1955. It retains the same fundamental architecture as its predecessor - a fixed Hexar lens, scale focus, manual exposure, no meter - while incorporating incremental refinements to the body and shutter mechanism that reflect Konishiroku's ongoing development of the mid-market 35mm compact segment in the mid-1950s.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Kodak UltraMax 400 is a versatile consumer-grade ISO 400 daylight-balanced color negative film with T-grain emulsion, delivering warm Kodak colors, fine-for-speed grain (PGI 46), and wide exposure latitude. Currently in production and available globally as a single-roll and multi-pack.
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About this camera
The 1955 refinement of Konica's post-war mid-tier scale-focus compact; a modest but measurable step forward.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Lens | ~Hexar 50mm f/4.5 (fixed) |
| Year | ~1955 |
| Shutter | Leaf, ~1/25s - 1/200s |
| Meter | None |
| Modes | Manual |
| Focus | Scale focus |
| Battery | None required |
| Flash | ~ |
By 1955, Konishiroku was well into its postwar domestic expansion and the Japanese camera market had become considerably more competitive. European imports remained present but Japanese manufacturers were driving the mid-market on volume and improving specifications with each production cycle. The Konilet B represents Konishiroku's approach of incremental refinement: updating an existing tooled body rather than investing in an entirely new platform.
The original Konilet had established a market position in 1953, and the B variant extended that position through the mid-decade period. Konishiroku did not pursue the Konilet line into the 1960s; the company's direction shifted toward cameras with automatic exposure control, culminating in the EE Matic series with selenium metering that addressed the fundamental limitation of the scale-focus, meterless Konilet approach.
The Konilet B's specific production volume and exact discontinuation date are not documented in available English-language sources. It appears to have been a short-run variant rather than a long-duration production model.
The Konilet B is a minor historical artifact rather than a landmark camera. Its value is primarily as evidence of Konishiroku's iterative development philosophy in the mid-1950s, and as part of the complete picture of the Konilet series within the broader Konica compact lineup.
For collectors focused on the Konilet series specifically, the B variant is notable as a distinct model with its own production identity, separate from the original. Because the differences between Konilet variants are not well-documented, examples that can be positively identified as Konilet B are of interest to completionist collectors of the early Konica range. They are uncommon in Western markets and more frequently encountered through Japanese sources.
C41
Kodak ColorPlus 200 is an affordable, consumer-oriented daylight-balanced color negative film at ISO 200. Known for warm, slightly muted color rendition, fine grain, and wide exposure latitude, it is currently in production and widely available in Asia and select global markets.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Konica Konilet B
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