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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slr-35mm
The Konica FP-1 (1980) is a consumer-grade 35mm SLR built around the Konica AR bayonet mount. It derives from the FS-1 (1979) platform but removes the integrated motor drive, producing a lighter and less expensive body aimed at the broad mid-market. The FP-1 offers two automatic exposure modes - programmed AE and aperture-priority AE - alongside an electronic vertical metal focal-plane shutter running from 2s to 1/1000s. Metering is TTL centre-weighted via a silicon cell. Power comes from four AA batteries; there is no mechanical fallback shutter speed.
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 Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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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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Before you buy used
About this camera
A simplified FS-1 without the built-in motor drive - Konica's affordable two-mode SLR for the 1980s consumer market.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Konica AR bayonet |
| Year introduced | 1980 |
| Shutter | 2s - 1/1000s + B, electronic vertical metal focal plane |
| Flash sync | ~1/100s |
| Meter | TTL silicon-cell centre-weighted |
| Modes | Program / Aperture-priority auto |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism ~0.92x |
| Battery | 4x AA (required) |
| Mechanical fallback | None |
| Weight | ~510 g |
Following the FS-1's commercial underperformance - the built-in motor drive raised both cost and body bulk without winning the volume sales Konica needed - the company introduced the FP-1 in 1980 as a rationalised platform. The motor drive was dropped, the body was trimmed in size and price, and programmed AE was added alongside the aperture-priority mode carried over from the FS-1.
The addition of a full program mode reflected broader market trends: Canon had popularised program AE with the A-1 (1978) and the market was moving toward simplified operation for casual photographers. The FP-1's dual-mode approach positioned it as accessible for beginners while retaining the aperture-priority option for more deliberate shooting.
Konica phased out the FP-1 in the early-to-mid 1980s as the AR-mount SLR line contracted. The FT-1 (1983) and TC-X represented the final stages of Konica's SLR programme before the company exited the interchangeable-lens camera market.
The FP-1 is a workmanlike camera in a neglected corner of the AR-mount family. Its collector profile is low, which keeps used prices well below comparable bodies from Canon and Minolta of the same era. The chief reason to consider an FP-1 today is lens access: the Konica AR Hexanon range includes the 40mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.7 among the most optically respected standard primes in Japanese camera history, and the FP-1 provides a functional, inexpensive way to use them in their native mount.
The program mode is crude by later standards - fixed program curve, no shift - but functional for daylight snapshots. The aperture-priority mode is more versatile and the more useful of the two for deliberate photography. The electronic shutter's stepless control in AE mode gives slightly finer exposure accuracy than fixed-step mechanical shutters.
The FP-1 does not offer the historical novelty of the FS-1's motor drive or the extreme simplicity of the TC, and it sits in a no-man's-land between those two cameras. Its case for purchase rests primarily on the quality of the AR-mount lens ecosystem it opens up.
Full Konica AR bayonet mount compatibility. Key lenses: Hexanon AR 40mm f/1.8 (pancake), 50mm f/1.7, 50mm f/1.4, 57mm f/1.2, 28mm f/3.5, 28mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.8, 135mm f/3.2, 200mm f/4. Third-party AR-mount glass from Tokina, Tamron, and Vivitar available. Accessories: standard hot-shoe flash, PC-sync cord, Konica cable releases.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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