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 Autoreflex P (1968) was introduced alongside the Autoreflex T as a simplified, lower-cost entry into the Konica AR-mount SLR system. Where the Autoreflex T implemented shutter-priority autoexposure - the photographer sets the shutter speed and the camera selects the aperture - the Autoreflex P inverted this logic: the photographer sets the aperture and the camera determines the appropriate shutter speed. This aperture-priority arrangement was simpler to implement mechanically and was considered more intuitive by Konica for amateur users who wanted depth-of-field control without managing shutter speeds.
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
The simplified companion to the Autoreflex T, offering fixed aperture-priority AE on the AR mount.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Konica AR bayonet |
| Years | ~1968–? |
| Shutter | 1s – 1/1000s + B, horizontal cloth focal plane |
| Flash sync | ~1/60s |
| Meter | TTL CdS centre-weighted |
| Modes | Aperture-priority auto |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism |
| Battery | 1x PX625 mercury (required) |
| Mechanical fallback | None |
The Autoreflex P emerged from Konica's strategy of segmenting its AR-mount SLR line by complexity and price. The original Auto-Reflex (1965) had been an engineering showcase - it offered half-frame/full-frame switching - but was not positioned as a simple camera. When Konica redesigned the line in 1968, it produced two contemporaneous bodies: the Autoreflex T (shutter-priority, with manual override) aimed at enthusiasts and the Autoreflex P (aperture-priority only) aimed at the capable amateur who wanted automation without complexity.
The aperture-priority approach placed the Autoreflex P conceptually closer to later cameras like the Pentax ME (1976) and Olympus OM-10 (1979), though the P predates those designs by nearly a decade. In the late 1960s Japanese SLR market, fully automatic exposure of any kind was still a differentiating feature; the P occupied a distinct market position despite its reduced feature set relative to the T.
The Autoreflex P appears to have had a shorter production life than the T, and surviving examples are less frequently encountered in the used market. The subsequent Autoreflex line (T3, TC, T4) retained shutter-priority as the preferred AE mode, suggesting the P's aperture-priority approach was not carried forward as Konica's primary design direction.
The Autoreflex P is historically notable as an early aperture-priority automatic SLR, predating the Pentax ME and Olympus OM-10 by nearly a decade. It demonstrates that Konica was experimenting with different AE paradigms simultaneously in 1968, producing both a shutter-priority and an aperture-priority body in the same model year.
For collectors, the P occupies a secondary position relative to the better-documented Autoreflex T. Its aperture-priority-only design makes it less versatile for practical shooting, and its relative rarity in working condition means service can be uncertain. It is of primary interest as a piece of Konica system history and as an early example of dedicated aperture-priority automation.
Full Konica AR mount compatibility. All Hexanon AR lenses produced from 1965 onwards fit and provide automatic aperture coupling. The aperture-priority mode works by the photographer selecting an aperture on the lens ring while the camera sets shutter speed via the TTL CdS reading.
Key lenses usable with the Autoreflex P:
All Konica AR lenses are adaptable to Sony E, Micro Four Thirds, and Fuji X mounts with passive adapters.
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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