Konica Autoreflex A2
The Konica Autoreflex A2 was released in 1971 as a very minor and subtle update to the Autoreflex A. In fact, it is such a small update that the Autoreflex A2 still says "Autoreflex A" on front nameplate. The differences came down to a few changes in styling: the shutter speed dial has a double knurled row for better grip, the frame counter indicator became white on black for better legibility and shutter speed indicator became a longer black line instead of a black dot. From a functional point of view the Autoreflex A2 had a shorter, smoother travel to the shutter button that helped reduce the possibility of camera shake just a bit. Otherwise what you would say about the A2 can equally apply to the Autoreflex A.
The Konica Autoreflex A2 is a stripped down version of the Autoreflex T2. Konica shaved some of the T2's features off to make a more budget friendly camera targeted more toward advanced amateurs. Don't mistake this for thinking the Autoreflex A2 is cheaply built - it most definitely is not. This camera is a tank, and weighs almost as much as one. Namely Konica eliminated the 1/1000 top speed, the self-timer, the depth of field preview, the mirror lockup lever, shutter speed display in the viewfinder, a meter on/off switch and a battery test button. Removing these features made the A2 significantly less expensive to built (in an era where work was still largely done by hand, even if it was in an assembly line setting). The Autoreflex A2 therefore still has a robust, Copal shutter albeit with a top speed of 1/500, a TTL light meter capable of shutter priority auto exposure or metered manual and access to a solid array of Hexanon lenses.
These days the Autoreflex A2 falls into a weird category. Even though it was originally the less expensive model time has flattened prices and smoothed them out across these Konica cameras. An Autoreflex A2 will likely cost nearly the same price as the more fully featured Autoreflex T2, or its predecessor the Autoreflex T. If you find an Autoreflex A2 in good working condition, it is definitely a stalwart camera and comparable to the some of the Minolta SRT cameras, but if you are going out specifically looking for an early Konica SLR to buy, you'd be better off looking for the T or T2 just to get more value for your dollars spent.
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