135compact.com       35mm ultra compact cameras       Konica Lexio 115

Konica made several ultra compacts in different lines. The non-zoom optics are all moderate wide angles of 35mm focal length. Only the Big Mini F opens up to F2.8. As it is also the smallest of the Konicas, it's the most expensive. The A4 is much cheaper, so it's a good alternative. For the zoom cameras there is the excellent Lexio 70. It goes from 28 to 70mm and it has impressing data at the wide end: F3.4. This page shows the Lexio 115. It a very similar body as the Lexio 70, but covers 38 to 115mm.
When it was first released in 2002, many compacts were already digital. It is one of the last new cameras before the merger of Konica and Minolta in 2003. Its main features are:

38-115mm F4.5-12.5 Konica lens, 7 elements in 6 groups, autofocus with focus lock, min. focus 0,6m
Electronic shutter, 1.5-1/300
Size 111x61.5x38.5,  Weight 200 gr. without battery
25-3200 ISO, automatic DX coding, self-timer, automatic film advance, exposure correction +1.5EV


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Camera front closed.

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Camera front open. Sliding the cover switches the camera on/off.

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The lens only moves out a little to wide position.

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Lens moved out to tele position.

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Camera back. On top: Viewer and eye correction wheel. Mode button, 2nd setting button, mid roll rewind. Wide/Tele button. Film window and camera opening button.

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View from above. S
hutter release. LCD screen (flash off). Camera sets auto flash as default, but remembers the last custom setting. So one push on the mode button brings your setting back (flash off in my case). Flash guide number ~20 (!) (m/ISO 100).

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Bottom. Tripod socket. The camera takes a CR2 battery

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Back open. 
The film leader is safely engaged when you close the back.

This camera is easy to use, silde the cover open and it's ready. Autofocus is responsive and works well. Putting a film is easy as well, you drop the film
, tear the film leader up to the mark and that's it. The camera winds it automatically. It has some manual settings if needed, the menu is very easy to access on a big clear LCD screen. Even the annoying feature of auto flash setting at start, which is the case with most ultra compacts, has a better solution: the camera remembers your last custom setting. So one push on the mode button brings your setting back (flash off in my case). In comparison to the other ultra compacts, the camera has an impressingly powerful flash. The adjustable viewer seems better to me than most of the others.

It's a very good point and shoot camera with a moderate wide angle zoom lens, good picture quality, nice high quality finish in a very small and light pocketable body. A nice find.

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