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Though an early player in the amateur fixed lens market, Konica was somewhat late to the exploding SLR party. Konica was the very first manufacturer to offer an interchangeable lens FP shutter camera with an automatically controlled shutter.
Konica's first offering, the Auto Reflex, arrived in 1965 and was the first to offer the combination: full or half frame (mid roll switchable), auto exposure control, interchangeable bayonet mount lenses. That camera, though unique in the extent of its capabilities, seemed to satisfy a market demand that was really not there and failed to take off due to its relatively very high cost. Subsequent models were much less ambitious undertakings and competed with varying degrees of success in the value segment. Konica lenses, a strength of the company, were known for their high optical quality and solid construction relative to cost.
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