KonicaLexio 70

The Konica Lexio 70 is a product of the late 1990s — panorama switches, dated LCDs, and a few genuinely brilliant lenses hiding inside plastic shells — a zoom compact paired with a Konica 28–70mm f/4.9–9.3. Some backstory: one of the few 28mm-starting zoom compacts of its time.

Format

35mm

Year

1999

Lens

Konica 28–70mm f/4.9–9.3

Min. focus

0.4 m

Flash

Built-in

Battery

1× CR123A

The Konica 28–70mm f/4.9–9.3 covers wide-to-short-tele in one barrel — one lens, no decisions, point and shoot. Standard 35mm keeps it compatible with whatever Kodak, Ilford, Fuji or CineStill stock you find on the shelf today. A single CR123A lithium cell powers everything including the motor; still cheap and stocked at most camera shops. The built-in flash will fire whenever the meter decides it should, so learn the override before your first night out. Minimum focus is 0.4 m — unusually close for a compact of this era and a genuine advantage over rivals that stop at 0.7 m or 1 m. You can fill the frame with a coffee cup, a flower, or a face without stepping back. Built for family events, holidays and anything where you'd rather reframe than walk.

Zoom compacts are still the bargain corner of the film market — pick up the Konica Lexio 70 cheap, run a roll through it and judge whether the convenience outweighs the slower aperture.

• §1One of the few 28mm-starting zoom compacts of its time.