Konica Auto S 261 (c. 1967)

The Konica Auto S 261 is a 126-film version of Konica's celebrated Auto S line — a drop-in cartridge camera with automatic exposure and flash cube support, pitched at the snapshot market of the late 1960s. It sits in an odd spot: it carries the Auto S name, but it is not a rangefinder in the classic sense, and it shoots 126 cartridge film rather than 35mm. One period magazine ad for a third-party tele lens described it as a camera that "looks as sharp and shoots as sharply," using an instant-loading, drop-in 126 cartridge.

Documentation on this model is thin. What the record shows: the camera has a fixed 40mm f/1.8 lens, a shutter range of 1/8s to 1/500s, and CdS metering. It was a viewfinder camera — no rangefinder mechanism — with automatic exposure. A 1969 magazine advertisement (referenced in period catalogs) bundled the camera with a 90–230mm f/4.5 Caspeco Instaswitch lens for $199.50, with the ad copy claiming "the lens alone is worth the price." The camera itself was also sold under the Wards house brand as the Wards 261.

Known specs:

Film: 126 cartridge (instant-loading, drop-in)
Lens: Fixed 40mm f/1.8
Shutter: 1/8s – 1/500s
Exposure: Automatic, CdS metered
Flash: Cube support
Battery: PX625

One collector note flags a common issue: mirror and shutter sticking at 1/30 and slower speeds. There is some contradiction in the record about the release date — one source says "c1967," another claims a 1970s release at around $100 — and the 1969 magazine ad supports the earlier date. The instruction manual (IBD704) survives and is available through Pacific Rim Camera's reference library and at butkus.org.