Konica Pop
The Konica Pop was introduced in 1982. Because nothing says '80s excess like a point and shoot that comes in a rainbow of colors. In 1985 it was updated and the "hexagon" was dropped from the lens but new colors were added. Production ended in 1988 and about that time an auto-date version came out.
What can I say it was the 1980s and who didn't want a pink, lime or purple point and shoot? Lucky for me the one I found is a "raven" black. Looks like black to me but if your competing with a line that includes: deep blue, yellow, aqua, red, green, lime, purple, pink and metallic silver: just black is not going to cut it.
It was the conspicuous consumption, in your face, greed is good 1980s. So, I expected the name POP had some hip social reference to pop culture. Or pop because of the eye popping colors. Nope. POP name is because the flash pops up. In Japan it was called the EFJ. The fact that Konica did not have a better story for the name was my biggest disappointment about the Pop.
My Take:
I vaguely remember the Konica Pop from the 1980s. Mostly because of the variety of colors. I do prefer the black, just because I am not secure enough for the pink. It is a sturdy feeling point and shoot. It has very minimal control. You set the film speed mine give you the option of 100, 200 or 400. I understand the earliest models only gave you two options. The flash is on or off, based on if it is up or down. Then just point and shoot. The same button that pops the flash can be pushed toward the lens when taking a picture to target the flash closer at 1.5 to 2 meters.
I liked the Pop. It felt good in the hand and was very fast to use. The lens has a max f4.0 so the flash comes in handy. It is not the smallest point and shoot and not really a pocket camera. But it is a coat pocket camera. Build quality is good and image quality is acceptable. Plus it is powered by two AA batteries.
If you need a lime one to fit in your zombi kit or a pink one to match you designer poodle, you can expect to pay more. They seem to have a bit of a cult following and the colors are more collectible. For a black, excuse me, raven black model you can be boring like me but have a decent point and shoot. Looking at them online there seem to be plenty of "parts" cameras and even the working one seem to have been well used. This was a consume camera targeting a young hip audience. Not the people you want to entrust with your future collectable. So if you are looking for a mint shelf queen, good luck. If you want a shooter, they are out there.
Lens: Konica Hexagon 36mm f4.0
Film: FujiColor 100