Data sheet: Konica Varifocal Hexanon AR 35~100mm f/2.8

Pekka Buttler, 11/2025

Specifications

The table below summarizes the lens’ key specifications:

Brand:	Konica	Lens name	VARIFOCAL HEXANON AR 35~100mm F2.8
Focal length(s)1	35–100 mm	Angle-of-view2	63–24 °
Maximum Aperture	f/2.8	In Production	1971–1976
Lens mount	Konica AR	Subfamily (if applicable)	––
Length3	141,7 mm	Diameter4	85,1 mm
Filter ring diameter	82 mm	Weight	1087 grams
Lens element count	15	Lens group count	10
Aperture blades (S/R/C)5	6 S	Focus throw	210 °
Minimum focusing distance (measured)	26,5 cms (@35mm) 99,5 cms (@100mm)	Maximum magnification (measured)	1:3,4 (@35mm) 1:8,4 (@100mm)
Has manual aperture ring	YES	Has Manual focus ring	YES
Aperture mechanism type	Auto	Aperture click stops 6	2.8-4-5.6-8-11-16

Further notes:
• This lens was Konica’s first zoom lens that was not a tele zoom. This lens was introduced back when professional photographers consistently looked down on zoom lenses. Hence the engineers at Konica went all-out in their attempt to persuade the pros that zooms were not only for tele lenses, not always dark and not always burdened by terrible image quality.
• To appreciate the achievement in designing and manufacturing a constant f/2.8 zoom that goes from the wide-angle range, over the standard field-of-view into the tele end, below are listed the first lenses by which Konica’s main competitors⁷ achieved a constant f/2.8 standard zoom:
• Minolta MC 40-80/2.8 (1975)⁸
• SMC Pentax-AF 35-70mm F2.8 (1981)⁹
• Nikon AF 35–70/2.8 (1987) [data sheet]
• Canon EF28-70/2.8 (1993)
• Olympus OM 35–80/2.8 ED (1995)
• Problematically, that achievement came at a cost, both in terms of monetary cost but also in the form of weight as the Konica Varifocal weighs a bit over a kilogram.
• This is a two ring-zoom with one ring (the front ring) taking care of changing field-of-view and the rear ring taking responsibility for tweaking focusing distance.
• The lens’ zooming takes place internally and zooming does not change the size or shape of the lens.
• Focusing does change the length of the lens and the maximum focusing extension is 9,75 mm.
• The filter threads do not rotate.
• Originally each 35–100/2.8 varifocal was sold with a rectangular clamp-on lens hood. Given the 85 mm outer diameter of the barrel these hoods were huge.
• This lens is quite clearly radioactive, and it seems that the culprit is a lens element at the rear of the lens. Read here whether radioactive lenses are something to be worried about.

WTF ‘Varifocal’?
• There used to be a time when ‘zoom’ meant a lens that keeps its focusing distance when changing angle-of-view, whereas lenses that needed to be refocused after every change in focal length/angle-of-view were referred to as ‘varifocal’.
• When Konica in 1971 introduced two lenses that allowed their focal length to be modified on the fly (this and the Konica Zoom-Hexanon AR 65-135mm F4 [data sheet]), one of them deserved the name “zoom” whereas this lens was referred to as a “varifocal” lens.
• Today we have done away with the zoom/varifocal distinction and call all variable focal length lenses zooms. That does not mean that we would not care about the need to refocus, these traits are today called ‘parfocal’ and ‘varifocal’.
• In reality, very few lenses referred to as ‘zooms’ since the 1970s are, strictly speaking, parfocal. To take the above mentioned Konica Zoom-Hexanon AR 65-135/4 as an example, it does necessitate a minor tweaking of focus after changing the focal length (maybe you could get away with it at f/11), but the difference compared with a true varifocal zoom like the Konica 35–100/2.8 is nevertheless marked.

Versions

The optical design of the Konica VARIFOCAL HEXANON AR 35~100 mm f/2.8 remained unchanged throughout its production life. There are, technically, two variants that only differ in whether the aperture ring’s auto setting uses the “green EE” or “green AE” marking.

History of Konica AR lenses

Konica is one of those names that will not ring any bells to those who’ve only recently started photographing, but for many years Konica was one of the ‘Great Japanese camera companies’.

After a short-lived and only moderately successful line of SLR cameras known as the Konica F-line (1960-1965), Konica hit pay dirt with the introduction of the Konica Auto-Reflex in 1965 and its new, Konica AR mount. The Auto-Reflex was at the time the first affordable system camera with integrated auto-exposure (albeit the exposure metering was not yet TTL). The Auto-Reflex was followed by a two lines of successful cameras – the more ambitious Autoreflex T-line and the more pedestrian Autoreflex A-line – before Konica (along with the rest of Japanese camera companies) stepped up the automation of their SLR cameras with the 1-series (FS-1, FC-1, FP-1, and FT-1).

But while Konica had often been at the forefront of automation (first shutter priority auto-exposure system, first SLR with integrated winder), Konica’s star had been waning, and Konica decided to not compete against the likes of Minolta, Nikon, Canon, and Pentax in autofocus technology. Instead Konica withdrew from SLR and SLR lens manufacture and focused on compacts and other optoelectronics. Two decades later Konica merged with Minolta to form KonicaMinolta, which subsequently sold its camera business to Sony. So, after a fashion, the DNA of Konica’s camera business lives on in Sony’s camera division.

Relevantly, the Konica AR mount had a relatively good and long (1965–1987) run, and stayed remarkably unchanged throughout. Hence, while Konica changed the design of their AR lenses during those years – moving towards lighter constructions, rubber focus rings, and a more modern look¹⁰, all AR lenses are physically entirely compatible with all AR-mount bodies.

Adapting

n.B! The following applies to all Konica AR mount lenses.

This lens cannot be used natively on any current SLR or dSLRs. To use it in its native environment, you will need a Konica AR-mount film body. Of these, there is a great range to choose from as Konica cameras seem to have stood the test of time remarkably well.

Thanks to being a fully manual lens (manual aperture, manual focus), the lens can be adapted to all mirrorless cameras using a suitable adapter. Moreover, Konica AR lenses are so uncomplicated that a simple ‘dumb adapter’ will do the job perfectly. However, due to Konica AR lenses not being among the most numerously manufactured, special adapters (helicoid adapters, tilt/shift adapters) are not easy to come by and speed boosters are currently unavailable.

Using Konica AR lenses on dSLRs is possible, but difficult. Due to the exceptionally short flange focal distance of the Konica AR mount (at 40,5 mm, a lot shorter than that of any full-frame dSLR mount), any adapter will necessitate some optics to achieve anything near infinity focus.

Footnotes

1. Focal length is (unless stated otherwise) given in absolute terms, and not in Full-frame equivalent. For an understanding of whether the lens is wide/tele, see ‘Angle-of-view’. ↩︎
2. Picture angle is given in degrees (based on manufacturers’ specs) and concerns the diagonal picture angle. Rule of thumb:
   > 90 ° ==> Ultra-wide-angle
   70–90 ° ==> Wide-angle
   50–70 ° ==> Moderate wide-angle
   40–50 ° ==> ‘Standard’ or ‘normal’ lens
   20–40 ° ==> Short tele lens
   10-20 ° ==> Tele lens
   5-10 ° ==> Long tele lens
   < 5 ° ==> Ultra-tele lens ↩︎
3. Length is given from the mount flange to the front of lens at infinity. ↩︎
4. Diameter excludes protrusions such as rabbit ears or stop-down levers. ↩︎
5. S=straight; R=rounded; C=(almost)circular at all apertures. ↩︎
6. Numbers equal aperture values on aperture ring; • intermediate click; – no intermediate click. ↩︎
7. To be clear: The first constant f/2.8 Standard zoom was the 36-82/2.8 Zoomar made for Voigtländer DKL and Exakta mount cameras and introduced as early as 1959 (!) ↩︎
8. This is a rather odd lens that is covered in detail by Mike Eckman. Minolta’s first ‘customary’ f/.8 standard zoom was introduced in 1993 (the Minolta AF 28-70 F2.8 G) ↩︎
9. This was a limited-time offering designed for the Pentax ME F camera. Pentax’ first mainstream f/2.8 standard zoom was introduced in 1994. ↩︎
10. For more detail on the progress of Konica AR lens materials and ergonomics, look here. ↩︎