{"id":49064,"date":"2025-04-04T22:34:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T14:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/blog\/49064"},"modified":"2026-04-12T20:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T12:36:59","slug":"ep246-%e5%ba%95%e7%89%87%e7%8d%b5%e4%ba%ba%ef%bd%9ckoniflex-ii-85mm-f3-5-%e8%88%87-lomography-400-120-%e5%bd%a9%e8%89%b2%e5%ba%95%e7%89%87","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/blog\/49064","title":{"rendered":"EP246: GrainHunter \u2014 Koniflex II 85mm f3.5 with Lomography 400"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nRoll #246 \u2014 deep in the build for my new film database, GrainHunter<\/a><\/p>\n

Film: Lomography 400
\nDeveloped & scanned: Li-lai Photo, 2025\/3\/13
\nCamera: Koniflex II 85mm f3.5<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

I'm probably one of the few people in Taiwan who shoots film, builds websites, and writes a blog \u2014 all at the same time. Web design isn't just work for me; it's also how I bring my own ideas to life. The project consuming most of my time lately is my own film image database, GrainHunter<\/a>, at grainhunter.com. The domain name alone has gone through more iterations than I can count \u2014 this is probably the fifth version.<\/p>\n

Something I've come to understand clearly lately: I need less time, not more. That might sound like a strange thing to say, but I mean it. When I'm time-constrained, my efficiency goes through the roof and things I thought were impossible start happening. The redesign of my studio site Refine Web Design<\/a>, the overhaul of Taiwan Bike 100 Peaks<\/a> \u2014 both got done precisely because I didn't have much time. As for this blog, I'm keeping it as-is. I don't want it to look polished or professional. The overhead would be too heavy. I like the quiet, low-profile version \u2014 where I can write whatever I feel like writing.<\/p>\n

The camera on this roll is the Koniflex II 85mm f3.5, which I stumbled across for its unusually long focal length. My previous TLR experience was with the Olympus Flex, which uses a 75mm lens, and the Rolleiflex 2.8D I once owned was 80mm. The Koniflex pushes past 80mm to 85mm, and that was enough to make me curious.<\/p>\n

Five millimeters sounds negligible on paper, but it's noticeable \u2014 just like how 80mm feels subtly different from 75mm. You can't quite articulate it, but the image has a different character. I think that's one of the stranger things about how human perception works.<\/p>\n

Before I actually shot with the Koniflex II, I had no idea what to expect from it. Within five minutes of getting the camera, it broke on me. Sent it to Kao Sheng in Neihu for repair \u2014 it came back, went out again, came back again. Old cameras are like that. But once I finally got a roll through it, the results stopped me cold. My first thought was: this feels like the Pentax 6x7 with the 90mm f2.8. The telephoto compression is unmistakable, and the sharpness runs edge to edge. I'd always assumed TLRs were nostalgic curiosities that couldn't fully exploit medium format \u2014 nice and light, but a step behind. The Koniflex II completely changed that assumption.<\/p>\n

Worth noting: the Koniflex II is probably the best value-to-spec TLR in the 85mm class. It uses 5 lens elements, the same as the expensive Fujicaflex, but weighs in at just 1,020g (source: TLR Milestone Reference<\/a>):<\/p>\n