Konica Hexar RF purchase concerns

Shaocaholica said:
I've been doing some research on a first RF and I didn't really think I would be interested in the Hexar but I found one new locally and I have a few concerns that I'd like to discuss before committing to the purchase.

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Dear friend,
After reading your concerns and the subsequent commentaries of the dwellers here, I would be rather more worried than before.

The problem seems to be not wether the Hexar is good or bad. My research comfirms that basically it is of the finest cameras.

The real problem to my opinion is in the conditions of the sale. If the camera is really new with the box, manual and nylon, it should be rather expensive. Definitely this is not a camera that provided it is new, a seller will sell cheap out of ignorance.

Therefore, if you are paying an expensive price, then you must know very well your seller, via experience or additional cross recommendations. Otherwise you will be playing pocker.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
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kinoglass said:
Stay AWAY from it. I have repaired a few RF or so called toys. Last one the owner complained "he could focus it only on certain positions" the main prism was loose. And how is it held? By glue!

The camera itself is not much better, the M mount so solid in a Leica body is very poorly attached to the body, in fact a heavy lens will hardly stay put. I better stop.
Want quality? Buy Leica. It last and works!
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Are you serious? If you are to be beleived all Hexars are trash and all Leica's are problem free. Is that what you really mean to say? I don't think squares with anyone's experience.

Bob
 
Re: buying/pricing a Hexar RF.

You're HIGHLY unlikely to find a NIB camera or kit -- so just assume that you will be buying used goods.

My purchases were to obtain the camera body only. I now have sold off three Hexanon 50mm f/2 lenses -- the first one awhile back when these lenses were in higher demand (or before there was competiion from Zeiss -- or both) sold for upwards of US$550. The more recent two within the past couple of months both sold for US$400.

The kit prices (incl. body, lens, flash, presentation box, etc.) of my purchases varied between US$850 and US$1150. The latter a bit high but it included a fancy high-end Metz flash unit as well.

So, in general, if you sell off the lens after buying one of these kits, you should expect your net cost for a Hexar RF body to be between US$500 and US$600. IMHO this is a MAJOR, incredible bargain.

BTW, the little flash that comes with the kit has been subject to no end of disparaging comments -- but I actually find it pretty nice. Very small. Maybe 0.05% of my photos are taken with flash but this unit is so compact, I throw one in my backpack and another in my camera bag for one of those just-in-case moments.
 
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Yes, of course I am serious. You get what you pay for. A true statement for 99.99% of the time. HEXAR is just out of production and for a good reason. LEICA is not and also for a good reason.

Now, if instead of comparing Leicas to Hexars, you just limit yourself to enjoy and use what you have, even if it is a pin hole camera, with full satisfaction there is no problem then. The Hexars are great, they have motor drive, bright RF, fast shutter, manual and automatic operation, DX film sensing etc., Ah, I forgot, when the RF prism separates or comes loose, no problem, any glue will fix it!
 
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Canadian Balsam, you mean. Not available any longer, the chemical companies replaced with their high grade synthetic, Canadian Balsam was organic.
 
Not to gang up on kinoglass here, but he's rather out of his depth on this matter. If you do a search here, you'll find people who've had issues with Leicas (including a few MPs) and ZIs as well, and I'd hardly write those cameras off as crap on account a few lemons in the patch.

I've been heavily using a pair of Hexar RFs for over five years, and the cameras have been fabulous. I really can't say enough good stuff about them.

Dave's advice on buying is sound, and I'll reinforce the advice about checking out the shop's return policy in the event of a problem (this goes for any camera you buy from a shop, of course).


- Barrett
 
amateriat said:
Not to gang up on kinoglass here, but he's rather out of his depth on this matter.
- Barrett
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Not entirely. Greg Weber made similar points in conversation recently, and he's the acknowledged expert on these cameras: namely that there are design problems with the RF on this camera; early ones in particular are unreliable, as they have a nylon part that moved out of adjustment. It could be replaced with a brass part; but now that part can't be obtained. And even when the part has been replaced, the RF is still prone to falling out of adjustment. There have also been circuit board problems with these cameras, too.

If you get one you know is good, and you can manage to score it for $500-700, the Hexar is a total bargain, that in a couple of respects beats the M7.

But its reliability problems are infinitely more serious than those of the ZI or Leica's film cameras, simply because support was never very good, and is now totally non-existent, now that Konica have moved out of the camera business.
 
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>when the RF prism separates or comes loose, no problem, any glue will fix it!

Yep, the first one I bought, as I wrote above, had this problem. It was a very easy fix...
 
Magnification is .60x so it's great for 28 and 35 lenses, okay for 50. You have to remember that I'm used to a .91 M3 and .85 M6 viewfinder for 50mm so I'm spoiled that way.
 
Shaocaholica said:
Apart from the mechanical viewfinder issues, how does the Hexar's viewfinder compare to everything else?
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Its a low magnification finder (0.6x) which has its good points and its bad points. The frame lines for 28mm are quite useable even if you wear glasses (as I do) and, to me, the 35mm and 50mm framelines are just right - but I like to see a fair amount outside the framelines which is not what everybody wants. I do occasionally find the shutter speed indicators (which run vertically up the left of the VF) hard to see (I think that's an issue for those who wear glasses only).

The 90mm frame lines may be a little too small to compose with and I'd imagine 135mm would be very hit-or-miss. Still, I'm able to get accurate focus with a 75mm Summilux wide open so focusing is accurate - its just that at 90mm or more the image may be too small for some (I don't use longer than 75mm at present).

The viewfinder is bright (though not, perhaps, quite as bright as my M3). The rangefinder patch is high-contrast and has good sharp edges. The patch itself seems more a 4:3 rather than a 2:1 aspect ratio (ie. narrower and fatter) than the RF patch in my M3 - which is neither here nor there really. I've never had the flare problems with the RF patch that some Leica Ms have (I've seen that with a borrowed M6 classic and it was much more disconcerting than I'd thought it would be).

It's a very useable finder and RF.

...Mike
 
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what frank said.

am i the only one who doesn't get the whole "disappearing meter display in the sun" thing? i've had my share of sunny days, and it's never happened.
 
Serial Numbers

Serial Numbers

As someone who is interested in the Hexar RF I have read a lot of the posts here on RFF. The posts concerning higher serial numbers have caused me to mssg untold numbers of eb*y sellers.

This thread, http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33773 weighing the pros and cons of the RF as well, has a post stating that one should look for numbers higher than 144XXXX.

Gandy says on his Hexar RF page, "The camera tested is # 1440824. I wonder if the starting serial # is 1440001"

I have never come across any with a serial # lower than 144XXXX. All that I have seen or inquired about have been either 144XXXX or 145XXXX.




Huck Finn said:
Look for a serial number higher than 1400.
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Mine is 1444595. And if it wasn't clear in my earlier post, I love the camera. It's amazing to me that it didn't sell better while in production.
 
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