Attention all Hexar RF users.

[alan davus]

A general question but especially for Hexar RF users. To me that old adage that a camera is just a box with a shutter holds little weight. Durability, reliability, accuracy of the shutter and meter and so on are of paramount importance. Who wants to go away hiking as I do often to remote climes, get to the top of a pass somewhere then find your camera has died. Thats why I love my Hexar built like the proverbial brick outhouse and touch wood yet to let me down. I'd like to get a second body with the CV R4M, Zeiss Ikon or maybe a Leica M6 on the radar. My question, how do these cameras stack up in the "toughness" stakes vis-a-vis the Hexar taking in mind its titanium top and bottom shell? Obviously cost must be of some consideration.

 

[Paul T.]

From where I am all three would out-do the hexar on the reliability stakes.

But I'm somewhat jaundiced, as my Hexar RF has been sitting in Greg Weber's workshop awaiting an RF part for over a year. All three of those cameras should, if they go wrong, at least have the benefit of a backup parts service.

 

[Andy Aitken]

For reliability I'd say a recently serviced Leica M2, M3 or M4 would be tough to beat - especially the M4 as it would be a few years newer.

 

[Gid]

Why not a second Hexar RF?

I have a Hexar RF and an M6. The build quality of the M6 is up to the usual Leica standards. The heft is very similar to the Hexar, but it is a little less tall - not really much in it. The advantage of the M6 over your other options is that you can still use it if the batteries die (you won't have metering though). If you like AE then the CV or Zeiss are your only choices unless you can afford an M7. Personally I sometimes find it confusing moving between an AE and a manual camera and find my self just focusing the M6, taking the shot and then remembering that I didn't check the exposure. Did that a couple of times yesterday.

I'm considering letting the Hexar go, so let me know if you are interested in another body (less money that an M6, Zeiss or new CV).

 

[mfunnell]

Well, my Hexar RF is my first (and very recent) RF camera. When I bought it I figured that Konica was so far out of the photography business that if the camera breaks then my alternative would be another camera (given all the electronics and electromechanical stuff inside). I think its probably a very robust and reliable camera, but even the best things can break.

Because I've enjoyed the camera so much, I've even thought of getting a 2nd Hexar RF body (GAS? so soon?? a term I was unfamiliar with 'till recently!) Just In Case. Hey, if one comes along cheaply enough I'll do it.

But if I were really relying having something to make photos with I'd want a purely mechanical camera. I have a beat-up old OM-4T which has proved reliable as hell and has suffered a real beating while surviving quite nicely, thank you. It's never let me down, and I hope it never will. But if I were going somewhere where a functioning camera were critical, I'd take a purely mechanical backup for it (an OM-1 for my OM; a mechanical M-mount RF for my Hexar RF). Backup, mind you - not primary camera.

As it stands, though, I'm not doing things that are "critical circumstances". For my purposes I've been shooting digital, with my OM-4 as backup. Right now if I were primarily shooting with my Hexar RF, and in non-critical circumstances, I'd probably take either the OM-4 or the Canon dSLR (and light prime lens or two) as backup to the Hexar RF.

...Mike

[edit]P.S. Gid - if you'd like to PM me what you want for the Hexar RF body I will think about whether that's "cheap enough" for me. While I don't want to pay a bucket of money for a "spare part", I'd hate to pass up a good opportunity if one's on offer[/edit]

 

[sockeyed]

I, too, have a Hexar RF sitting in a repair shop waiting for parts. In all, I think Konica designed a very nice camera, but they made some unfortunate decisions with the design of the rangefinder which is prone to going out of alignment or breaking down. I really like the design of the rest of the camera - the AE, the winding, the ergonomics, the titanium body, though.

 

[ampguy]

good question

good question

I think the Hexar RF feels just a tad less solid than an M4P to me, and of course, the RF has electronics like the M7. Get one of each, an RF or M7, and an all mechanical if you like, but you will get better photos with the RF or M7, as long as you keep batteries in it.

A general question but especially for Hexar RF users. To me that old adage that a camera is just a box with a shutter holds little weight. Durability, reliability, accuracy of the shutter and meter and so on are of paramount importance. Who wants to go away hiking as I do often to remote climes, get to the top of a pass somewhere then find your camera has died. Thats why I love my Hexar built like the proverbial brick outhouse and touch wood yet to let me down. I'd like to get a second body with the CV R4M, Zeiss Ikon or maybe a Leica M6 on the radar. My question, how do these cameras stack up in the "toughness" stakes vis-a-vis the Hexar taking in mind its titanium top and bottom shell? Obviously cost must be of some consideration.

 

[amateriat]

Other than a glitch with one body early on (in which I decided to send both bodies in as a precautionary measure), both my HRFs have been going strong and giving great results. One of the things to remember about the Hexar is that it is one of the most heavily-electronic film-based cameras made (at least this side of a Nikon F6), but that in terms of reliability, this can have advantages, as the shutter mechanism is not only electronically timed, but electronically driven – not much in the way of springs or the like in that box, thus leaving less to go out of adjustment. No worries about wavering shutter speeds. Of course, dead batteries make this camera a heavy piece of jewelry, but a spare set of CR2s are easy to stash in the camera bag, and are good for about 100 rolls or so a crack.

Getting the things serviced now is a bit of a challenge, obviously (of course, the same would be true if I was still shooting with my Maxxum 9's), but I think there are channels around, especially for dealing with misaligned RF/VFs (broken is another story). I think the camera can take its fair share of knocks without problems. (Just remembered: getting my Ricoh GR1 fixed is no picnic either, but it's possible.)


- Barrett