Did Cosina make the Hexar?

[bensyverson]

Looking at my Hexars and an Ikon, I see many similarities, from subtle aspects of body design to machine screw placement. Is it possible that Konica outsourced its manufacturing to Cosina?

In the early 1990s, Cosina was becoming more sophisticated, and Konica arguably needed some help.

About the time that Konica came out with the Hexar Silver (1997), Cosina began prepping what would become the Bessa.

It's at least plausible. Anyone?

 

[fotobiblios]

Well --in the mid-late '80s, Konica brought out their final SLR, the TC-X (2 versions) - thought to have been manufactured by Cosina.

Also similarites between the Hexar Rf and Contax and Fuji/Hasselblad rangefinders -- who actually manufactured them?

D

 

[bensyverson]

Also similarites between the Hexar Rf and Contax and Fuji/Hasselblad rangefinders -- who actually manufactured them?

D

That's very interesting... The Hexar RF definitely has a number of build differences from the AF, so I can imagine it being a different manufacturer.

The Hexar RF, Xpan and Bessa all came out within a 1-2 year span. Could it be that Konica wanted an M-mount camera, but Cosina didn't want to build something that might steal the Bessa's thunder? In which case Fuji could have easily done it, as they definitely had their own production lines.

Contax was owned by Kyocera, which probably made all its own cameras as well.