help, hexar AF questions

KEH is the solution to that problem. AND they will accept returns with no hassles. Just bought a "like new" Hexar AF with flash, cap and strap for about what you paid... the confidence in dealing with a reputable camera dealer outweighs the "deal" you may get in ebay. (With certain exceptions, such as Canon dealer jiri_e and a few nice Russian FSU photo equipment dealers.) That said, good luck with your camera, hope you enjoy yours as much as I intend to enjoy mine! :D
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looks like you got one hell of a deal then, the closest to a LN hexar AF on KEH is a EX+ at $525. KEH shipping to the UK is very expensive $50-60 and i would still of been hit with the tax.

also my hexar is EX condition (few scratches) but flawless glass and it included original bags and the flash. there is a hexar on KEH for $399 in EX condition but has no flash or bags. i always check KEH first but this time it didn't work out such a good deal for me.

well anyway, i finally got it!

so far i am very impressed, this camera is very feature packed, i enabled bracketing and a few other features too.

it auto focuses so fast and the P mode is amazing! so long as your not trying to get motion blur its just like using manual mode but faster. i wish all cameras had a P mode like the hexar.

at first i thought the manual mode was a bit disappointing because the buttons to change the shutter speed were very hard to use but when i discover you can meter then press either up or down to choose that shutter speed it makes it faster to get the exposure you want than my DSLR. very impressed.

on the downside:

silent mode? more like "a bit quieter than usual mode" after reading reviews i thought it was actually silent. i was telling my mum about the silent mode as i was opening the box and i took a photo at the other end of the kitchen to see what the silent mode was like and my mum said "that's pretty quite even without silent mode". im disappointed :(

the shutter release is awful, it has every problem listed on that page giellaleafapmu linked to (thanks btw, very useful info) now that i have worked out how to get the shutter to do what i want i wont bother replacing it unless it gets worse as its perfectly usable you just have to push past the click to actually expose.

and finally i have a question about the date back, how do you use it? i think mine may be broken, there is nothing on the LCD at all, pressing any of the 3 buttons does nothing.

EDIT: AHAH! the dateback uses its own button battery, i assumed because of the two pins from the camera to the back it was powered by that. i will replace the battery and see if it works :)
 
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I bought a hexar af on this forum and prefer it over my leica m with 35mm lens. It is as perfect a camera as I can think of. I do suggest carrying an ND4 filter on it so the max 1/250 shutter issue becomes moot.
 
When you use the ND4 filter what settings do you change on the Hexar? Do you dial in a different film speed? If you were useing a 100 speed film would you chnge the setting to 400?
 
correction, I have a Minolta ND x 4 filter. Does that reduce the light by 2 stops? So if shooting 100 speed film, you would change to camera ISO setting to 400???
 
It's the other way around. When using 400 speed film, change the camera's iso setting to 100, or use the exposure compensation feature to give 2 stops more exposure. The Hexar AF does not meter through the lens. It does not "see" the filter, so you need to tell the camera to expose as if there were 100 speed film in it. The ND filter "soaks up" 2 stops of that 400 film speed.
 
Isn't it easier just to set manually for 1 or 2 stops over? I set my Hexar to always underexpose by 1. The first roll was too overexposed looking for my tastes.
 
Yes, That would be the easier option and will probably go that route when I need to. I won't get my film back for a couple days and I'll check the exposure then.....
John
 
weetsie said:
looks like you got one hell of a deal then, the closest to a LN hexar AF on KEH is a EX+ at $525. KEH shipping to the UK is very expensive $50-60 and i would still of been hit with the tax.
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@ weetsie - I think when I bragged that I paid about what you paid for a LN camera, I may have expressed it badly.- I meant that I paid almost the same as you did, what with the added charges, extra fees, taxes, etc that added up to so much. That said, the camera was still in a like new box, the camera, flash, strap were all in the original (but not sealed) plastic-like bags, and not a scratch, dent, or dust mote on the kit. The flash even came with a leather-like case. Now if I can just get my fat fingers away from the sensor, I'll be in good shape.

- and the goofs like this, below -



but even in the goof - notice how sharp the leaves are, and how well exposed. The malfunction was in my brain, not the camera.
 
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The Hexar AF has a 290 step autofocus sensor. It's an InfraRed sensor, meaning you can focus in pitch black conditions! Try that with a modern DSLR, which all have focusing depending on contrast, which requires light (remember the Nikons and the Fuji S1 and S2 Pros with the AF help light you could not disable in the camera?)

I have shot it in caves etc. using a flash and all shots came out sharp.

Only drawback: the IR sensor gets thrown off when shooting through windows, so that's when you need to set focus manually.

To make sure the lens does not jam into a filter when focusing close, get a second 46mm filter in any condition, and knock the glass out. Use the empty ring as a spacer on your filter and camera.

The Silvergrain wiki shows a DIY pictorial for servicing the shutter button, I have done at lease a dozen and it's very simple to do. All Hexars are alike under the hood, never saw any suprises.

Enjoy shooting that camera!
 
Got to agree about the Hexar being a great camera. However keep an eye out in the classifieds this week as my Silver, stealth-enabled, with flash, strap, protective plastic base cover, instructions and boxed version is sadly going up for sale.
This was always my first choice camera when travelling but oddly enough I never used it much inbetween trips. Sad really when the lens is such a performer. Not been shooting film of late and so selling it means it will go to a good home and be apreciated.
 
I dig mine...

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what kinds of film Jim?

what kinds of film Jim?

For years, I've been over exposing by 2/3 to 1 stop, using mostly Fuji 400, expired Reala 100, and occasionally some fresh Portra UC 100, 400 and 800. Just recently I realized I had overexposed some fresh film by using the 2/3 over setting by getting some overly yellowish colors.

What films do you typically use? I'm now curious to start going closer to zero EV except on the outdated films.

januaryman said:
Isn't it easier just to set manually for 1 or 2 stops over? I set my Hexar to always underexpose by 1. The first roll was too overexposed looking for my tastes.
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ampguy said:
For years, I've been over exposing by 2/3 to 1 stop, using mostly Fuji 400, expired Reala 100, and occasionally some fresh Portra UC 100, 400 and 800. Just recently I realized I had overexposed some fresh film by using the 2/3 over setting by getting some overly yellowish colors.

What films do you typically use? I'm now curious to start going closer to zero EV except on the outdated films.
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When using color, I usually choose Fuji Reala Superia 200 and had always shot it as such with my Leicas, etc... The Hexar seemed to overexpose when I examined the first roll I got back from the drugstore, so I set the Hexar to compensate. The results after the next roll I got back (I used the -1 stop compensation) was a stop UNDER exposed! D'Oh!

From now on I will now leave it to the Hexar to figure it out, and do my compensating in Lightroom.

For my other cameras, I leave color film speed alone and set B&W 400 to 200 for better tones. Works for all my other cameras.
 
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