Hexar AF or Yashica T4?

[papo]

I understand that both are different kind of cameras but since i like both, i wonder what to get and why. I also have an M6 but sometimes i just want to have quick and uncomplicated fun 🙂

 

[edge100]

I can only comment on the Hexar.

Operationally, it can be frustrating. Max shutter speed of 1/250 means that you may want to add a 3-stop ND filter to take best advantage of the absolutely glorious lens. The buttons are fiddly and manual focus is a joke.

BUT...

That lens. Holy crap, that lens.

 

[Swift1]

I understand that both are different kind of cameras but since i like both, i wonder what to get and why. I also have an M6 but sometimes i just want to have quick and uncomplicated fun 🙂

I can't really comment on either camera...

But, for similar money you could get a Contax G1 with either a 45/2 or 28/2.8

 

[f16sunshine]

I'll add also to the Hexar AF.
It's a low light gem. The lens is fantastic and the IR focus system is fully operational in almost no light.
For brighter days I just pack an Olymus XA3 or mju2 but evenings and dark bars etc... Hexar AF is pretty amazing.

I've owned the Yashica and would say it's nothing special beyond it's T* coated lens.... I prefer the more compact Olympus mju2.
The Yashica is Far.... far overpriced at this point. Completely out of whack!


Hexar AF nails the eyes in near darkness.

 

[Archlich]

Shot 50 rolls with the Hexar during an arctic hike this summer. It worked well, despite all the sand in the polar desert. Actually it's not that fiddly - figure its semi-aperture priority Program mode out and it's pretty swift to go. The two buttons can be used for compensation only. Manual focus is OK, good for hyperfocus shooting since it pre-extends the lens into the specified distance.

The result is awesome, and you have all the controls. The only gripe I have is it would only rewind with the camera ON. I always turn my camera off when not shooting thus accidentally opened the film door twice thinking it'd finished rewinding.

The T4 is nice, better for "quick and uncomplicated fun" (you do have many other options for that though). But like many fully automatic cameras, to get the best out it you really have to shoot and experiment a lot. It's also quite expensive for what it is, and a lot fatter than the similarly speced Olympus mju2. One noticeable difference is, the mju2's flash charges very quickly. Its controls are not locked until the flash finishes charging every time you turn it on as with the T4.

I do lean toward the Hexar. The only drawback would be you'd end up using your M6 less and less...

 

[Paul T.]

The T4, as pointed out, isn't that different. The Hexar AF is totally unique. The autofocus is still way better than most modern cameras (except if the subject is behind glass). And it is also completely silent, so you can photograph someone and they don't really know if you've taken the shot. Yes, the lens is fantastic, but for me it's only one aspect of the camera's superb, and unique, functionality.

 

[Axel]

...

I've owned the Yashica and would say it's nothing special beyond it's T* coated lens.... I prefer the more compact Olympus mju2.
The Yashica is Far.... far overpriced at this point. Completely out of whack!...

Yes! T4s are hype cameras where dozens of others do the same for a small part of the money you pay for a T4.
The Hexar is no small camera. For "auto everything" sure a good choice with a good lens.

 

[02Pilot]

To echo some of the comments above, I've found the Hexar AF to be best as a sort of semi-auto camera - set and forget. The Program mode is quite useful once you figure out the logic; choose your preferred aperture and go. For street work, manual focus to 3m and go. The lens is really nice, the auto focus and auto exposure are spot-on, and the ergonomics of the main controls (not the tiny buttons) are good enough.

 

[valdas]

Hexar AF. Yashicas are ok, but nothing special. I had 3 of them, sold them all, kept Contax T2, Hexar and Mju II (but MjuII sees the least of use). I am f stop control freak and that's where Hexar and T2 are offering what I need. Yes. 1/250 is a limitation, but then - I don't use those cameras on the sunny beach (or if I do, it's loaded with iso 25 film)...

 

[littleearth]

The T4 is a toy camera next to the Hexar (fixed cron) !
I really like the portraits I shot with the Yashica, but I got it almost for free. It's really nothing special !

 

[OlliL]

If you want a quality compact, that can be compared to the Hexar, better look into something like a Fuji Klasse, or Contax T2, maybe even a Minilux, or Minolta T-C1.
My experiences with the T4/T5 were always mildly entertaining, as you don't have any visual feedback of what that camera is doing (which I hate).
The Hexar is amazing, but for me, I'd always take something smaller, in addition to an M.

 

[Richard G]

Hexar.

Here's what I posted a couple of years ago:

It almost is not real, or at least not believable. And the engineers at Konica who designed it are not quite merely human. Some choose to reject this camera on hearing of its top speed of 1/250s. But it can be used in many flexible ways. If you shoot wide open indoors the LCD shows the shutter speed when you depress the shutter button. If you then walk into bright sun and leave it on f2, the next shutter press shows f11, not a shutter speed. That is code for: "Please excuse me but you have selected f2 on the aperture dial, and you are shooting 400 ISO film, which you have rated at 320, so we must stop down the lens and shoot at 1/250s. Sorry. Hope it's OK with you." If in P mode you have set a minimum shuttter speed and you've selected f11, again the camera's ingenious software selects a wider aperture: "Sorry, but you may have forgotten your minimum selected shutter speed: we have had to open the aperture." I've already alluded to manual ISO selection, overriding the built in auto selection. Then there's the silent mode, where your subject can't hear the shutter or the advance. And neither can you. Then there's the fixed infinity focus selection, and the manual focus fixed distance, useful when getting the IR AF past relfective windows. And I still haven't got onto the offering at A mode.....And it's beautifully made. As a Leica M film user at the time I bought mine, from RFF classifieds, I was ready to enjoy the above benefits at the expense of a flimsier than Leica build standard, but I experienced no such thing.

I have the two sides of the Quick Reference instructions in my iPhone to check the less commonly used button combinations for all this cleverness.

In A Mode it will slow the shutter to what is required. In P mode it obeys your minimum 1/30s, for instance, and takes the shot, at f2, good light or not.

 

[f16sunshine]

^^^
Yeah,.. with the Hexar AF "P" stands for "preferred " rather than "program exposure".

 

[Archlich]

If you want a quality compact, that can be compared to the Hexar, better look into something like a Fuji Klasse, or Contax T2, maybe even a Minilux, or Minolta T-C1.
My experiences with the T4/T5 were always mildly entertaining, as you don't have any visual feedback of what that camera is doing (which I hate).
The Hexar is amazing, but for me, I'd always take something smaller, in addition to an M.

It's worth noticing that the luxury P&S's price has gone skyrocketing. And that's not just the Contax cameras, but anything that looks remotely smart. For example the Minilux's price had doubled during the past year. Some youngsters in Asia are snatching these as fashion accessories like crazy. The TC-1, Klasses, Nikon 35Ti (not the 28Ti, since it's black) and even the Fujifilm Tiara are all very expensive now.

This makes the Hexar, which was largely unaffected, an extremely good value. It's very fortunate that the Hexar was made into the large lump of black, unattractive plastic enigma as it is. No hip, no bling, it's just there to take pictures...

 

[Phil_F_NM]

All the things said above about the Hexar I agree with. Manual focus kind of sucks but it can autofocus in the dark better and faster than anyone with a Leica M can in dim light, dare I say daylight.
In a nutshell, I wish I kept my Hexar instead of selling it to fund the purchase of my first Leica. That is how good it is.

Phil Forrest

 

[DwF]

I absolutely loved my Hexar(s) had two from when they came out in '93 for several years. I'm sure others here can speak better than I to longevity and issues that come up with them and whether they can still be repaired.

You said you have an M6 and want uncomplicated fun, and sice you are looking at T4- I would look at the Konica C35 (but be careful which model of that camera), or Auto S3, which is a C35 FD in Japanese version, a Rollei 35S or Olympus XA. These are all relatively inexpensive and very nice picture takers.

If low light is something you are doing, the Auto S3 with f1.8 lens, and shutter to 8th and B setting makes more sense than the regular C35.

 

[02Pilot]

This makes the Hexar, which was largely unaffected, an extremely good value. It's very fortunate that the Hexar was made into the large slump of black, unattractive plastic enigma as it is. No hip, no bling, it's just there to take pictures...

Well, there are versions that aren't solid black lumps. No idea on how those versions are valued these days compared to the standard model.

Also worth noting is that some Hexars have become inert due to electronics failure. Fortunately, at least some of the issues can be rectified and the fixes are documented. My Rhodium came to me with no signs of life (generously offered free via the RFF classifieds), and I was able to resurrect it fairly easily. Not that this sort of DIY is for everyone, but if you're willing to throw the dice on a cheap broken camera you might end up fully functional one with just a little work.

 

[f16sunshine]

Although the hexar af may not collect 4digits in front of the decimal just yet, it’s still going up like all the rest.
$300-$400 used to be enough for a nice one.
Close to double that now.
When mine bricks completly I’ll have the lens concerted to M-mount.
Hopefully that day won’t come 😀

Another comment on mju2..... Get One while they are still cheap!!
Great little film camera. Absolute gem of a p&s.

 

[DwF]

Well, there are versions that aren't solid black lumps. No idea on how those versions are valued these days compared to the standard model.

Also worth noting is that some Hexars have become inert due to electronics failure. Fortunately, at least some of the issues can be rectified and the fixes are documented. My Rhodium came to me with no signs of life (generously offered free via the RFF classifieds), and I was able to resurrect it fairly easily. Not that this sort of DIY is for everyone, but if you're willing to throw the dice on a cheap broken camera you might end up fully functional one with just a little work.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The Hexar (original and Silver without data back-not sure it came without one) have a real elegance about them. And when they first showed up, they looked like nothing else out there but obviously some off-shoot of a Leica. At least that's what I saw and still do.

 

[Archlich]

Although the hexar af may not collect 4digits in front of the decimal just yet, it’s still going up like all the rest.
$300-$400 used to be enough for a nice one.
Close to double that now.
When mine bricks completly I’ll have the lens concerted to M-mount.
Hopefully that day won’t come 😀

Another comment on mju2..... Get One while they are still cheap!!
Great little film camera. Absolute gem of a p&s.

There are still plenty $500-ish Hexars on the 'bay. Not bad compared to the rest of the horde.