Hexar AF pics: share the joy

For anyone thinking about a Hexar after seeing some of this thread, here's a little something about the camera I posted in a thread a couple of years ago that the OP entitled Hexar AF is this thing real?

"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. Fools. 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 reflective 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."
 
This camera is such a joy to use. All done with TriX rated at 3200, developed with DDX at 1600, no filter.

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Richard G said:
For anyone thinking about a Hexar after seeing some of this thread, here's a little something about the camera I posted in a thread a couple of years ago that the OP entitled Hexar AF is this thing real?

"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. Fools. 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 reflective 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."
Click to expand...

As we all know cameras are incredibly personal things for photographers, what works so well for one will simply not work at all for another. This was the thought I couldn't clear from my mind when deciding to try the Hexar after years of seeing some nice results (a good way to judge a photographer but not a camera) and hearing positive experiences. I hoped that the various automated goodies would work in the manner they were supposed to and to get out of the way of image making as you'd wish them to. For me both of these things are true.

I'm in complete agreement with you Richard, though particularly about the construction of the Hexar. I use mine in conjunction with a M6 plus 50mm lens and if I close my eyes and feel the cameras its only the button placement/layout that really gives away what camera I have in my hand initially.

I also use two Xpro1 cameras (and love them for what they offer) which are sturdy and robust enough for my needs however, no small digital camera has ever had the solidity, heft and sheer ruggedness (at least in feel) that an older film camera can have and the Hexar has to be included in that.

The only 'downside' for me is its inability to 'see' through windows. Although you can simply switch to manual to overcome this perfectly easily and the reason for its inadequacy here is the reason for its huge success in not just low light but in the dark, which is amazing to behold and leaves my Nikon D4 and latest Nikon lenses fumbling in the same light levels.

All in all a pretty astonishing little camera for something designed over twenty years ago as a point and shoot, admittedly perhaps a 'posh' P&S.
 
Richard G said:
For anyone thinking about a Hexar after seeing some of this thread, here's a little something about the camera I posted in a thread a couple of years ago that the OP entitled Hexar AF is this thing real?

"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. Fools. 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 reflective 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."
Click to expand...


This is something I only recently discovered.

For the longest time I never used Program on any of my cameras.
The Hexar way is so cool I've started to adopt it for use in changing light situations.
It's more like AE with a Program override rather than, prgram ala MJU2 or others where the camera sort of chooses a middle compromise of DOF and handhold shutter :D
 
Great Photos with the Hexar, yummy Good, love this Thread !
It did not work out for me, those teeny tiny buttons were a touch fiddly and in low light
Had a difficult time operating them
So the camera went back to Japan
Happy I got to try it
Happier with my plain jane M4-2

No more film camera trying this year,
As for Digital Ii may break down this year and get either a Leica X2 (again) or the Fuji X100t
 
Sorry to hear that Helen. Of course, different cameras suit different people.
But honestly, you're always creating stunning images regardless of what mechanical box you're using.

 
Graham - some good and interesting shots you're posting here. You're keeping the thread alive which is good...especially as my scanner isn't working at the moment so I'm unable to upload any more of my Hexar shots just yet.

Helen, sorry to hear it wasn't for you. I understand about the tiny little buttons but for me, they just seem to stay out of my way. The box isn't that important anyway....just a bit of fun :)
 
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