Hexar RF questions

[felipe]

I'm in the market for another RF to compliment my M4-P.
Actually I'm even considering an M6 as they go for 700-800 Euros over here but the Hexar RF is very tempting. (although it's only a tad cheaper at 600-800 Euros)

- How's the Hexar viewfinder compared to the M? Is it on par with the Minolta CLE?
- How loud is the shutter/film advance? Comparable to a Bessa R or even louder?
- Is there any shutter lag?
- Will using a 90/2.8 wide open up close be a problem?

I'm perfectly happy with the M4-P btw, it's just that I feel somewhat uncomfortable to be dependent on having to borrow a backup body for some assignments.
A Hexar AF would also be nice but I often use the 15 and 90. And of course the ZI looks interesting but I'll wait for used bodys.

Thanks in advance!
Phil

 

[aizan]

- haven't seen a cle, but mr. gandy says the cle is brighter. my hrf is brighter than my cla'd m2, though.
- the shutter itself is quieter and more muffled than the m2, and the advance is as loud as the "thak" at the end of the m2's advance, but the sound is longer.
- there is no shutter lag, though someone on the internet said an early example had shutter lag, but a later one didn't.
- no focusing problems with a 90/2.8 closeup.

 

[Paul T.]

I thought the viewfinder was pretty good - perhaps not quite up to an M6 compared directly, and certainly not as accurate, altho you of course get 28mm framelines.

However, I DID think it was noisy. I think there' s loads of BS about noise levels from Leica cameras, I don'y think a Bessa is noisy. But the Hexar RF is way louder; not the shutter so much as the high-pitched whine from the motor. Of course, any manual wind camera will produce some noise, but at least you can control when it happens, but I reckon the RF is as noisy as most SLRs (and much, much louder than the Hexar AF).

I speak as someone cheesed off with the RF, waiting for Greg Weber to quote for realigning a rangefinder, which he adjusted around 6 months ago. If you can get one cheap, consider it, but if they're priced near an M6, buy the M6 - for one thing, it's much easier to get the m6 serviced. I found the Hexar RD metering easily fooled, too, way behind other AE cameras like the Hexar AF, or a Nikon FE2.

 

[aizan]

you mean not as accurate as the .72x and .85x m6s.

everything is much, much louder than a hexar af. being able to advance the film later on is sometimes helpful, though it can get in the way of timing. it depends on your shooting style. in situations where a leaf shutter is not needed, motor whine is fine.

paul, maybe greg should check the meter. mine works like a charm. i use ael.

 

[Lou Iaquinto]

Hi Felipe,

I am a very satisfied Hexar RF user. I've had one for about 18 months and it was my first RF after years of Nikons. I've just purchased a second body from a RFF member which should arrive in the post next week.

I wear glasses and have no trouble with the viewfinder from 28 to 75. The 90 isn't easy so I supplement it with an external VF.

As for noise; I took a shot iin an art gallery a few weekends ago and I certainly got everyone's attention! Aside from that experience I think it's pretty quiet for a camera with a built in motordrive. I am a left eye shooter and love the built in motordrive but some people would hate it.

So far I've been very happy with the lightmeter. I use the AE mode most of the time but usually give the exposure compensation dial a workout. It works much better than my F3.

Maybe I've been lucky with mine but I think they are good value for the money. They are very well made and so are the lenses.

Good luck,

Lou

 

[StuartR]

The light meter on the Hexar RF is fine, only it is a bit larger than an M, so you need to take that into account. It also stresses the bottom of the frame a bit, so that can screw things up in vertical orientation. It works very well for horizontal compositions however.

The loudness is being overblown IMO. I use an MP as well as both the Hexar AF and Hexar RF. The RF is indeed the loudest, but it is quieter than any SLR I have used. It is noticeably quieter if you use it on "continuous" mode . I don't use AE, only AE lock, so that may explain my better experience. With all cameras that have center priority metering, you need to point the center at your main subject and then recompose if you are planning on having it somewhere other than the center. Of course, if the sun or a very bright object is in the frame, you may need to meter somewhere else completely and then recompose. It's not really that the meter is inaccurate, but that you need to understand how it works and use it to your advantage.

I think it is a great camera and a very good complement to my MP. My only complaint is that it goes out of alignment a bit more easily than I would like. For this reason, if I had to shoot close up and wide open with a 50 lux, 75 lux or 90/2 I would reach for the M. It should not have a problem with the 90/2.8....certainly not if it is properly aligned.

Oh, and the viewfinder is excellent. It is slightly more blue-tinged than my MP and it does not have the blistering clarity, but it is clearer than my M3 and the rangefinder patch is pretty snappy.

 

[tomchuk]

I picked up an RF here last week and am loving it. Its finder was misaligned, and following the instructions on the repairs forum I realigned it with no problems. It focuses accurately enough with my 35/2.5 PII. I figured that I needed to sent it in for alignment, might as well try myself first. Be gentle and the worst that can happen is more finder misalignment.

As far as the noise - it's not silent. It's quieter than my D70 and F3, and the noise is a very pleasing sound that is nothing like an SLR, and gets less notice than an SLR, but compared to a Leica it's quite loud.

The viewfinder is bright enough, similar to the M4 I tried out last week. There have been problems with sticky framelines, my RF included, but it's not really much of a problem.

The shutter lag is a little noticeable on my RF, definitely not a Leica. The shutter button is pretty mushy feeling, it's a 2-stage button for metering/shooting, and the first stage is not as positive as on a Nikon or any other camera I've seen.

The RF baselength is the same a a Leica M, and VF magnification is 0.6 so it is directly comparable to a .58 M6 which isn't the best choice for close-focusing a 90/2.8 wide open. I haven't shot anything longer than a 50, so I don't have any direct experience.

 

[Little Prince]

Phil, just wanted to point out that when I was in the buying stage a short while back, Traut here on RFF offered me a Hexar RF for a very good price. If you make up your mind to get one, you might want to ping him to see if it's still available.

 

[pvdhaar]

- How's the Hexar viewfinder compared to the M? Is it on par with the Minolta CLE?
- How loud is the shutter/film advance? Comparable to a Bessa R or even louder?
- Is there any shutter lag?
- Will using a 90/2.8 wide open up close be a problem?

The HexarRF's finder has 0.6x magnification. This means that it is not the best option for focussing/framing my CV-90mm/3.5. Let alone a 2.8. That doesn't mean it can't be done, it's just that it's no fun squinting at the small view delineated by the 90mm framelines. It makes you wonder why they've even put 135mm framelines in.. But then again, you'd never buy a Hexar for the long lenses. The finder is perfect for wide-angle. There are 28mm lines that you actually can see all around the frame. There's even room outside that, matching the view from my CV-25/4.

The main sound comes from the film advance. It's a high pitched squeek. It's comparable to a modern AF SLR advance (like the Nikon F75). Although others mention that there's some difference in film advance noise between continuous and single mode, I've never been able to tell them apart.

Shutter lag is 90ms per spec, which is faster than most film SLRs. It's certainly fast enough to get good shots.

 

[Jun Yan]

I just sold my RF for a M4-p.
The shutter lag is longer than M4-p, need some time to get used to it.
Viewfinder is much brighter than my M4-P.

I really love it's AE function like a M7 and it's 1/4000 top speed allow u to use big apature under the bright sun.

 

[felipe]

Wow, thanks for all the answers, your effort is highly appreciated!

I guess the noise issue is nothing to worry about, BUT 😀 having said that - is it comparably "loud" as a xpan?

The viewfinder magnification wouldn't be a problem either as I could certainly use the M4-p for long shots then, and since I'm planning to buy a 28 anyways the Hexar might be a good choice. After all having 1/4000 in an M camera would be perfect but as always you can't have everything 🙂

I'll be moving next month, if there's some spare cash left I'l be buying a Hexar. And then a Hexar AF. And then a 28 Ultron. And a MP.. oh wait where did the cash-cow go?! :angel:

Thanks again!
cheers,
Phil