Never Satisfied
Well-known
Sell the RF and get an Ikon, I've got a Hexar RF Limited and an Ikon and the Ikon kills it! The Hexar seems better made, but it clearly isn't. The Ikon is current and there are no repair issues with the Ikon. I love the RF, but the Ikon is just better all round.
Andrew.
Andrew.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
I got the email response to make the phone call too Doug, I'll try and get through to them on Monday- I was away all day yesterday.
thomasw_
Well-known
Bob, Doug ---> I read through this entire thread and I can only say that I feel very frustrated and helpless on behalf of both of you. The whole situation is sooooo capital L Lame. I hope it works out for you, Doug, as it appears this story is not yet over for you.
Bob --> I read here that you are thinking of obtaining a ZI. Andrew and many others here seem to have had a great experience. I tried TWO different times to buy one. Truly I wanted to get one with which to shoot slides! But I had problems with all 3 ZIs that I bought and returned. And if you search a bit around RFF and other places, you will see that I am not alone in having discovered issues with it. As I know you already shoot various M bodies, my thinking is that you will not be satisfied with the ZI. I would recommend just getting another M7 for your AE needs. That way you know what you will be getting and what you can expect; also the service people for the Ms are a known factor.
I am glad that the HRF fiasco sort of 'worked' out for you Bob.
Doug, I can only say that I hope you are a fifth time lucky sort of guy
It is experiences like this that make me very hestitant to embrace anything beyond an all mechanical M mount body.
As a guy whose engine just died in his 5 yr old car, just 2 months beyond the warranty period, I can share a bit in the pain of this thread. Yes, this thread is one big ouch
All my best regards,
Thomas
Bob --> I read here that you are thinking of obtaining a ZI. Andrew and many others here seem to have had a great experience. I tried TWO different times to buy one. Truly I wanted to get one with which to shoot slides! But I had problems with all 3 ZIs that I bought and returned. And if you search a bit around RFF and other places, you will see that I am not alone in having discovered issues with it. As I know you already shoot various M bodies, my thinking is that you will not be satisfied with the ZI. I would recommend just getting another M7 for your AE needs. That way you know what you will be getting and what you can expect; also the service people for the Ms are a known factor.
I am glad that the HRF fiasco sort of 'worked' out for you Bob.
Doug, I can only say that I hope you are a fifth time lucky sort of guy
It is experiences like this that make me very hestitant to embrace anything beyond an all mechanical M mount body.
As a guy whose engine just died in his 5 yr old car, just 2 months beyond the warranty period, I can share a bit in the pain of this thread. Yes, this thread is one big ouch
All my best regards,
Thomas
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Issy
Well-known
Incoming QC or I think this was just a poor component choice by the RF designers, either wear or corrosion susceptible. Based on the number of issues, if they were still making them, Konica surely would have changed the part in subsequent designs. Unfortunately, you have to disassemble the camera quite a bit to get to it (it's not just under the bottom cover).
sepiareverb
genius and moron
I'm going to wait and get another M7. I know it will work.
Was on hold too long with Sony the other day, will try again now.
EDIT: Well, didn't get anywhere other than leaving a complaint with someone who didn't seem too competent. I was assured that someone higher up would be able to read my complaint. Yea!
Was on hold too long with Sony the other day, will try again now.
EDIT: Well, didn't get anywhere other than leaving a complaint with someone who didn't seem too competent. I was assured that someone higher up would be able to read my complaint. Yea!
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Thomas, thanks for your good wishes! The camera arrived back at Precision for the 5th time on Monday the 20th, and their Repair Status page now shows it "In Repair" as of yesterday the 23rd.
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sepiareverb
genius and moron
5th time. Man alive, that company ought to be purged from our collective databases.
Krosya
Konicaze
I hope I'll never have a problem with Hexars but even if I do - I'll never use them, thats for sure! I think I could do a better job than they are doing and I'm not even in a camera repair business.
A few weeks ago there was a community theatre production of The King And I, very well done and well sung too, tunes sticking in my mind, so the old phrase is appropriate, "The song is ended but the melody lingers on." Which reminds me...
There was a primitive tribe living in the forest, and one of the young men fell ill. He went to the medicine man for help and was given a leather strip. The shaman told him to chew on the leather every day and come back when it was gone. Later, still feeling sick, the young man returned and told the medicine man, "The thong is ended but the malady lingers on."
And so it is with the Hexar RF. In our last episode, the camera had arrived at Precision for the 5th time with great hopes they'd pay close attention and actually run a roll of film through it before declaring it fixed and sending it back. No such luck.
It arrived here 8/13, two weeks ago. The camera started chewing on a 36-exp roll of stale Kodak 1600, and in the first few bites I knew it was still sick. Behavior has been trending more toward a soft buzz as I press the shutter release (winding the film forward I guess), then needing a second press to make an exposure. I sent the film in for processing before contacting Precision so that I'd have detailed info. That all took a week, when I emailed Jillian at Precision as before, but this time I got no timely reply.
So today, two weeks after getting it back, I phoned Precision's customer service and spoke with Myles, describing the situation, helped by his looking up the history. Once again a pre-paid UPS label, and off it went to them today with the Skopar 50mm lens, the developed strip of film, and an unused but very outdated roll of 1600 Kodak film for them to use before sending it back to me again... for the 6th time. UPS is making big bucks here but everyone else is losing. Maybe some entertainment value.
There was a primitive tribe living in the forest, and one of the young men fell ill. He went to the medicine man for help and was given a leather strip. The shaman told him to chew on the leather every day and come back when it was gone. Later, still feeling sick, the young man returned and told the medicine man, "The thong is ended but the malady lingers on."
And so it is with the Hexar RF. In our last episode, the camera had arrived at Precision for the 5th time with great hopes they'd pay close attention and actually run a roll of film through it before declaring it fixed and sending it back. No such luck.
It arrived here 8/13, two weeks ago. The camera started chewing on a 36-exp roll of stale Kodak 1600, and in the first few bites I knew it was still sick. Behavior has been trending more toward a soft buzz as I press the shutter release (winding the film forward I guess), then needing a second press to make an exposure. I sent the film in for processing before contacting Precision so that I'd have detailed info. That all took a week, when I emailed Jillian at Precision as before, but this time I got no timely reply.
So today, two weeks after getting it back, I phoned Precision's customer service and spoke with Myles, describing the situation, helped by his looking up the history. Once again a pre-paid UPS label, and off it went to them today with the Skopar 50mm lens, the developed strip of film, and an unused but very outdated roll of 1600 Kodak film for them to use before sending it back to me again... for the 6th time. UPS is making big bucks here but everyone else is losing. Maybe some entertainment value.
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ChrisN
Striving
This must be so disheartening for you Doug, and for other Hexar owners. A great camera, but let down by aging systems and lack of support. I'd love a Hexar but with these problems, if I want a long-term relationship I'd better get a Leica M7.
Good luck - fingers crossed.
Good luck - fingers crossed.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Man Doug, that just sucks. I finally managed to find my replacement, hope you end up with one soon.
Krosya
Konicaze
Sorry to hear about all these problems, Doug. However, as a Hexar RF owner - I'm not terribly worried. There are not that many such stories about Hexars. Actually I know many Hexar users that put their Hexars through hell and they are fine. Come to think of it, I'm starting to believe that maybe - and I'm not saying this is the case here, but rather what it seems to me, - maybe this Hexar didnt really have a serious problem ORIGINALLY and could have ben fixed by someone who KNOWS what they are doing. But based on everything I hear, it's this Precision camera shop that is to blame. They are clearly NOT konica specialists and I actually wonder how good they are about ANY camera. If they dont bother to test the camera before shipping to the owner - not just once, but FIVE times? Seriously - they probably screwed this poor camera up and if nothing else, should just give you a new camera and admit to their incompetence. I know for sure - I'd never send any camera to them as I have better chances fixing it myself!
sepiareverb
genius and moron
I'm with you. Their policy is "No refunds, return it till we get it right!" They've clearly lost money on Doug's camera, with nine UPS ships? They charged me $106 to muck with my Hexar and paid for five UPS ships.
I spoke with Sony and complained, but never heard another thing back. Pitiful.
It is a bit discouraging, as I think the Hexar RF is indeed a great camera. Precision did fix the original impact damage and RF misalignment just fine, but somehow introduced this unrelated film handling matter that they can't seem to deal with. And they seem also to keep fiddling unnecessarily with the RF, creating more problems there. Out of alignment again slightly this last time... but they are packing it more carefully than before.
I'm again promised close attention by a supervisor.
The first trip to Precision was in late January. Months ago I "replaced" the camera with a Hexar RF Limited body, so if the one going back and forth to Precision is eventually confirmed as trash, then I'm not without a good one! I do like the camera very much.
I'm again promised close attention by a supervisor.
The first trip to Precision was in late January. Months ago I "replaced" the camera with a Hexar RF Limited body, so if the one going back and forth to Precision is eventually confirmed as trash, then I'm not without a good one! I do like the camera very much.
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Krosya
Konicaze
maybe, when you talk to someone there next time - tell them that you will report them to BBB - maybe that will get thier attention?
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Seven, going on eight months. Just unbelievable.
Issy
Well-known
Doug,
Add me to the ranks. I took my "user" HEXAR RF off the shelf yesterday with the intent of "exercising" it. Popped in a fresh roll, counter up to "1", walked around a bit, looked down and notice it back to "0" -- the dreaded film transport issue. Power-cycled it, and it advanced three frames, back to "1". With some shaking and fiddling I was able to repeat this enough times to expend the entire roll, unexposed (still have one of those leader-puller-thingys in the bag --- end of roll, 0 on the counter, and hit manual rewind and you don't get the rewind leader pause). This camera had this issue years ago, and it was fixed by K-M repair in Japan, just before the Sony sale.
I took a quick look through the service manual and camera schematic last night and found that the rear door switch is noted as "normally open", which implies that closing the camera back closes the switch, which I am guessing, if there is any corrosion on the contacts, will open contact sporadically and tell the camera the back was opened.
Before I send mine anywhere, I am going to try some heavy duty electronics switch and corrosion cleaner. Will post here when I have results.
{grumble}
Bill
Sorry to hear of your trouble recurring, Bill... The contact cleaner sounds like a good idea. Also I wonder if just handling the camera, with normal pressure on and off the door might inadvertently activate a switch inside. I'd been assuming it was an optical switch... I'll have to examine mine carefully when it comes back. Good luck!
UPS tracking shows my Hexar is "out for delivery" on its way back here again from Precision. So I should have it in hand very soon. I have another roll of that outdated Kodak 1600 film out of the fridge and warming up.
It had showed "in repair" on 9/1. On 9/3 I got a phone call from a different gal there wanting to hear straight from me the full description of the camera behavior. I strongly suggested they actually run a roll of film (which I even supplied) this time before sending it back.
I think I'll walk over to the UPS Store now and pick up the package. I'm praying they got it right this time.
It had showed "in repair" on 9/1. On 9/3 I got a phone call from a different gal there wanting to hear straight from me the full description of the camera behavior. I strongly suggested they actually run a roll of film (which I even supplied) this time before sending it back.
I think I'll walk over to the UPS Store now and pick up the package. I'm praying they got it right this time.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Fingers crossed Doug.