mrisney
Well-known
Yes another Ken Rockwell thread (ducking head). He does bring up a point though, the price of a the Konica Hexar RF has been rising for sometime. I always wanted to try one, he went through and categorically reduced the Hexanon lenses as well. Ouch. I didn't realize that it was indeed built on the same body as the Contax G2. Huh, yet the price of a G2 has been getting half of what the Hexar goes for. I assume the interest in the Hexar is the M mount. Oh well, if I venture back into M world, maybe skip the Konica and go for the CLE. Is he ranting ? Or is it a balanced review ?
FrankS
Registered User
He has an opinion like anyone else. He is no more authoritative on the subject than anyone else (with a bit of camera experience), so his opinion counts for no more or less than anyone elses.
raid
Dad Photographer
I don't care for such reports since hands on experience for many RFF members is more informative, in my opinion.
Frank bought my Hexar AF while I bought Matt's Hexar RF ... and each person can try out a new camera this way.
Frank bought my Hexar AF while I bought Matt's Hexar RF ... and each person can try out a new camera this way.
reala_fan
Well-known
Terrible review!! He writes it like a person who has never USED a Hexar RF. If he had, he would have fallen in love with it!
The Hexar RF has a few advantages over the Mechanical M's:
1/4000th second top shutter speed. - Something I love and adore for using larger apertures outdoors with my favorite films.
Film handling/loading is superb on the Hexar RF. It does NOT 'waste' any film. You will always get 38 shots on a 36 roll.
Auto rewind - also fantastic, a time saver and always accurate. I like to pop open the back when it stops and leave the tail out (if you don't pop open the back when it stops, it will suck the tail into the cannister in one more second) it's your choice.
And the lenses? HA! They are superb too!! Just like the hexanon lenses for the old SLR's were, superb.
The exposure compensation dial? It works great, I use it all the time.
The meter readout? Works great, can see it in any light.
The framelines and the patch? Not a thing wrong with those either. I use mine primarily for 35/28 and a 50 (in that order of popularity) and I am not one bit unhappy with the finder or the patch.
Ken also neglects to mention AEL (AE Lock), it uses DX film coding (you can also set the ISO manually), she accepts a regular cable release, gets incredible battery life, has a 2 frames per second motor (if you need it) and a self timer function.
He also does not say that it feels great in the hand, shoots like a dream come true and exudes quality (it's heavy...items inside are dense, well made).
He is welcome to send me all his unwanted Hexar RF's and M-Hexanon glass!!
While I have never owned the Contax G2, I do hear a lot of people say these cameras made a lot of racket. The Hexar RF is not as quiet as a Leica M bit it does not make a 'racket'.
Like I said, sounds to me like he has never used a Hexar RF.
The only 'sketchy' thing about the Hexar RF is parts availability. It's essentially an orphaned camera in the USA (better chance getting it repaired properly in Japan).
Cheers!!
The Hexar RF has a few advantages over the Mechanical M's:
1/4000th second top shutter speed. - Something I love and adore for using larger apertures outdoors with my favorite films.
Film handling/loading is superb on the Hexar RF. It does NOT 'waste' any film. You will always get 38 shots on a 36 roll.
Auto rewind - also fantastic, a time saver and always accurate. I like to pop open the back when it stops and leave the tail out (if you don't pop open the back when it stops, it will suck the tail into the cannister in one more second) it's your choice.
And the lenses? HA! They are superb too!! Just like the hexanon lenses for the old SLR's were, superb.
The exposure compensation dial? It works great, I use it all the time.
The meter readout? Works great, can see it in any light.
The framelines and the patch? Not a thing wrong with those either. I use mine primarily for 35/28 and a 50 (in that order of popularity) and I am not one bit unhappy with the finder or the patch.
Ken also neglects to mention AEL (AE Lock), it uses DX film coding (you can also set the ISO manually), she accepts a regular cable release, gets incredible battery life, has a 2 frames per second motor (if you need it) and a self timer function.
He also does not say that it feels great in the hand, shoots like a dream come true and exudes quality (it's heavy...items inside are dense, well made).
He is welcome to send me all his unwanted Hexar RF's and M-Hexanon glass!!
While I have never owned the Contax G2, I do hear a lot of people say these cameras made a lot of racket. The Hexar RF is not as quiet as a Leica M bit it does not make a 'racket'.
Like I said, sounds to me like he has never used a Hexar RF.
The only 'sketchy' thing about the Hexar RF is parts availability. It's essentially an orphaned camera in the USA (better chance getting it repaired properly in Japan).
Cheers!!
Jaws
Newbie
I thought about getting one but decided something with manual wind was better for me and so got a used M6. The lenses are supposed to be really good and I would buy one if it suited me without hesitation.
(Probably should move this thread into the proper forum?)
There were things I didn't get about this review.
1. Yes, the Contax G2 is great, I agree. But if you want to use other glass, you need an M mount. And why is the Hexar not great, if it's based on the G2, except with manual focus and M mount?
2. The Hexar isn't expensive. How much is an automatic exposure film Leica with motor? Yeah, you can get a Leica for a Hexar price, but usually they don't even have meters, let alone motors.
Or is this just Ken being Ken, in order to generate a bunch of threads which link to his site, which keeps him high on google?
There were things I didn't get about this review.
1. Yes, the Contax G2 is great, I agree. But if you want to use other glass, you need an M mount. And why is the Hexar not great, if it's based on the G2, except with manual focus and M mount?
2. The Hexar isn't expensive. How much is an automatic exposure film Leica with motor? Yeah, you can get a Leica for a Hexar price, but usually they don't even have meters, let alone motors.
Or is this just Ken being Ken, in order to generate a bunch of threads which link to his site, which keeps him high on google?