Konica Hexar AF - is this thing real?

[furbs]

After posting my 35mm Color Skopar on Craigslist locally, I got an offer to trade for a "120th Anniversary Edition" of the Hexar AF. I hadn't heard of the camera before, and I wasn't really in the market for a point-and-shoot, but I gave the Hexar AF a quick internet search anyway. Quiet shutter, "silent mode," good lens, autofocus - not bad. So on a whim I made the trade and now have the 120th Anniversary Hexar AF.

It kind of shocks me that this camera was even made - its target audience is so specific. The hood that extends when front cap is removed, absurdly silent functioning, and silly fake bright fresnel all combine to give this camera a lot of character.

What do you shoot with your Hexar AF? It's my only autofocus camera now, and I'm looking forward to running a few rolls through this curious camera over the next week.

 

[msbarnes]

After posting my 35mm Color Skopar on Craigslist locally, I got an offer to trade for a "120th Anniversary Edition" of the Hexar AF. I hadn't heard of the camera before, and I wasn't really in the market for a point-and-shoot, but I gave the Hexar AF a quick internet search anyway. Quiet shutter, "silent mode," good lens, autofocus - not bad. So on a whim I made the trade and now have the 120th Anniversary Hexar AF.

It kind of shocks me that this camera was even made - its target audience is so specific. The hood that extends when front cap is removed, absurdly silent functioning, and silly fake bright fresnel all combine to give this camera a lot of character.

What do you shoot with your Hexar AF? It's my only autofocus camera now, and I'm looking forward to running a few rolls through this curious camera over the next week.

Not sure about the 120th edition, but the Hear AF is a great camera. I sold mine but I'm considering getting another one....

I used it the way I use any other RF.


Untitled by Michael_Sergio_Barnes, on Flickr


Untitled by Michael_Sergio_Barnes, on Flickr

 

[lam]

You have one of 500 120th Anniversary Hexar AF's? traded a 35 Skopar?

?!?!??!?

 

[furbs]

You have one of 500 120th Anniversary Hexar AF's? traded a 35 Skopar?

...

?!?!??!?

I think there were 2000 made, but yes, the one in the grey velvet presentation box with flash and data back. The silver one, not the gold one. He told me I was getting a good deal...

 

[roboflick]

Awesome camera! I also have the stereo versions (RBT s1) , and a lens that ms optical converted to m mount... Its an incredibly sharp lens and has beautiful bokeh and color rendition
Nik

 

[lam]

You won the proverbial lottery. Awesome. Enjoy it!!!!!!!!

 

[lawrence]

I had one for many years and thought it was great but it had one drawback -- it started to give me blank frames. In other words, when you pressed the release it sounded like you'd taken a shot and the film wound on but you then discovered a blank frame. I've heard of others having this problem.

 

[nikonosguy]

i love mine ---- it's battle tried, works well, is a great little camera ---- it's not really a point and shoot- -- always make sure to do all bios/firmware upgrades

 

[nikonosguy]

 

[md2008]

What do you shoot with your Hexar AF? It's my only autofocus camera now, and I'm looking forward to running a few rolls through this curious camera over the next week.

Great camera. Check out this thread - it was my Hexar AF photo journal until I got too busy and also got an X100 which has nearly supplanted by Hexar AF as my daily camera. But in answer to your question, use it take pictures of anything and everything.

 

[nikonosguy]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/53997811412/ if you're on fb

 

[johannielscom]

There's a portal page on the Hexar AF on my website:

http://www.johanniels.com/index.php...2-konica-hexar-af-the-ultimate-compact-camera

It includes links to a great many number of other web pages on the Hexar, a downloadable manual, Quick Reference Cards, video clips, a walk-through on how to activate Silent Mode on camera's that do not have it, how to activate Auto-bracketing and manual GN-setting, ...
Basically anything you would want to know on the little piece of magic.

Enjoy your Hexar, you lucky dawg!

 

[Aristophanes]

 

[Richard G]

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 here 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.

 

[nikonosguy]

Well said. It goes everywhere with me