Konica Hexar RF

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Nick De Marco

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Recently picked up a Konica Hexar RF. This has to be one of the best made Leica M copies around. Titanium plated and fully automatic (which has its drawbacks because of reliance on batteries etc., but great to have in your collection).

Run s film of Velvia 50 through it with a Leica Summicron 50 f2. First time I have used Velvia 50 too. Very happy with the results

http://www.pbase.com/nickdemarco/konica_hexar_rf



www.pbase.com/nickdemarco
 
Or put another way...

Leica is the best copy of Konica lenses and bodies. Why does Leica charge so much for Konica quality? Eh!

Had I payed attention to this forum for a year before making any purchases, I would have done things differently.
 
Mazurka, apologies - I wasn't even thinking about autofocus when I said that (I'm not a fan of autofocus on rangeinfeders) - so my fully did not include that - but if there is such a thing you must be right.

The Konica Hexar RF, though, does have bothe automatic and manual exposure settings. Sometimes, when in a hurry, its useful to have the automatic settings. It also has an automatic winder and its easy to lode. The rangefinder i big and bright. I'm a fan of the Minolta CLE as well, in part because it's small and light, but the Hexar is heavy, well, bult and (apart from the fact it is automatic) feels more like the build of a Leica. I think it is a grat camera. I paid about £350 for mine. Seems a lot but when you think of ho much a Leica with similar specs would cost (eg the M7) its not.
 
Nick,

The Hexanon lenses are top performers and represent an outstanding value. Congrats on your purchase.

Bob
 
There are not a lot of Leica M copies, but then again, is there another camera manufacturer that has as many mount copies (yes, that is a question for the more knowledgeable). I have the Hexar RF in my stable. I bought mine brand new earlier this year, and it's a great camera. I like the weight and the build. I like the option of shooting at 3fps and at 1/4000, although I haven't utilized either very often. There are some things that I don't like about the camera, but since this is a praise thread (and I like the camera) I'll refrain. I'm glad I have mine. I 'm planning on shooting with it today.

:)
 
I find it interesting how people always feel the need to mention particular cameras' reliance on batteries as if it causes all kinds of problems. Throw an extra one or two in your bag with the film. Problem solved.

Sorry about the brief rant. Nice photos in the gallery. I like the portraits of the fellow in the pink shirt.
 
Hexars and batteries...

The Hexar RF has to be among the most miserly of cameras when it comes to battery consumption. Konica specs the camera as being able to run through upwards of 140 rolls per set of CR2s; I'd put that count conservatively at about 100-110 36-exposure rolls. And it's awfully easy to pack a spare set or two in a film canister for those extensive trips with a pair of bodies, as I've done with mine on several occasions.

I'd like to think I'm "tied" with Dave in my enthusiasm for the HRF. I've been using a pair for personal and paid work for over five years and love them, and I get warm fuzzies for few cameras I've owned over the last 30 years. The M-mount camera world is so much the richer for Konica's efforts. They were one hell of an outfit while they were independent.

Leica "copy"? I like to think of the HRF as Konica's take on a "what if...?" M-camera variation that, unlike numerous pipe-dreams, actually had the temerity to make it to market, and possibly put the spurs to Solms' hindquarters as a result. Leica may indeed owe more of a debt to Konica's efforts than they might be willing to admit.


- Barrett
 
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I'd like to add my voice to the Hexar RF praise.
I bought mine a couple of years ago after reading Sean Reid's (highly recommended) online article about it. The deal was sealed when my trusted camera dealer, a small shop in Virginia, run by a real photographer, told me "the lens alone is worth the price."
Truer words were never spoken. The 50mm f/2 has been a brilliant performer as has the body itself.
 
amateriat said:
Hexars and batteries...

The Hexar RF has to be among the most miserly of cameras when it comes to battery consumption. Konica specs the camera as being able to run through upwards of 140 rolls per set of CR2s; I'd put that count conservatively at about 100-110 36-exposure rolls. And it's awfully easy to pack a spare set or two in a film canister for those extensive trips with a pair of bodies, as I've done with mine on several occasions.

I'd like to think I'm "tied" with Dave in my enthusiasm for the HRF. I've been using a pair for personal and paid work for over five years and love them, and I get warm fuzzies for few cameras I've owned over the last 30 years. The M-mount camera world is so much the richer for Konica's efforts. They were one hell of an outfit while they were independent.

Leica "copy"? I like to think of the HRF as Konica's take on a "what if...?" M-camera variation that, unlike numerous pipe-dreams, actually had the temerity to make it to market, and possibly put the spurs to Solms' hindquarters as a result. Leica may indeed owe more of a debt to Konica's efforts than they might be willing to admit.


- Barrett
Click to expand...

I agree its not a Leica copy. Owning both I have never considered one to be an offshoot of the other, or related, besides the mount, despite the history. I've been able to enjoy it without relying on the "this is what a Leica should be mentality," but that's me. I'm content experiencing the HRF on its own merits, as I am with my M's. Sure it's got features absent on Leica M's, but the experience is very different, not Leica-like, and that is not a bad thing. Feature-ladened, automated, professional in feel and craftmanship, worth the price, not a Leica. I'm still keeping mine and using it.

:)
 
The last time i needed to liquidate some of my cameras, the M6, M7, MP all left the drybox and the hexar stayed. My all time favorite camera. Tied with the M7 really but the hexar with the drive allows me to handhold at lower speeds where i just burst away and normally, the 2nd or 3rd shot will be sharper. Higher shutter speeds also means i can use my 1.4 and 1.8 lenses outdoors!
 
Another huge Hexar RF fan here, a camera with so much to like and so little to dislike. If not for Konica shutting their photographic division, one can only speculate on what a RF2 would have been like. But their legacy will happily serve me for a long time to come. I have 3 Hex M lenses and a 35UC LTM and I won't part with them in this lifetime.
 
The Hexar RF is indeed unique and brilliant in a number of aspects. Stuff that's really neat: film leader out when rewinding, low battery consumptions, and the 50 Hexanon is the icing on the cake..
 
Andrew Sowerby said:
I find it interesting how people always feel the need to mention particular cameras' reliance on batteries as if it causes all kinds of problems. Throw an extra one or two in your bag with the film. Problem solved.
Click to expand...

I love those people too. Leica's making quite a few battery-dependent cameras lately - as in everything but the MP (and even then, I suspect a lot of people would freeze up if the meter in the camera didn't work).

As I have found taking Hexar RFs around the world, two CR2 batteries occupy about the same space as one roll of film or about 1/2 the space of an M8 battery. Consider that 4 CR2s can go 8,000-10,000 exposures and the M8 battery (on a good day) does 500.

By the way, having had the opportunity to hang with an M7 lately, I think that Konica's implementation (swing back, integral motor, 1/125 synch, and top-mounted EV comp dial) is cleaner and more functional.

And in a lot of ways, the M8 mimics the Hexar RF.
 
I got a hexer RF specifically as the body to use with the 28-35-50mm Tri-Elmar - the two together are an awesome combination. A 35mm summilux completes the kit which covers 95% of my focal length/speed usage.
 
Any suggestions were to look best to pick one up- would there be more potential sources in Japan? What would a reasonable price for an excellent body and lens respectively be? Recent listings on e-bay seemed to be massively overpriced.

Appreciate your input
 
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