My experience with M-Hexanons on the M8

Somewhere in the manufacturing run the Konica-M lenses were changed so they focus properly on M cameras. Many have also been adjusted to do so. Of my three 50/2 Hexanon-Ms (I like that lens a lot and they stopped making it, so I stockpiled) two worked perfectly out of the box and one didn't. It was a relatively cheap fix.

I think the lenses are worth it.

Marty
 
as promised, thats how it looks:

hex.jpg


I have to admit it is a hack, but it seems to work. the focus is always where it should be, at least when I use the 1,25x magnifier for focussing ;)

did some experiments also with rulers, etc. and it looks good.

http://files.berny.at/lisi50hex.jpg
 
just to add one more: Today I had the chance to try a brand new Hex 28mm...it back focuses on my M8 severely...
 
kanzlr said:
as promised, thats how it looks:

hex.jpg


I have to admit it is a hack, but it seems to work. the focus is always where it should be, at least when I use the 1,25x magnifier for focussing ;)

did some experiments also with rulers, etc. and it looks good.
Click to expand...

same experience with my M-Hexanon 50/2. Thanks kanzlr, your pic gave me confidence to try it - that and seeing Brian's frequent mention of this solution on rff. I had back focus enough that when shooting a portrait in close, rf showed focus on eye, image showed focus at the subject's temple. My 50/2 summicron (and other lenses) are spot on, also at infinity. Two layers of copper tape as pictured did the trick. I tried one layer first, then two. I could see improvement very clearly by shooting pics of a ruler wide open. I also shot images of large cranes at the port of oakland several miles away - they also were sharper after the tape shimming than before. I found Corry's Slug & Snail Copper Tape Barrier at my local home depot. Couldn't find a spec sheet that confirmed its thickness, but it's working for me.
 
I'm also experiencing the back focus on my M8 with a newly acquired M-Hexanon 50/2. It's at least consistent through the range to infinity, and I can compensate for it for now. Is no one having this problem on the M9?
 
Yours truly:

Still wonders why nobody so far has reported similar problems with the M9, or a non-Leica camera.

Points out that Konica indeed (see Dante Stella before) has never admitted that their KM mount was identical to the Leica M mount.

Thinks that 0.04mm is suspiciously close to film thickness.



*happily trots off to the Classifieds section to see the price on those excellent Hexanons drop a little more*

:D
 
I will probably send mine out for focus adjustment, but for now, I can just cheat it a little. I still find it curious that I've never heard anyone say their Hex 50/2 misfocused on the M9. The seller (a member here) said it focused spot on on his M9...I have no reason not to believe him, as I've yet to hear anyone say that they had any problems focusing a Hex 50/2 on that body...
 
Dan95 said:
Also was offered a 35 Hexanon M for 600usd.

Thinking of getting both!
Click to expand...

Wow! 35 for 600 - you are lucky, man! Sells usually for more than twice that amount... (only the 35mm though - the 28 I bought new a view weeks ago for 500, and that has been a deal. 600 for 28 is ok!
 
35 M Hexanon. Not the UC LTM version.

Im still contemplating whether I should go for it! Have the 35 f2 V2 and Summaron 2.8.
 
I have the 21-35 Hexanon Dual. I have had no issues with it on my M8 or M9. It is a stellar lens that produces wonderful files in terms of saturation and sharpness. The focal lengths are perfect for the M8. All in all a great lens.
 
DAG will recollimate these for around $75 and Focal Point for $150. Asking for a seller guarantee is silly, especially when that guarantee goes beyond the design intent of the item (to work on film cameras). Should I have returned my 75 Summilux, 90 Summicron, and Tri-Elmar when all of them had the same problem on my M8? How about my 50 C-Sonnar? Collimation - even to a specific body - is a sad fact of life with any blind focusing system. It even happens with Leica's $12K Noctilux. It is even more of a sad fact of life when you are mounting 50-year-old screwmount lenses that may not have been great to begin with - or may have been poorly repaired a few times - on an adapter with its own tolerances - and then onto a camera.

My Tri-Elmar, by the way, had been fully serviced by Leica just a couple of months before the M8 came out. Didn't stop Leica from charging me $600 for the pleasure of coding and recollimating for digital and bringing it up to modern standards. And it took multiple trips to Leica (and finally to Germany) to make my 75mm usable.

Fact is that most old lenses are not set up for a flat imager, and most older fast Leica lenses have such focus shift with aperture changes that things get pretty ugly.

Dante
 
yep, DAG did my 90 M-Hexanon, and I had another 90 adjusted locally, too.

No worries, it works nicely. My Hexar RF and all my M lenses (Konica and others) all work nicely with all bodies after adjustement
 
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