Tell me about Hexanon glass

[cmedin]

I just impulse purchased an AutoReflex T that came with a 50/1.7, 135/3.2, and a bonus TC body. Paid fifty bucks for the lot and everything's supposed to be in fine working condition.

Anybody here have suggestions for particular Hexanon glass that would be worth picking up? Is the 50/1.7 pretty decent, or are there some real outstanding lenses I should be on the lookout for? Not looking for wider than 50-ish or longer than 200... thanks!

Can't wait to get them here... didn't take long to fall in love with the SRT-101 I picked up. There's something about 60s/70s era SLRs. 🙂

 

[bobomoon]

I really like the 85mm f1.8 and the 57/1.2. Don't think you can go wrong with any of the hexanon primes.

Except for the bodies. They're just so-so.

 

[cmedin]

Ohhhh.... $23 for a BGN condition 40/1.8 from KEH. It does look pretty compact. 🙂 Thanks!

 

[warren1960]

Your 50/1.7 is a very good lens. The 135/3.2 is also supposed to be very good, although I have never owned one. To fill out your kit, I would look for a late style 28/3.5 This is the one that goes to f22, and make sure you get one with the metal square hood, a very cool accessory in itself.

If you can't remember which of your classic SLR's you shot a particular strip of film with, you can identify the Konica frames by the little notch on the side.

As the line progressed, the viewfinder blackout times got longer. The T through T3 are nice and quick. On the TC and T4 you may notice the blackout is a little long. The later electronic bodies have excessively long blackouts even at 1/1000.

The Copal square shutter will never let you down.

Have fun and post some results!

 

[cmth]

I have several T3 bodies, an FS-1 body (first 35mm camera ever with a built-in motor drive), and a handful of lenses, all Hexanons (avoid the Hexar lenses, they're not made by Konica and don't compare to the Hexanons). 28/3.5, 40/1.8, 50/1.7, 57/1.4 (not as impressive as the 57/1.2), 100/2.8, and 135/3.5. I have a couple of non-Konica AR mount lenses that I don't use because they (quite frankly) suck.

The Hexanon glass is all very good to exceptional, even today. My favorite lenses that I own are the 28/3.5, 50/1.7 and 100/2.8. If I'm out with just one lens I usually take the 40.

All of my bodies except one T3 have degraded light meter cells, so check yours against a trusted light meter before you use it. I use 1.4v 675-size hearing aid batteries, which seem to work fine in place of the discontinued 1.35v mercury cells.

The shutter-priority autoexposure works quite well for a camera that is almost 35 years old. I've shot many slides with it. I don't own a scanner so I don't have any pics online but my slides look great and so do the enlargements.

The two "legendary" Hexanons of olde that bobomoon mentioned (57/1.2 & 85/1.8) are still quite popular and well regarded and go for several hundred on that auction site. If you decide you like the Konica AR system, I would recommend grabbing up both of those if you can find them. Also look for the 24/2.8 in the last version (with f/22) that is also an excellent lens.

The best site for information on Konica stuff: http://www.buhla.de/Foto/Konica/eKonicaStart.html

 

[Revolucion Artistico]

I started shooting with all konica gear. It's great stuff! I second the 40mm and the 57 1.2. Like already mentioned stick with T3 and earlier but the TC is a great throw in the bag camera. Let's not forget the super cool original Auto Reflex , pre T, first and only 35mm slr that could shoot both full and half frame on the same roll with a flip of a switch. Shoulda never sold that baby.

 

[cmedin]

Thanks guys. I'll do some shooting with the 50 and 135 and see how I like them; the 57/1.2 is intriguing though, would be nice to have some superfast glass in the arsenal.

Any idea if the meter circuit can be modified (with an inline diode) like on the Minoltas to accept the silver oxide batteries? I'm about to do that on my SRT101, and would like to do the same to my other 'classics' if possible...

 

[shadowfox]

cmedin, have you read my mini review of the TC and the Hexanon 50/1.4?

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45864

I believe that lens is sharper than the pancake. I have one too.

 

[cmedin]

cmedin, have you read my mini review of the TC and the Hexanon 50/1.4?

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45864

I believe that lens is sharper than the pancake. I have one too.

Thanks for the link! Looks like you got a really nice piece of glass there. Have you had a chance to acquire any more Hexanon glass yet? Also, how do you like the TC body? The one I am getting looks a little more well used than yours, but supposed to be in fine working condition. I have to admit I am a little more excited about the T body since I like big hunks of metal. 😀

Heading over to KEH tomorrow to sell off some gear they are offering me nice money on, we shall see if I succumb to Hexanon GAS while over there. Though I am honestly mostly jonesin' for a nice tele prime for my Minolta; they have some 300/4.5 MC glass there for cheap.