Konica Hexar RF
The Konica Hexar RF is a rangefinder camera with the bayonet mount of the Leica M, with a motor drive and auto-exposure. Top shutter speed is an astounding 1/4000th of a second, the Hexar RF has both top and bottom plates that are made of SOLID titanium. It is a camera built to last. Unfortunately, the current owner of the Konica-Minolta cameras, Sony, is performing very poor when it comes to service on these analog marvels.
For this type of camera, Konica made a number of lenses. All were reputed to be in KM-mount, leading to a rumour that Konica made lenses would not fit to Leica-M bodies, due to differences in the lens-to-film distance. Over the past decade, many user-experiences have been added to the internet proving the opposite. Konica never stated in any press release that it's lenses were compatible with the Leica bodies, possibly to avoid costly law suits on patent violations.
Known lenses to the Hexar RF are:
the M-Hexanon 28mm f=2.8, the M-Hexanon 50mm f=2.0, the M-Hexanon 90mm f=2.8, the M-Hexanon 17-35mm f=?-? (Dual lens, not zoom!), and the UC-Hexanon 35mm 2.0 (redesign of the lens used on the Hexar AutoFocus edition)
(The Konica Hexar is an entirely different camera: autofocus, with a fixed lens.)
Links
In English:
- Wikipedia entry for Hexar RF
- Karen Nakamura's overview at Photoethnography
- The Hexar RF entry in the Leica FAQ
- Dante Stella's comparison with the Leica M7
- Steven Gandy's overview at Cameraquest
- Erwin Puts' critical evaluation of the Hexar RF
- David Kilpatrick's review
- Matt Alofs's review
- DIY Hexar RF Eyepiece Replacement post
In Spanish:
