Gallery: PAW 2004-28
Hexar RF Test Shot
Inokashira Park, Kichijoji, Tokyo
I recently bought a Konica Hexar RF used from one of my friends on the Leica list.
The Hexar RF is a very well-built Leica M-clone camera with auto-exposure and motor-drive. It's now been discontinued, which is a shame because it's really a one of a kind camera.
It's the only Leica M-compatible camera with a built-in motor drive. It's quieter than an M7+motor drive and when shooting in the continuous firing mode, the auto-exposure lock works as you would expect. No shutter button bouncing up and down!
The auto-exposure mode works as you expect. I had thought the meter would be thrown off by the back/side lighting in this photograph taken in Inokashira Park in the western suburbs of Kichijoji, Tokyo. As I do with all my center-weighted cameras, I compensated for the backlighting by bumping the exposure up +1 EV. However, the Hexar RF is better designed than I expected and most of the frames from this series were overexposed. I should have just left the meter as is. This was the one frame with the best exposure.
The Hexar RF was unfortunately plagued since its introduction in America with rumors of incompatibility with Leica M mount cameras and lenses. Konica USA did nothing to dampen these suspicions and refused to say whether the Konica KM mount was the same as the Leica M mount or not. Various net pundits scrambled to their labs and took excruciatingly precise measures (+/-0.01mm!) to judge whether it was true or not.
In Japan, this issue never came up. Instead, Japanese photographers used the Hexar RF with their Leica lenses. You'd think it would be the other way around: the Japanese worrying about the accuracy of their vernier micrometers and the Americans being more pragmatic. But it was the other way around.
All of the photographs on this page were taken with my Hexar RF using either a Leitz 35mm Summicron f/2.8; 50mm Summicron; or 90mm Summicron. I haven't detected any "flangeback problem" in my photos so I'm not spending any time staying up all night worrying that there might be a 0.03mm difference. Call me a pragmatist or call me a photographer.
The Hexar RF is a wonderful available light and indoor camera. The shutter is indeed a bit noisier than the Leica M7 and the motor drive does whine, but both are still rather quiet and well-dampened.
The Hexar RF has an electronic shutter release button with a very soft touch. This lets you control the shutter release very delicately. I find the Hexar RF to be very steady in low-light / slow shutter conditions.
The statue to the left was made by Seibô Kitamura, who was one of the most famous sculptors of 20th century Japan. He is famous for designing the large peace statue that graces Nagasaki.
Inokashira Park houses a large collection of Seibô's work, both indoors and outdoors. It also has a recreation of the atelier where he did most of his work. It's quite a wonderful place to visit and well worth the ¥400 entrance fee.
Equipment: Konica Hexar RF, 35mm f/2.8 Summicron, Fuji Provia 100F and Ilford FP4+