Konica Minolta Hexar Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by:

ugi
( Intermediate)

Review Date
October 24, 2005

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
4 votes

Review 1 of 65

Price Paid: $340.00 from used

Summary:

Absolute gorgeous lens - it makes subjects look better than they ought to. If I were forced to get rid of all my cameras except for one, it would be the Hexar. It is perfect for street photography, with the quiet shutter and fast autofocus. I also love the program mode that allows you to choose a preferred aperture and minimum shutter speed, giving you some control even in point-and-shoot mode. Lasts forever on one lithium battery. I've been a point-and-shoot enthusiast, owning all the notable ones like the Stylus Epic, Fuji DL Super Mini, et al, but the Hexar cannot be classified with them. It's in a class by itself.

Strengths:

fantastic lens build quality quick handling bright viewfinder energy efficient

Weaknesses:

limited shutter speed range doesn't fit all neck straps

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Stylus Epic, Olympus XA, Fuji DL Super Mini, Ricoh R1, Pentax UC-1, Konica Big Mini, Minolta Hi-Matic

Customer Service:

Excellent. I called Konica to ask them for filter spacers and they sent them free.

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Rating
Reviewed by:

azipuff
( Intermediate)

Review Date
June 19, 2004

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.67 of 5,
3 votes

Review 2 of 65

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:

This camera is a true sleeper. It has a low profile but its picture-taking capabilities are astounding. The lens is sharp, the exposure modes & metering is intelligently designed, and it is fast & quiet. It is well priced for what it is. TTL auto flash metering is missing, but you can use any auto-thyristor flash if set to AP or Manual exposure modes.

Strengths:

Minimal shutter lag Small Quiet Excellent lens Takes regular 46mm filters

Weaknesses:

Can't use regular neck straps Uses expensive 2CR5 batteries Button interface is clumsy No TTL flash metering

Similar Products Used:

Leica M2 and M6 Olympus MjU-II

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Rating
Reviewed by:

slinke
( Intermediate)

Review Date
June 18, 2004

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Review 3 of 65

Price Paid: $0.00 from Online auction site

Summary:

(Actually this is a follow-up review, over one year later.) The Hexar AF (silver version) is indeed a fine and easy-to-use camera. But it's the lens. What a lens! It's superb: Sharp but not razor-y; naturally saturated colors; and great, smooth bokeh. Quiet mechanism enough even without the "silent" add-on. All the automation that comes with it is just icing on the cake. Superb price/value combination.

Strengths:

Lens. Lens. Lens. Automation. Speed. Ergonomics. Size. Viewfinder.

Weaknesses:

Some smallish buttons, but rarely use them. Fact that it's discontinued.

Similar Products Used:

Rollei 35S, Leitz-Minolta CL.

Customer Service:

Not needed yet.

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Rating
Reviewed by: Andre
(Intermediate)

Review Date
December 30, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5,
1 votes

Review 4 of 65

Price Paid: $400.00 from second hand

Summary:

I have the Silver version and I am delighted with every bit of this camera. The design is absolutely beautifull. Having all kind of camera systems from DSLR to Canon SLR gear to Hasselblad and Rolleiflex, the Hexar is my most favourite camera. The pictures taken with Kodak 400CN and Ilford XP2 are soft and sharp at the same time, with great detail and that Hexar glow. I just upgraded my Silver with the stealth mode as described by a workflow on this page (look at the bottom of the page): http://www.photo.net/equipment/point-and-shoot/konica-hexar The re-activation of the hidden stealth mode worked out fine and my Silver version is silent just like the black version. So try it out Silver owners !

Strengths:

Design, lens, control of every parameter, silence, autofocus RF, battery life, viewfinder

Weaknesses:

Not in production anymore ! No Hexar case, flash system is difficult to learn, in fact this camera needs proper study.

Similar Products Used:

No RF's but a lot of other high quality camera's.

Customer Service:

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Rating
Reviewed by: michaelmacfarlane
(Expert)

Review Date
October 29, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
3 votes

Review 5 of 65

Price Paid: $400.00 from ebay

Summary:

I've used both the silver & black models of the Konica Hexar for several years. Nice sharp lense & the original black hexar is so, so quiet in stealth mode. Regardless of all the reviews I read on other cameras I'm still glad I own & use the Hexar. Yeh, once in a while I'm almost tempted to take a Leica out for a ride... but the cost say of an M7 with 35/2 asp. = $3500. Way too much for a camera with marginaly better glass & far fewer features.. I mean the M7 doesn't even have a timer! So yes, for $400 bucks the super quiet Hexar is a great deal. Especially when you begin to think things thru when using it.. getting dof perfect ect ect ect..

Strengths:

Sharp & really quiet. Price is right. A bargain for such sharp glass.

Weaknesses:

None.

Similar Products Used:

There are no similar products :) I don't beleive there is a quieter camera.

Customer Service:

Never used.

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