Konica Minolta Hexar RF

After owning and using a Lecia M2 for a while I was very impressed with this camra. It has a solid feal. I bought the camera body only(used) because I have three Leica lenses. The range finder is does no have the same magnification as on the M2, but in my view it is just as bright. The lens frame lines are not as thick as the ones on the M2. I have the Summicron 35mm f/2, 50mm f/2, and the 90mm f/4 (leitz Rokkor). All three of these lens focus just fine with me Hexar rf. The light meter is acurate, the camera is not any louder than the M2. All in all, if you like the Leica M series, you will love this camera.

built in light meter, Price is about 1/4 what an M7 price is, The wwing open back and auto film load and advance and rewind. The AE and AEL settings. The flash sync (1/125 sec.). Strong bulld.

Camera will not work without batts(not realy a weekness to me). Rangefinder magnification (but only if you compair it to the M2 leica's viewfinder).

Leica M2, Yashica Electro GSN,

Has not been needed yet

Very High quality rangefinder Up there with the Leica for build quality. Excellent lenses and FULLY compatible with Leitz despite what the Leicaphiles would have you believe.

The excellent viewfinder , the metering and convenience of autowind and AE exposure. I use the camera with my M6 and M4-P outfit or on its own if I want only the one body. On a recent trip to Paris took the Hexar RF in preference to M6 as less obtrusive and the autoexposure helps to 'catch the moment' in street photography as one less thing to think about. very pleased with the results as I expected. Not a better camera than the M6 but certainly its equal. Have had no problems with focusing wide open with 90/2 and all my mixed bag of lenses appear to focus accurately even when blown up more than 15 X. The standard 50 f2.0 is a real good lense as is the 90 f2.8. Battery life seems very good.

The 50 f2.0 has an awkward filter size 40.5 mm ( same as Zeiss Contax II } and the pull out hood is rather short. Other than that the picture quality is superb. Battery dependant so need to carry a spare set of batteries as no mechanical backup speed.

Leica M series and other older rangefinder syatems.

Never gone wrong. However Konica service for spares such as lens caps and rear lens caps etc really excellent and much cheaper than Leitz

After I had vertical alignment problems with a Leica M6 TTL rangefinder, I decided to open my mind and my wallet to other M-mount alternatives. I have zero regrets. The M6 TTL was picked up by someone on eBay, and I will not buy another Leica rangefinder except an early Wetzlar model to collect. (Leica Camera Solms manufacturing quality may not be everything you expect it to be considering the prices you pay.) I haven't used the flash nor the 50mm lens that came with my kit; haven't sold them either since they will leave 'holes' in the nice wooden KONICA presentation case. Lenses used with this RF body are the MINT 90mm Tele-Elmarit which Ken Hansen sold me inclusive of original rubber lenshood and caps + filter for $450 only; a collectible screwmount "Japanese" market version of the 35mm/2 Summicron with present version optics and SM-M bayonet adapter which I picked up on eBay from an Austrian; and lastly, a previous version 28mm Elmarit I picked up on eBay from a NY Times photojournalist. All my humble results have been telling me not so subtly that this is the perfect marriage of Leitz optics with Japanese camera electromechanics. This combination is miles ahead of the CONTAX-Kyocera Carl Zeiss Combo. I shoot Carl Zeiss German lenses on Rollei 35mm equipment, and am disappointed to report that the CONTAX G2 Carl Zeiss lenses just don't speak the same language. If you need to buy this camera, buy it now, because the new MINOLTA-KONICA corporate consortium has rendered the KONICA HEXAR RF a species no longer produced on their assembly lines. Get a NEW one while you can!

To say that this system is better than any Nikon SLR with zoom lenses is an understatement. So is comparing with a CONTAX G2 and Kyocera-made "Carl Zeiss" lenses. Leitz lenses make the subjects come alive with an almost 3-D aura, and of course there's the famous Leica bokeh. The HEXAR RF is the best value photographic instrument for capturing images with your Leitz M-lenses; while the combination may lack TTL flash and Leica ergonomics, everything else about the experience permits you to find your own sweetspot in the equation of response speed, exposure accuracy and results that spell brilliant 35mm film imaging.

Leica M-series camera bodies fit better in the hand. This downside is not worth the extra thousand+ dollars for a Leica M7...which has no built-in winder. You tend to forget this after your first roll, esp. after getting your results back. You tend to ask yourself why you didn't switch out of your Leica M to a Hexar RF sooner, like I did.

Leica M6 TTL with same lenses Leica M2 w/external meter, same lenses CONTAX G2 w/45mm, 28mm and 90mm lenses Rolleiflex 3003 SLR with all kinds of Carl Zeiss and Rolleinar lenses

EXCELLENT

I use the Hexar RF as a complementary camera to my Canon EOS 3. Its small size and discretion are perfect for me in order to take pictures without causing any trouble around. I use it also because of its bright crisp lenses and my production has a much more higher quality than what I ever had with any autofocus cameras from Canon and Minolta, quality is as good as it is with my XPan. This is true also when taking pictures by night, I can go down to 1/8" (I never use a flash, this is a religion).

Excellent manufacturing and grip (robust). Excellent exposure. Excellent image quality. Perfect range of lenses from Konica. The price.

Poor manufacturing (viewfinder) : focussing is not aligned with infinity (the range finder is not aligned), this a pure non sense and there is nothing to do !!!!!! However, once you know it you just have to adapt yourself. Speed information often disappears in the viewfinder (even in darkness), I've been told this is a bug and ther is nothing to do again. Lack of brightness of the viewfinder (compared with Leica M7). Range Finder not adapted for lenses higher than 50 mm.

Contax G2 (sold) Canon EOS 3 Hasselblad XPan

If you need nothing, you can call them and they will do it perfectly.

Intelligent update to the Leica concept. It has almost all the strengths of the Leica plus some of it's own.

High-performance shutter allows me to work at f5.6 most of the time (1/4000 sec in bright sunlight on 400 ISO film). Built-in winder allows me to continue shooting without taking the camera away from my eye. Easy film loading (at last). Plus the Leica qualities of small size, discretion, high-performance lenses, nice feel. Much cheaper than the Leica.

Slight delay between pressing the shutter release and the shutter firing. You need to anticipate just a bit compared with the Leica but so far it hasn't posed to problem in my pictures. It feels nice but not as nice as a Leica.

Leica M4P, Minolta CLE, Leica CL

Not needed so far