Howdy!

Well, it sure has been a long time since I’ve been around these parts, two years it seems. A lot has changed since that time, I moved to Chicago, the human-wildlife interface has caused a worldwide pandemic, halting travel, hanging out with friends, dining out, myriad other things have changed as well. One thing that happened was me finally picking up a Konica Hexar RF. I originally started writing this in early 2022, I’m getting back around to it now.

The Hexar is a camera I’ve always been interested in but have never felt the desire to plonk down the dollarinos for this camera. I have an on and off relationship with 35mm, one that lasts a few months and is centered around one 35mm camera at a time. “It can’t be that bad, many people love it and it was the dominant format for most of the time film photography has been around” and then I scan my film and think that people have been stupid that whole time. I cast aside my 35mm and embrace the beauty and size that is medium format.

With our move, I have not the time to build up my darkroom (I haven’t even started!), as such I have been sending my film in to get developed, Memphis Film Lab has been doing a pretty stellar job of it as well. I’ve come to the realization that it was the scan quality the whole time that was frustrating me so much. With this groundbreaking realization, I’ve deciding to get a few cameras that I’ve always wanted, one of which is the Hexar RF.

The Camera

The camera is an M mount rangefinder, similar to any Leica in that almost any M-mount lens will work on it (I say “almost any” as there might be some obscure lens that does not work and I do not want to promise everything works to both people who read my reviews). The camera has the fastest shutter speed of any film rangefinder in this mount, at 1/4000th, which is a vertical traveling metal shutter. It is also the only rangefinder with auto-wind and auto-rewind. In terms of rangefinders, it seems to have all the advancements of a modern SLR but in a more compact rangefinder form factor.

The top of the camera has two dials, a shutter speed dial and an exposure compensation dial with the film ISO selector inside this dial. Offset between these two is the on/off switch which also has single, continuous, and timer selections. The top plate also features a hot shoe as well as LCD screen with the film counter and battery indicator. The batteries are CR123, of which the camera takes one and it lasts until it is dead. (I haven’t had to replace mine, nor do I count rolls, I just replace batteries when they die.) The side of the camera is where the shutter release cable is. I’d never use this as I don’t use this type of camera on a tripod or with long exposures. The film door on this camera is a normal film door, not like the horrible system that Leica has convinced people makes any sense. There is also a window so you can remember what roll of film you have loaded in case you’re an idiot, like yours truly.

Shutter speeds, on the dial, range from B, 1 second all the way to1 1/4000th in full stops, ISO range from 6-6400 in third stop increments as well as DX code reading. There is also Auto-Exposure and Auto-Exposure-Lock. Shooting in AE mode allows 16 second exposures.

The viewfinder is bright enough for me, with 28/90, 50/75, and 35/135 frame-lines, which automatically select based on the lens you have mounted. There is also a frame-line lever if you want to pretend you are gonna change lenses mid shot, I suppose. The meter indications are located in the left side of the viewfinder and give you the shutter speed the camera is choosing, if you’re in AE mode, or the shutter speed it thinks you should be shooting will blink while the one you’ve selected is solid.

In Use

This camera has quickly become my favorite rangefinder, it is ergonomically well designed, intuitive, and has an almost perfect weight for what it is. The viewfinder is bright enough and patch is good enough that I have almost no issues with this camera. When I say good enough, that is allay the hesitancy of people who think that the Leica finder is the only finder worth using. I think adding a thumbs-up style shoe grip to the camera would add a nice extra bit of comfort in shooting, but I am yet to purchase one of these. The camera is covered in a rubber type material, maybe even rubber, as opposed to usual leatherette, with a raised area on the grippin’ side for extra ergonomics.

The camera is “loud” for a rangefinder, what with the winding and advancing and all the electronic jazzery in the camera, not that it has ever been a bother for me, but if you expect to have a silent, cloth shutter experience apparent in Leica cameras, you can move right along. All that electronic wizardry, though, means you don’t have to worry about winding, shutter cocking, etc; this is such a great feature.

The only real downsides I have found to the camera thus far are two: the camera is electronic, it will not work without a battery and was built in the early 2000s, that means when it breaks it is broken. With that said, this is true of so many cameras, especially digital cameras, so it always seems odd that people bring this up as though one should not invest in an all electronic analog camera. These are not pricey (sub $1000 if you look around) and can be replaced for what I think is a fair price.

Second, and this one really waggled me good: The camera’s diopter is critical to the viewfinder, the lens in the diopter is specific to the viewfinder, it is a lens element, not just a piece of glass. Mine arrived without a diopter, they are not easy to find. After a lot of Googlin’, possibly a Bing or two, I was able to locate a Chinese company who is re-manufacturing these diopters (praise the Chinese!). These are not cheap, but it took my camera from completely useless to functionally perfect. I did get a refund from the camera seller when I found out that the camera did not have a diopter. I’m just glad someone is making these. If you do need to buy a 0 diopter from this fella, it is labeled as “normal”. He also sells corrective diopters, if that is something you need.

Final Thoughts

This camera is wonderful, its an advanced rangefinder with many positive attributes while still having the allure of a rangefinder. The cost is reasonable to get you into the M-Mount system, even if you don’t intend to go past this camera in the system. The cost to feature ratio is extremely high, as well. Plenty of naysayers will tell you not to get this camera for this reason or that reason, and you’re welcome to listen to them, or you can listen to me, someone who has over 3 cameras and shot well over 9 rolls of film.

Below are images shot with the Hexar RF on HP5, Streetpan, and possibly some Bergger Pancro. I need to run some color through this, or scan the color I have shot. Meter seems dead on. Also, sharpness is really contingent on the lens, not the camera, so no reason to go into that nonsense.