Analogue Camera Review: Konica Hexar AF Classic
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- This is my review of the cult classic point-and-shoot film camera, the Konica Hexar AF. For all its quirks, the Hexar has some serious features that put it above most of its ‘competition’. The 35mm f/2 lens is fast and sharp, the camera can take external flash (although no built in flash), it has silent mode that makes it as quiet as a fully mechanical camera, and it has a front filter thread and built in lens hood. The biggest weakness of this camera is the 1/250th top shutter speed, although there is a work-around. Enjoy my reasonably quick review (I could have done a deep dive).
Thanks to Philip of The Darkroom in San Clemente, California for loaning me the camera, as well as sending me film to shoot. I also tested their international shipping and turnaround develop, print and ship option. It took less than 2 weeks from Hong Kong to the USA, and then back to me in Canada. Check out their website for details of their international shipping.
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*This video was shot using the Fujifilm X-E3 + XF23mm f/2 R WR and the Rode VideoMicro. Edited using iMovie on a MBP 13” 2015. License free music ‘Split Screen’ by Silent Partner provided by TH-cam Creator’s Studio.
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Getting back into photography, looking up the Hexar and your video is the second to pop up. Remembered you from quite a while back. So great to see you still creating quality content.
Ha ha, thanks for watching. Ya film cameras are fun and the Hexar is quirky fun!
I bought the Hexar AF thanks to this review. This is how reviews should be done. Thanks Big Head Taco.
What did you pay 2yrs ago and do you have it
thank you for adding silent mode in video. just receive a Classic today and can't wait to shoot it with it:)
Probably the best video about Konica Hexar AF in TH-cam.
Thanks for all your videos and content they are always very pleasant and helpful.
Hope one day you will be visiting London.
Stay safe 🤍
Javier
My pleasure!
Good review. I copied and pasted my Hexar AF comments from a different video:
I've been using the Hexar AF for two years now(40rolls on film or sth like that). It will be a very good camera, if you know what you want. It's quiet, it has a stellar fast O(1) active infrared autofocus which let's you focus at night and take pictures e.g. with the flash(good for parties and friends). It is full of complex features and comes with a very useful program mode as the video describes it. The Battery lasts forever, huge bright viefinder not as clear as the BESSA R or Leica M tho but almost. Manual focus is very inconvenient and different compared to other cameras, but i'll never use it. There is nonetheless a very handy infinity-lock button to prevent focus errors. The Internet claims that the lens might be similar to the Summicron but it's definitly not a copy(Wikipedia). There will be more and good reviews and instructions on how to use the hidden features of this camera, if you look carefully enough for them on the internet. I bought the Hexar AF mainly because it's very easy to use(even my friends can handle it) and for it's precise auto focus.
would you recommend the camera for street photography?
I basically used my Hexar AF exclusively for years. When I went back to my Nikon I was amazed at how sharp the Nikon was. After that I mixed in my Nikon with my Hexar usage.
Great to see more content lately Take. Keep it up mate. It is great stuff! Cheers Greg from Melbourne
Thank you Take, good review, I’ll keep my 35TI!
Been using plenty of Konica glass on my Fuji bodies. Frankly, if you own an X-T3 you simply haven't used the perfect lens for the X-T series until you buy the Konica Hexanon 40/1.8...
😭📷
It's an approximate 55mm and it's perfectly balanced; it destroys the Voigtländer equivalent for next to nothing. That Konica pancake has no comparison in my collection of 25-30 vintage lenses, definitely better than any of the third party Fuji-X lenses that I have tried. The price point is unbelievable, it should cost $250 or more but it's regularly available for $30-$50. Presumably it would balance well on the X-Pro series as well from an ergonomics standpoint, but I am not sure about the Hybrid OVF with obtuse focal lengths like 40mm...
Amazing information. I just had one of these shipped over from Japan and giggled with glee like a little school girl when I opened the box. Hopefully my full-figured fingers don't block the sensor.
Great review. Still looking to get my hands on one of these!!!
you can switch between rolls before they are done- the counter is accurate enough that you'll only lose 1 frame when you put the previous roll back and advance to the frame counter. the AF uses infrared so it will get tricked by transparent objects like windows.
Yup I did a lot of reloading, that's where I got those double exposure images :-)
I have one too and had a lot of fun with it twenty years ago. Beautiful lens. But these Hexars break down at a certain point, they almost all do. Mine is not working anymore too. You can let it repaired, but for the costs you can buy a secondhand X100S...
I miss these videos
Love your content, thanks again.
sometimes color works better then black&white for Hong Kong. I love your Cinestill pics at the end. I shot TX at the North Point wet market and I regret it :) I'll use Protra or Cinestill next time....
black and white is tricky in HK for sure. It's a city with insane colour.....
Weren’t the later Hexar AF’s not equipped with the silent mode because it was a Minolta patent? I remember there were models that had it removed. The camera was still quiet but it didn’t have the silent, slower film wind that only wound after you took your finger off the shutter button.
That was great. Thanks for putting it together. 😊
If you do STREET PHOTOGRAPHY this is the camera to get. Everything on this camera is designed for street photography. Thats all the review you need to know.
I'm thinking of selling mine because it is afterall a electronic camera and it's days are numbered. But the sharpness of the lens and quietness of the camera is making me keep it
Is that stereo realist at the back near lamp desk? Could you review that camera?
Love the all black strap. What brand is it & where can i find it?
Loved it...
tell me about the music at the beginning. I like it.
everything listed in the credits in the description :-)
They should make a analog camera but that have an LCD screen so it would be a film camera with a digital screen so we have both in one.
Could you take a look at the Leica M8? Right now it’s pretty much the only way to get into digital Leica without spending at least $2000. It still holds up today and I had to get one because it’s gotten too expensive for me to shoot as much film as I did. I didn’t abandon film or my M5, I just can’t afford for my day to day stuff anymore. I got the Voigtländer 35mm f1.4 Classic MC (which is practically a pre asph. Summilux with newer coating) with my M8. Both together for under $2000 still.
If I have time I'd love to test out the older brother to the M9......
VariTimo if you already have an M8 why don’t you tell us about it instead?
I genuinely laughed out loud when you said 1/250 was the max shutter speed. I was expecting at least 1/1000. Good review though, Take!
Andrew Power at least 1/1000? Do you know how many compacts get to that high a shutter speed? Not the Contax T2, Yashica T4, not the 28ti, just as a few examples
First! love your analog content (though I gave it up and use digital M). Keep it up~
thx :-)
I want a digital M so badly. Love using my M6 but film is expensive af for street photography, especially when you shoot from the hip on wider lenses and can’t be 100% precise in those cases.
Many buy a Sony A7 camera and get an M mount as a quick and easy way to use your M glass with a digital body without breaking the bank. It's less fun admittedly, but at least there's no crop with your glass and you get immediate images.
Any review for Fujifilm Klasse S?
why would any1 make camera with shutter speed of 1/250th ???
Sandro Kalandadze common in compacts. It’s harder to make fast leaf shutters
it's a very common sync speed for flash
A Contax G1 with a 28mm costs less than the Hexar AF and can go up to a shutter speed of 1⁄2000. Plus you can get more lenses later. So idk why a person would choose this over that
First of all the Contax G1 can't shoot 35mm so if that is your preferred focal length that's the end of that. The Hexar also has a bigger viewfinder and is quieter. The Contax G cameras have stellar glass (the 35mm arguably being the weakest) but the bodies are overrated and overpriced.
@@pothos89 Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't later models (or modified ones, which seem to be all over eBay) of the G1 take the 35mm f/2?
@@MH5tube I did not know that but you seem to be right!
Hi.. Just wondering.. When using ND filters on this camera, can't you correct for metering with exposure compensation instead of adjusting ISO? Thank you
yes, but if you're pushing or pulling more than what the compensation allows, or if you want to then adjust the exposure within that specific target ISO, you'll need the adjustment available to you.
Can you change the film iso mid roll in order to switch between ND filter and no filter? Thanks!
yes you can change iso anytime
Can’t decide between this or a Nikon35ti!!! So it’s 1/250th for shutterspeed & if I shoot iso 400 - 1600film I won’t get good shots?! Even if I leave it in AutoMode?! So you’re telling me the Nikon35ti & yashica T4 can shoot iso 400-1600 film and the hexar CANT?! How is that possible?! IM LOST! I thought point and shoots can shoot all films?
Whether manual or auto-exposure, 1/250th of a sec is the fastest shutter speed. If you truly need to shoot film at 1/500th or faster, then get a different camera. If you are just concerned that you cannot conveniently shoot Tri-X pushed two stops to ISO 1600, I don't care. Only fools run around doing that on sunny days at high noon, and a fool isn't worthy of my consideration.
Mine suffers from the dreaded shutter release problem and i've not found anyone I trust to work on it.
email Camera Film Photo in Hong Kong. See if their repair master can fix it. Also reach out to Kanto Camera in Japan via email.
@@bigheadtaco thank you! I also found DIY instructions, but I am not sure I want to go there. I will field strip a mechanical camera, but I don't know about the elctronics.
I love my Hexar.
And I dont really care about the shutter limitations. There is not limitations in the camera, just limitations in the user.
For sure, that’s why it has such a cult following. And consider many of the compact point and shoots have a limit of 1/500th sec, which is only 1 stop faster. The Hexar has the ability to add filters to compensate, so in a way, it’s way more versatile than the 35ti, T-C1, T2, etc.
Don't Pull Film in Develop When Using ND Filter And Decrease ISO. Alright?
iam sure Fujifilm will start in near future with a new analog camera body.
I hope!
Hexar was actually my 1st "rangefinder" style camera. After that I bought M6. Wish had gotten the leica In first place. I didnt like hexars terrible ergonomics.
The Hexar was a quirky camera even when it was a current model..... silent mode was amazing though
Anybody have the shutter button problem on this camera?
Me...
Click 'like' if you came here because "Konica colors are calling youuuu".
scans are true or photoshopped?
Sorry, I don't know what you mean by true. All scans take an analogue negative and some conversion software must be used to make it into a digital JPEG or TIFF. Once it's converted over, then you have to adjust exposure, contrast, white balance, no different than if you had your film printed at a lab.
The RF lens is on my wishlist but way too exe
Why spend thousands of dollars if you can own a Huawei?
Why buy Huawei or this film compact when you can still buy a 6x9 Icarette and a darkroom?
Stephen Arling why buy an Icarette if you can still buy a 4x5 view camera?
@@alvareo92 Why buy a 4x5 view camera when you can use a camera obscura and paint a masterpiece?
Reginald Bowls why build a camera obscure when you have a perfectly good eyeball and you can draw with a burnt stick on a cave wall?