Lots - price (compared to an M6/M7), motorized advance, 1/4000th top shutter speed, on/off switch to keep from draining batteries (unlike the Leica M6), 1/125 flash sync, easy film loading/rewind, aperture-priority mode, the "Konica KM mount" is the same as Leica''s M mount, so you can tap into the fantastic world of quality Leica lenses.

The film advance. The actual shutter itself is just as quiet as an M6...but then you get a half-second or so of high-pitched mechanical whirring as the film advances. It''s definitely not loud at all by any stretch of the imagination - it''s whisper-quiet compared to an SLR, and even most point-and-shoots are a good deal louder. But it''s just a more "noticeable" sound than the low-pitched cranking noise an M6 makes when you wind it by hand.

I wanted to start putting together a set of rangefinder gear to shoot with, so I got a used Leica M6 (non-TTL) and a Leica 24. A few weeks later I found a really good deal on a refurbished Hexar RF, so I picked up one of these cameras to try it out. Wow! I''m really impressed by the Hexar RF. Comparing them side by side, the Hexar feels every bit as durable and solid as the M6 and performs just as well. The meter''s spot on, and it seems like everything that bugged me about the M6 has been fixed on the Hexar RF: 1. I''m a left-eyed shooter, so to wind the shutter on the M6, I either had to stop and lower the camera after every frame, or bang the advance lever into my forehead and THEN lower the camera. The motorized advance on the Hexar means I can just keep on shooting. 2. Film loading. It''s like an SLR: just drop it in, pull the leader, and go. You''ll hear Leica apologists rant about how it''s not really that hard to load an M6, but trust me, it is. Maybe after months and years of practice it gets easier, but it shouldn''t take months and years of practice in order to become skilled at putting film in the danged camera. 3. The higher max shutter speed: 1/4000th here, vs. 1/1000 on the M6. Considering one of the main attractions to Leica lenses is their so-called "bokeh", or pleasant look in out-of-focus areas, it puzzles me why Leica limits shooters to 1/1000, which guarantees they''re going to have to use smaller apertures in daylight. 4. The aperture-priority function. Generally, when I shoot I take an incident reading with a handheld meter, but it''s nice to have this function for changing light or fast shooting situations. Want this on a Leica? Then you''ll have to shell out $2300 for a new M7. 5. The .6x viewfinder magnification. I''m a wideangle shooter, and the 24 is my dream lens. With the M6 Classic, I had to use an auxiliary viewfinder if I wanted to see the full frame of my image. On the Hexar RF, the whole viewfinder image almost exactly approximates the field of view of a 24...so now I don''t have to constantly glance back and forth between two viewfinders when shooting. If I wanted this on an M6, I''d have had to shell out $300 more for a used .58TTL. Telephoto users may have a beef, but for wideangle shooters like me the Hexar RF is perfect. My lone real gripe is the shutter (see below), otherwise, this camera is fantastic. I''

Similar Products Used:

Leica M6, Contax G2 (tried it in the store and that was enough to convince me I didn''t like it), various Canon and Nikon film/digital SLRs

1. every well build 2. AE 3. 1/4000 4. 2.5 fps 5. quiet 6. very easy to use

none

I was planning to buy a Leica M6. However, in the shop, I saw this Hexar RF and had a try on it. I was amazed what a solid camera it is. It feels more Leica than "Konica". The lenses are very good as well. After playing with it for 10 min, I bought it instead of M6 TTL. The quality is very good and operating is smooth. With AE, I will have faster action when I take snap shots. Also, I wear glasses which make me very difficult to use the 35mm view-frame line on M6 0.72x. Hexar RF has 0.6x and makes me very comfortable to see the whole 35mm view-frame.

Customer Service

don''t know yet.

Similar Products Used:

Canon D30, Nikon F4, Nikon F801

Motor drive

Plastic feel. Focus error with Leica glass.

Horrible camera if you want to use Leica glass. It does not focus Leica lens properly. Thats why Leica turned its back at Konica

Similar Products Used:

M6, M4-P, M2

Concrete and Elegant body Automatic explosure Clear viewfinder compatible with Leica M Good quality of Konica Lenses silent film advance and shutter Motorized film advance

Focusing may not totally compatible with Leica, please consult dealer Noisy and slow film rewind Still Expensive

Good camera as second (first) body with Leica M6, more convenient and concrete body

Customer Service

no

Similar Products Used:

Leica M6 TTL Contax G2 Nikon 35 Ti Leica Minilux Contax T2 Contax T3 Contax TVS, TVS2, TVS3 Minolta TC1

Ease of use, build quality, lens quality, look and feel, bright viewfinder, low price compared to Leica M

There is speculation that Leica M and LTM lenses (via adaptor) will not focus accurately with the Hexar RF even though the mounts are compatible. Relies on batteries for operation. Competing with the Leica M reputation, it will always be considered #2. Relatively few Hexanon-M lenses available at this time.

A professional quality RF at a fraction of the price of a Leica M6. This is the ideal rangefinder for a serious amateur or professional who wants a 35mm rangefinder with excellent quality lenses. True, it does rely on batteries, but that is the reality of photography in the 21st century. This is well made, comfortable to handle, and has excellent quality 28, 35, 50, and 90 Hexanon-M lenses that, as an ensemble, cost less than some Leica lenses.

Customer Service

Not needed to date

Similar Products Used:

Leica M3, Leica M1, Canon 7, Canon VF, Voigtlander Bessa R, Voigtlander Bessa L

Fasciné par le M6, j'ai vite déchanté quand j'ai vu le prix du boitier nu : 18000FF! Après moult lectures (Réponses Photo), je tombe sur une critique de l'Hexar RF. Je vais dans un magasin. J'essaie le Bessa RF argenté en même temps (7000FF). Pas mal mais je n'aimais pas le type d'info dans le viseur. Et puis il apparaissait comme un vestige du passé pour nostalgiques...
L'Hexar RF donne des infos plus précises. Les optiques Hexanon sont meilleures. Le mode semi-auto est bien pratique. Techniquement, les laboratoires de RP n'ont trouvé aucun défaut au 50mm : "Jeu égal avec le 50mm de Leica!" pour 4000FF au lieu de ...
Le chargement automatique est très facile et rapide. Et contrairement aux allégations de Réponse Photo, il y a moyen de garder l'amorce du film en ouvrant le boitier au moment où le rembobinage s'arrête et que la marque "--" apparaît sur le compteur de vues (seulement pdt une sec : il faut être attentif sinon, le rembobinage recommence, avalant l'amorce!)
Le mode AE permet de se concentrer sur le cadrage, avec priorité à l'ouverture. (NB : Attention toutefois en fin de journée à ne pas tomber sous 1/30s sous peine de ...) L'AE Lock est vraiment un plus : je fais ma mesure sur la partie de l'image que je désire bien exposer ; je peux décentrer ensuite le sujet en gardant ma mesure en appuyant à mis course sur le déclencheur.
L'Hexar RF permet de monter un 28mm là où le M6 s'arrête à 35mm.
Le flash est synchronisé à 1/125s contre 1/50s au M6. La mise au point est vraiment aisée, d'une précision stupéfiante par rapport à mon vieux Canon A1. La luminosité du 50mm est exceptionnelle. Le visée télémétrique est très claire et donne un regard différent sur le sujet par rapport à une visée reflex.
Contrairement à ce que les leicaïstes pensent, l'Hexar pèse exactement le même poids que le M6!
Au vu des critiques lues sur le net, je pense que les possesseurs de M6 digère mal qu'on ose marcher sur leurs plates-bandes. Moi, je pense seulement que j'ai acheté une version modernisée de leur appareil fétiche pour la moitié du prix!

Monter un 50mm dans le kit de base semble un peu abhérant. Surtout avec un visuer de .69..! Pourquoi pas un 35mm de base? Il n'est même pas au catalogue de Konica : un comble!
J'ai lu sur internet que la vitesse allait de 16s à 1/4000s en manuel. Mais où se trouve ce fameux 16s???
Le flash livré semble un peu indigne de la qualité du boitier. Gadget! Pas de mesure TTL au flash...
Piles mortes=appareil mort..!
A faible luminosité, ou avec des sujets en mouvement, j'éprouve un gêne pour la MAP. Je ne peux pas comparer avec la visée du M6. Seulement dire que la MAP du Canon A1 est bien pire, la luminosité du système reflex très génantepar rapport au système télémétrique.



(NB : Je vise à l'oeil gauche pour cause d'oeil droit faiblard (5/10e). Pas très pratique mais ce n'est pas la faute de l'Haxar RF!)
Un problème : il m'arrive souvent d'appuyer sur le déclencheur ... sans résultat : frustrant! et étrange...

A QUAND UN 35mm, mister KONICA?

Customer Service

Le dealer est très courtois et compétent. Je n'ai pas encore eu besoin de ses services.
Je compte acheter le color skopar "classic" 35mm de chez Voigtländer. Bon rapport qualité/prix.

Similar Products Used:

Voigtländer Bessa R.

FAST FILM LOADING
125 MAX FLASH SYNC, GREAT FOR FILL FLASH (LEICA M6 IS 40SEC
2.5 AUTO FILM ADVANCE
I CAN USE MY GREAT LEICA LENSES
(21,35 ASPH, ,50 NOCT., 50 1.4,75 1.4,90)
NOW YOU CAN BUY BODY ONLY
REASONABLE SILENT

THE EXP. COMPENSATION DIAL SHOULD HAVE A LOCK SAME AS THE MODE DIAL
MORE VIEWFINDER MAGNIFICATION

GREAT CAMERA TO HANDLE LEICA GLASSES OR AS A COMPANION TO A LEICA M6 (NO BATTERIES NEEDED). ILL BET YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF USING THE HEXAR AS YOUR FIRST OPTION.

Customer Service

HAVE NOT USED it YET

Similar Products Used:

LEICA M6 , CONTAX G2

Strengths are theoretical, rather than actual, because of the camera's weaknesses

-Ostensibly inexpensive way to buy into Leica M glass
-For street photography, offers some significant advantages over the Leica M's, particularly aperture-priority autoexposure and vastly quicker film loading
- well-built

-Incomprehensible lack of TTL flash
-Exceptionally poor quality control in the rangefinders -- a very high percentage are inaccurate
-Konica says it will not focus accurately with Leitz lenses
- shutter release very stiff; substantial delay between pressing release button and the actual release of the shutter compared to most pro cameras

Don't buy this camera. This was a good idea that was very badly executed.

One of the other posters described this camera as being the worst of both worlds, containing all the problems of the ContaxG2 and the Leica M6 and none of the strong points; he was incorrect, in my opinion. If this camera had been done properly, it would have been terrific. The problem is, it wasn't.

The most serious flaw is a near total lack of quality control. When I first bought this camera, it was precisely what I was looking for: a manual focus, quiet rangefinder with enough electronics to insure a fairly high yield of pictures.

However, when I got it home and popped on the lens, I got a shock: the rangefinder focused past infinity.

I took it back to the store, Camera Land in NYC. I compared it with a Leica; the Leica focused properly on infinity.

So, they offered to trade it for another Hexar RF. It focused even farther past infinity (I took it outside to check). In fact, I looked at SIX cameras before I found one that focused properly on infinity. That's bad, very bad; I am not a fussy guy (you should hear the nice things I say about all the other camera systems I own), so this is troubling.

Still, I went home happy with my properly working Hexar RF. After a couple of weeks of use, a dark line appeared on the bright patch in the viewfinder -- clearly a piece of dirt or a crack.

So, I sent in my new camera for service. I asked them to check the accuracy of the rangefinder, but asked them to be careful because of my difficulty in finding one that focused accurately on infinity.

I got the camera back yesterday, popped on the lens, and -- guess what -- it focused PAST infinity. That is, they actually sent it back in worse shape than they got it. That's also very bad.

When I called them to complain, they asked me whether I was using a Konica lens or a Leitz lens. I told them I was using their lens, but I asked, "it shouldn't matter, right?" Then came this shocking news: they said the Hexar RF does not focus properly with Leica M lenses!! I said that I had never seen a word about this, and that this was a major problem: people were buying this thing to use with Leitz glass. I told them that I certainly hadn't seen that info anywhere, and they vaguely claimed it had been in magazine articles

Don't buy the Hexar RF. I can't advocate you go with the Contax G2: I bought this camera to overcome my frustration with the G2 (not knowing where your camera is focusing is very disconcerting, a by-product of an autofocus "rangefinder"). And I find the Leica too fussy; I admire its purity, but 1) it costs $2K without a lens; 2) it's awkward to load film; 3) you have to do a lot to get a properly exposed photo by modern standards: focus, set shutter, set aperture, advance film.

My advice: wait for the M7, and shoot SLRs in the meantime.

Customer Service

Very weak

Similar Products Used:

Contax G2
Med. format rangefinders
limited experience with the Leica M

Quiet. It's very quiet. Did I mention that this camera is quiet?

Very heavy, even heavier than an M6. Tactile feeling is only so so. It has neither the classic feel of an M6 or the secure feel of a Contax G with it's ergonomically contoured grip. Secondly this camera seems to be put together from left overs from the Kyocera parts bin. Contax G shutter mechanism married to a S2 viewfinder display....Also no review that I have ever read has mentioned the quirky set up of the AE at the low end of the scale. First the longest shutter speed possible is 16 seconds. However the viewfinder is only capable of showing a slowest speed of 1/4 seconds. After that it just blinks. So, for shutter speeds longer than 1/4 second you have no idea what speed you are shooting at. Also, even if 16 seconds is not enough time to properly expose the shot in the AE mode there is no warning of any kind. Even in pitch black, the camera will expose for 16 seconds if the shutter is depressed. Too bad nobody mentioned this quirk in advance because I bought the Hexar RF especially to use in very low light and night shooting where the manual M6 is weak.

A half assed, product.

Similar Products Used:

I own two M6 TTL's and two Contax G's

great camera. what the leica m6 should have been.i own all leicas ---collect them and use them.
actually,i traded in an m5 for the konica rf full kit.i may have lost about $1,000.on the trade,but i find myself using this camera more often than the m6,and i seldom used the m5--
i wanted the advantage of the automated system versus the all manual m6,and get to use all of the leica lenses--m--which to me are the finest optics around.they deliver that extra dimension that the japanese lenses do not.

no ttl flash---a major shortcomming.
and,the jury is still out on the reliability of the camera.
the kit lists for $2295. but is discounted to $1995. but,last month i was offered a full kit for $1595.---it appears that the camera as well as the leicas are not moving out and rebates-----mfr. to dealer are very common.

a great camera for leica m users who want a second camera,or a semi-auto camera for use with leica lenses

Customer Service

have not tried this yet. hope never to

Similar Products Used:

also own rollei tlr cameras circa 1960's and others.
also own all of the leica slr r cameras and lenses but find myself using them less and less except for special shot were an slr is a must.