The

Konica was a Japanese manufacturer of, among other products, film, film cameras, camera accessories, photographic and photo-processing equipment, photocopiers, fax machines and laser printers, founded in 1873. The company merged with Japanese peer Mino ...

Hexar RF is a 35 mm

rangefinder camera A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder, typically a split-image rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus. Most var ...

which was sold by

. It was introduced to the market on 13 October 1999. and subsequently discontinued (apparently without official notice) some time before the end of 2003. The camera used the "Bayonet Konica KM-mount", a copy of the

Leica M-mount The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the Leica M-series cameras and certain accessories (e.g. Visoflex reflex viewing attachment) up to the current film Le ...

, thus sharing interchangeable lenses with those designed for Leica cameras and others compatible with them. The Hexar RF has a combined

rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, such as photography an ...

viewfinder In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...

modeled on that of Leica cameras, a similar body shape and size - and so is similar to Leica M-mount cameras in many aspects of operation.

Lens mount

The

Hexar RF accepts

lenses A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

designed for the "Bayonet Konica KM-mount" a copy of the

. Because of this, the Hexar RF can mount and

focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

lenses designed for the Leica and other compatible M-mount cameras or, when used with an adapter, the earlier Leica thread mount lenses (note that due to physical constraints there is no adapter to allow bayonet mount lenses to be fitted to a Leica screw-mount camera). When first released there was some controversy and discussion about whether the "Bayonet Konica KM-mount" of the Hexar RF was, in fact, fully compatible with the

. Some earlier testers reported problems using Leica lenses on Hexar RF cameras.

made no comment on the issue, and continued to refer to their lens mount by their own name, with no reference to Leica. Other testers found no problems, and suggested that early reports may have related problems with early-production samples or to cameras at one end of a tolerance range matched with lenses at the other, and so claimed there was no systemic problem. The latter seems to have become the consensus view. Many users report using Leica and Konica lenses and cameras interchangeably with good results, including lenses of longer

focal length The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system converges light, while a negative foca ...

or wider maximum

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

where problems are more likely to be encountered.

Viewfinder/Rangefinder

. The Konica Hexar RF camera uses a

combined with a

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

-coupled "split-image and double image

" with illuminated,

parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...

-corrected, brightline framelines. As such it is very similar to the viewfinder/rangefinder of Leica M-mount cameras (if, perhaps, not as bright). The brightline framelines that show in the viewfinder are selected from one of three frameline pairings, depending on the

(or lens adapter) mounted on the camera: * 50 mm and 75 mm * 28 mm and 90 mm * 35 mm and 135 mm These pairings are the same as those used for later

Leica M series The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the Leica M-series cameras and certain accessories (e.g. Visoflex reflex viewing attachment) up to the current film L ...

camera viewfinders (

Leica M4-P The Leica M4 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera produced by Ernst Leitz GmbH. Leica M4 The M4 started production in November 1966, as the direct successor of the M3 and M2, featuring framelines for 35 mm, 50 mm, 90 mm and 135&nbs ...

and subsequent models) and use the same frameline selection mechanism at the lens mount. A frameline preview lever on the front of the camera allows for temporary selection of a frameline pair other than the one selected by the mounted lens. The .60x magnification used in the Hexar RF viewfinder allows for all framelines to be easily seen, including by those wearing

eyeglasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...

- even the 28 mm frameline (the largest). This also allows for generous amounts of "outside the frame" space in the viewfinder for other focal lengths, which can aid photographic

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

. However, the reduced apparent size of the viewfinder image can make composing and accurate

more difficult when using longer

. (Note, by way of contrast, that the "standard" Leica viewfinder magnification has been .72x from the

Leica M2 The Leica M2 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Ernst Leitz GmbH of Wetzlar, Germany, introduced in 1957. Around 82,000 M2s were produced between 1957 and 1968. Around 1500 M2s were produced by Ernst Leitz Canada, but most of these are not marked ...

onwards, with .58x and .85x as options on more recent models including the current M7 and MP models.)

Camera body

The

Hexar RF is similar in form-factor to

camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

s, being slightly larger than the archetypal

Leica M3 The Leica M3 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Ernst Leitz GmbH (now Leica Camera AG), introduced in 1954. It was a new starting point for Leitz, which until then had only produced screw-mount Leica cameras that were incremental improvements to i ...

design in all dimensions, and just slightly heavier when

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

are fitted. Body construction is a cast-

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

chassis with

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

top and bottom plates, finished in flat black, with a rubberised cover and slightly raised hand-grip. The chassis of the Hexar RF appears to be identical to that used by the Contax G2, with different top and bottom plates and similar but not identical film transport and shutter mechanisms. While the Hexar RF appears in some ways similar to the earlier auto-focus Konica Hexar camera, it seems to share few if any components with that camera. Major controls, including shutter release button, surrounding off/mode switch, film-speed/exposure-compensation dial and shutter speed dial are located on the right-hand side of the top plate, as seen from the rear, as is the LCD displaying the current frame count. The viewfinder is located on the upper left-hand side of the camera. The manual rewind button, release catch for the camera back and cable release socket are on the left-hand side of the camera. The lens mount release and frameline preview lever are located on the front of the camera. The bottom plate has the cover for the batteries and a tripod socket.

Film transport

The

Hexar RF has a hinged, swing-open, camera back with cut-out view window to show the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

loaded in the

. Film loading, advance and rewind is motorised and automatic. A button to manually trigger film rewind is also provided. Film sensitivity can be detected via standard

DX encoding DX (Digital indeX) encoding is an ANSI and I3A standard, originally introduced by Kodak in March 1983, for marking 135 and APS photographic film and film cartridges. It consists of several parts, a latent image DX film edge barcode on the film be ...

or the

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

value can be selected manually. Film is automatically advanced to the next frame (and the shutter cocked) after each shutter activation. Shutter release and film advance are as described under shutter below. When the end of a film is reached (or the manual rewind button pressed), the film is wound back into the film canister, with a brief pause to allow the film to be removed "leader out" if desired. Film transport is very different from

film cameras, which require manual film handling through a removable bottom plate and flip-up camera back, with film advance and rewind using manual levers and rewind cranks.

Shutter

The

Hexar RF has a

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, vertical travel, focal plane shutter with digital

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

control of

shutter speed In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time that the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light (that is, when the camera's shutter (photography), shutter is open) when taking a photograph. The am ...

. There is no provision for non-electronic shutter release: charged

are always required for shutter operation. Shutter speeds between 16 seconds and 1/4000th of a second (continuous) are supported in

aperture priority Aperture priority, often abbreviated ''A'' or ''Av'' (for aperture value) on a camera mode dial, is a mode on some cameras that allows the user to set a specific aperture value (f-number) while the camera selects a shutter speed to match it that w ...

auto- exposure metering mode. Shutter speeds from one

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

to 1/4000th of a second (in discrete steps) may be selected in manual exposure mode. A bulb (B) mode is also supported (the shutter remains open while shutter release is activated). Shutter release modes (and

advance) are controlled by a 4-position switch surrounding the top-mounted shutter release button. Positions are: * off the camera is off (the LCD frame counter remains on while batteries are present, giving an indication that batteries are charged). * single-shot the shutter is released and one frame advanced each time the shutter release is activated * continuous the shutter is released and film advanced for as long as the shutter release is activated, at approximately 2.5 frames per second * self-timer the shutter is released, and one frame advanced, 10 seconds after shutter release is activated Shutter release is activated by pressing the top-mounted shutter release button or by a

cable release The Bulb setting (abbreviated B) on camera shutters is a momentary-action mode that holds shutters open for as long as a photographer depresses the shutter-release button. The Bulb setting is distinct from shutter's Time (T) setting, which is a ...

inserted in a standard socket located on the side of the camera.

Exposure metering

The

Hexar RF meters for exposure either by

auto- exposure (with AE lock and +/-2 EV

exposure compensation Exposure compensation is a technique for adjusting the exposure indicated by a photographic exposure meter, in consideration of factors that may cause the indicated exposure to result in a less-than-optimal image. Factors considered may include u ...

) or in metered-manual mode. Aperture priority is selected by setting the

dial to either the AE or AE lock position. Manual exposure is set by selecting a specific shutter speed on the shutter speed dial (there is a central interlock button to prevent accidentally moving the dial from the AE modes to a manually selected shutter speed). Exposure metering is through-the-lens (

TTL TTL may refer to: Photography * Through-the-lens metering, a camera feature * Zenit TTL, an SLR film camera named for its TTL metering capability Technology * Time to live, a computer data lifespan-limiting mechanism * Transistor–transistor lo ...

) and thus accounts for the

set on the

in use. (Unlike SLR lenses, where the diaphragm controlling lens aperture is generally closed only at the time of shutter release,

lenses close or open the diaphragm directly as the aperture control is applied).

Electronic flash

The

Hexar RF has an

ISO 518 Canon EOS 350D Hot shoe Proprietary hot shoe used by Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D">Sony.html" ;"title="Minolta and older Sony">Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D) A hot shoe is a mounting poin ...

-compatible

hot shoe Canon EOS 350D Hot shoe Proprietary hot shoe used by Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D">Sony.html" ;"title="Minolta and older Sony">Minolta and older Sony cameras (Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D) A hot shoe is a mounting poin ...

with X flash synchronisation for an

electronic flash A flash is a device used in photography that produces a brief burst of light (typically lasting 1/1000 to 1/200 of a second) at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a ...

. Flash operation is manual-only: more modern TTL flash metering is not supported. Flash synchronisation speed is 1/125th of a second. The default flash is the Konica HX-18W.

Packaging

The

Hexar RF was sold either "body only" or as a set in a presentation box containing the Konica Hexar RF

, an M-Hexanon 50 mm f2

and an HX-18

unit (along with a manual and accessories including a camera strap, body cap and front and rear lens caps).

Konica M-Hexanon lenses

The original release of the

Hexar RF

was accompanied by the release of three "Konica KM-bayonet mount"

for use on Konica RF cameras and others, such as Leica, with compatible

lens mounts A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder camera, singl ...

. These lenses were in 50 mm, 28mm and 90 mm focal lengths. Subsequently, in 2001, an M-Hexanon 35 mm f2 lens was released, and a new-model 50 mm f1.2 lens was produced, for release only with a 2001-release limited-edition version of the Hexar RF camera. In 2002 a dual

, the "M-Hexanon Dual Lens 21-35mm/F3.4-4" was introduced. Altogether, the range of "Bayonet Konica KM-mount" lenses produced consists of: * M-Hexanon 28mm 2.8 (1999) * M-Hexanon 35mm 2 (1999) * M-Hexanon 50mm 1.2 (2001) * M-Hexanon 50mm 2 (1999) * M-Hexanon 90mm 2.8 (1999) * M-Hexanon Dual 21-35mm 3.4-4 (2002) Konica's Leica-mount Hexanon lenses (whether

or Leica thread mount) are considered to have optical and build qualities of a high standard: not dissimilar to those produced by Leica and

Carl Zeiss Carl Zeiss (; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Carl Zeiss AG. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted practica ...

. Konica's lenses were even used as a reference for the Japanese Ministry of Industry as the benchmark against other manufacturers' lenses . Production of M-Hexanon lenses seems to have ceased around the same time as Konica's Hexar RF production was terminated (2003).

Other Konica rangefinder lenses

Konica produced

lenses for the Leica mount in the 1950s and produced a series of so-called "L-mount" lenses, in limited quantities, for the same mount in the late 1990s through 2001. The range of Leica thread mount lenses produced by Konica includes: 1950s * 50/3.5 Hexar collapsible * 50 mm f/1.9 Hexanon * 60/1.2 Hexanon 1990s - 2001 * 35/2 L Hexanon (1996) * 35/2 L UC-Hexanon (2001) * 50/2.4 L Hexanon collapsible (1997) * 60/1.2 L Hexanon (1999)

2001 Limited Edition

produced a chrome-finish Hexar RF Limited

, targeted for the year 2001 (the new

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

) in a limited release of 2001 units, supplied in a boxed set including a new M-Hexanon 50 mm f1.2 lens and HX-18 flash. The lens was only manufactured for this set, so examples are unavailable except in conjunction with the limited-edition kit or the (apparently few) occasions where components of the kit have been separated. This means that most are held by collectors or those willing to pay "collectible" prices.

Hexar RF Half-Frame

At some phase of the production of the Hexar RF,

made 50 units of a

half-frame A half-frame camera is a camera using a film format at half the usual exposure format. A common variety is the 18×24 mm format on regular 135 film. It is the normal exposure format on 35mm movie cameras. For still cameras using the 35mm fi ...

variant of the camera named Hexar 72.

Successors

Production of the

Hexar RF

was discontinued, without official announcement, some time before the end of 2003.

and

Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It made the first integrated autofocu ...

(who had previously manufactured the Leitz/Minolta CL and

Minolta CLE The Minolta CLE is a TTL-metering automatic exposure aperture-priority 35 mm rangefinder camera using Leica M lenses, introduced by Minolta in 1980. Leica and Minolta signed a technical cooperation agreement in June 1972. One of its results ...

M-mount cameras) merged to form

Konica Minolta is a Japanese multinational technology company headquartered in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, with offices in 49 countries worldwide. The company manufactures business and industrial imaging products, including copiers, laser printers, multi-fu ...

in 2003. In 2006

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

acquired photographic assets from

, with the latter company withdrawing from all photography-related activity. The targets of the acquisition by

were the designs and tooling for

SLR cameras and accessories. It is not known whether

acquired other photographic assets such as rangefinder camera designs or whether those are retained by

. Whatever the case, none of the involved companies has expressed any interest in renewed production of rangefinder cameras or lenses. Konica Minolta has since announced "Konica Minolta ceased the entire customer services for Konica Minolta cameras and related products, as of 31 December 2010." It appears that services such as downloads for camera manuals were withdrawn at roughly the time of this announcement.

References

External links

Manual for the Hexar RF from a

web site (no longer available for download)

Hexar RF on Stephen Gandy's CameraQuest Site

Hexar RF on Dante Stella's photography web site

Hexar RF on Karen Nakamura's Photoethnography Site.

Leica FAQ entry by Andrew Nemeth
(6)
info about Konica hexar RF on camdex.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Konica Hexar RF RF