I hadn’t heard of this camera until fairly recently, and I’m so glad I got to experience it. The Konica Hexar AF is an auto-focus film camera with a cult following – it’s a very ‘if you know, you know’ camera. I haven’t seen too many others pop up for sale, so they also seem relatively rare these days – something that definitely shows when you see how much these usually go for online!
One of my favourite camera shops posted that they had one for sale on their feed, and the comment that really sold me on it was that it was like a Fujifilm X100V, but film – and with better focusing. I’ve also seen a comment on Reddit that this was like the great-grandfather of the Ricoh GRIII and Sony RX100 cameras and I wouldn’t disagree. This camera is just a little bit bigger!
So, the intrigued person that I am, put my message through to buy the Konica Hexar AF. A few days later it was mine – including a flash kit and a carrying case. I’ve put a few rolls through it since then, and I think I’m finally ready to share what I think about this 35mm rangefinder-style camera.
Intro to the Konica Hexar AF
Released in 1993, the Konica Hexar is a rangefinder-style camera. It has a 35mm, f/2 lens that has been compared to the Leica Summicron 35mm over and over again. I wish I had a copy of this lens to compare to, but I don’t have one right now – so we’ll just have to take everyone else’s word for it that they’re similar lenses!
I’ve heard that there is a guy in Japan who takes dead AFs and does a custom mount with the 35mm lens so that you can use it on your preferred camera. IMO, that does mean the lens on this is something special!
There’s also debate about whether this is a true rangefinder or more of a glorified point-and-shoot. It can be shot in Auto, Aperture Priority, and Manual modes – but no shutter priority.
Since there are so few actual buttons, it’s a little hard to use in manual mode – I’m not one to constantly tinker and tutu if I want to take photos. I left this in auto or aperture priority mode for most of my shots, and I can’t say I was ever disappointed with the exposure!
Another feature that draws many to the Hexar AF is the silent mode. It sounds like this is one of the first cameras to ever have any kind of silent or reduced noise function – you can see how this would be pretty attractive to street photographers or use in any situation where you don’t want to draw attention to your camera.
Without getting too much into the fine details, I think that’s a good intro to this cult classic! Next up, the perks of this camera.
Perks of the Konica Hexar
What reasons would someone want to buy this camera in this decade? Well, considering they are becoming rarer and rarer, the unique features that this camera has, have become a little more sought after. I would say this is especially true if you are looking for a point and shoot that delivers exceptional image quality through a proper glass lens!
35mm Lens
This focal length gets UNIVERSALLY praised as the ‘lifelike’ focal length. It’s the most similar to the human eye and is just one reason why this camera was (supposedly) very popular with photojournalists back in the day. Overall, the lens is very sharp and creates great images.
However, it’s not just the focal length that makes this special – this lens is supposed to be a copy of the highly coveted Leica Summicron 35mm f/2. Like I said before, I don’t exactly have one of my own to compare.
Quiet Leaf Shutter (and Stealth mode)
The leaf shutter is already pretty quiet, especially when you compare it to a film SLR. I did read that it was possible to ‘brick’ this camera when attempting to put on silent shutter mode.
Personally, I didn’t bother as I found the shutter was quiet enough, and frankly wasn’t taking photos in situations where I wanted absolute shutter silence. However, this was a pretty ground-breaking feature at the time, and I can appreciate that street photographers today might want to use a camera that has a discreet, silent shutter.
AF System
The autofocus is incredibly accurate. I am not the most techy person so I’m not going to be the best to explain how it works – but it’s quick and snappy. None of my rolls developed with a single OOF image. I can see why this would have been popular with photojournalists!
Build Quality
The Hexar AF is larger for a point-and-shoot. It also has a little bit more heft to it, which would be expected given the more advanced functionality. The lens has a metal hood that pulls out and withdraws as you need, without feeling ‘loose’ or falling out.
Everything about it feels sturdy and ergonomic to use – perfect to point and shoot at anything!
Reasons to Avoid the Konica Hexar
There’s almost always a matching cons list to every potential purchase. While this is a cult classic camera, it does have some drawbacks that might be considered dealbreakers to some – here’s what I think they are.
Slow Maximum Shutter Speed
When reading about this camera online, a lot of people commented that they felt limited by the maximum shutter speed of 1/250.
I can’t say I ever had any issues with blurry shots due to a slow shutter, so it was a non-issue for me. I also didn’t really use this in situations where the camera would need to meter for a slow shutter speed, either.
I pretty much only used it in daylight situations and never had motion blur – but I can appreciate that 1/250 can seem pretty slow, especially compared to my Canon AE-1P which goes all the way up to 1/1000.
Hard to Use in Manual Mode
While this is technically a rangefinder camera, the dearth of buttons and manual controls makes using the Hexar AF completely manually a real chore. There’s lots of button pressing to access different settings, peering down at the teeny tiny display. Compared to other cameras that have a more analogue way to set aperture & shutter speed, it’s no wonder that
Not Easy to Repair
Compared to a film SLR or rangefinder, another con is the electronics of the Hexar AF. Once they go, they’re gone – and the camera isn’t usable anymore. By comparison, even if the light meter crapped out in my Canon AE-1 P, I could still use it manually with another light meter or just following the Sunny 16 Rule.
The viewfinder does have guidelines to correct for parallax, but I did get quite a few of my photos back where you could clearly see that my framing was off. Thinking back to when I took these photos, genuinely don’t remember seeing the lines – maybe my brain just visually blocked them out.
My Personal Opinion
While there’s nothing wrong with this camera per se – everything about it works incredibly well, from the metering
It’s taken me a while to warm up to the photos – I think it’s a combination of the focal length not being perfect for the situation
Given that it has a 35mm lens, I think this focal length is better for telling human stories rather than the landscapes and travel I’d been using it for. I’ll also freely admit that this is my weakest focal length – I am a big fan of 50mm and 85mm, getting closer to subjects and really making use of background blur.
I feel like this camera has something special that I can’t quite unlock. It’s not that I don’t enjoy using it, but I feel like I’m not as wowed by the images in the same way as I am from other cameras, both digital and film.
There is part of me that wouldn’t be sad to sell this camera – after all, if I’m just going to carry it around for everyday photos I think there might be something that would do the job, and is a little less expensive.
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