![]() The mythos of rangefinders snakes its way through social media with tales of better lenses and famous photographers. Point and shoots are maligned as a fashion accessory, and SLRs are a dime a dozen, but the rangefinder occupies that upper echelon of 35mm gear. No sooner does a person enter the film photography community today than they are confronted by the cult of the rangefinder. What follows is a brief story of why the Hexar found its way into my life and how it found its way out of my life. And I got rid of it so I could buy a watch. We can haggle about what the “best” M mount camera is, but what’s undeniable is that the Konica Hexar RF is the most powerful M mount camera there is. Now that I have your attention, allow me to walk that claim back a bit. I did challenge the HEXAR by pressing it into service for a studio portrait and for an environmental portrait made in a darkroom.The best M mount camera ever made was the Konica Hexar RF. Working within the self imposed constraints by selecting the HEXAR, I was able to stay in the zone while making the images but more importantly, I was able to stay with and relate to the subject more completely. no “chimping”, were liberating.I was able to focus on setting, character, relationship and action to create a sense of story that would, hopefully, engage the imagination of the viewer. The constraints of one focal length, one ISO (per film change), no menu considerations and. I thought more about how to tell a story with each image being made. While shooting the HEXAR for this article I thought more about relating to subject, the light, composition and artistic tension. While I use a hand-held meter when time allows, the HEXAR’s center-weighted and spot meter readings proved invaluable and very accurate when I was on the run. Care must be taken not to block the meter with errant fingers. The metering cell is on the front near the traditional self-timer location. The HEXAR’s silicone photodiode exposure meter is center weighted in P and A modes (15 degrees) and a spot meter in M mode (4 degrees). Manual Focus (Useless, except for locking focus set by Auto Focus).Select Button (ISO, Exposure Compensation, Minimum Shutter).Shutter Speed (Fiddly rocker Up/Down switch).Mode: Program, Apeture priority and Manual.Hexa –“Of Six”– there are only six camera controls: The camera ‘gets out of the way’ while the photographer makes images. Once understood, the simplicity of the controls and features offered enable the photographer to focus on vision and craft. In keeping with the stealth mission, flash function is disabled when the camera is in the Silent Mode.Īfter a steep and sometimes frustrating learning curve, the HEXAR is an absolute delight to use. Leica shooters know how quiet those cameras can be, but the HEXAR even trumps them. Moving the camera behind your back before releasing the shutter button will assure the camera is not heard. And, if your shooting environment requires the ultimate in stealth, the film advance can be delayed after taking a shot by holding the shutter button down. You may even think that you have not taken a shot, because the auto focus, shutter and film advance are all covered by the silent mode. ![]() When in Silent Mode it is more than just quiet, it is barely noticeable.
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