Hexar AF Flash Blur Issues

[abhoan]

Dear All,

I'm having some problems with my 35mm Hexar AF. I'm shooting with it using a flash and yet I'm getting a blur on the images. Would it be because I set the lowest shutter speed on the P/A mode too slow? Should I increase it?

(You can see the blur here on the text)

 

[abhoan]

Sorry about the image link not working above, its here : Dropbox

 

[CropDusterMan]

Yes, looks to be the case. Anything less than a 15th with flash will likely have some shutter drag in the image. Do you remember the exposure?

It clearly sounds like you are desperately unhappy with the Konica Hexar AF and if this is the case, you should sell it to me very cheap! lol

I LOVE these cameras! Ten years ago, I sold mine, and regretted it from the day I mailed it off. The results
I got from it were close to a Leica. Great street camera, you just have to anticipate the slight shutter
delay. I've shot everything in 35mm practically, and I think this should be in everyones bag as the go to
for a lightweight classic 35mm travel camera.

 

[macfred]

Anything less than a 15th with flash will likely have some shutter drag in the image ...

I agree !!

--

From the archives ...

FORD by Andreas, on Flickr

Konica Hexar - Hx-14 flash unit - Kodak Color Gold 200

 

[abhoan]

CropDusterMan, haha no I am not "desperately unhappy". I just wanted to make sure that I have the right setting. I've since then (as per your suggestion) changed the lowest shutter speed to 1/30th sec and I think it should resolve the problem.

Thank you for such a quick response guys, APUG rocks!!

 

[abhoan]

And yes, as you asked about the exposure, I tried shooting it on 400 ISO in the late evening with a flash, on P mode, possibly on f8. It would surely have to extend the shutter to get enough light (if it tried to do that).

I have to ask, in P mode, it does try to reach the minimum shutter speed and if its not able to make up the exposure, does it automatically change the aperture? What is the best way to shoot with a flash? P or A mode? (sorry I have this confusion for a LONG time now)

 

[CropDusterMan]

It's hard to say, but I think if you are in A Mode, and you are using a decent iso in a decent amount of light,
you should be ok. I rarely used my Hexar AF with flash, but I used to shoot most of the time in A Mode, as the
camera always seemed to make solid exposures on such. It's such a wonderful camera for its size and performance...
it rarely even gets noticed in a street shooting environment.

 

[OldBodyOldSoul]

Hexar does adjust the aperture if it can't expose properly by adjusting the shutter speed.
With its flash, I use the A mode and instructions on the back of the flash - works quite well (though I don't use flash often).

Some useful info:
http://www.cameraquest.com/konhex.htm
http://photo.net/photo/hexar.html
http://1pt4.com/blog/hexar-af-review/

 

[OldBodyOldSoul]

In the links above, pay special attention to the "lost commands" sections - very useful.

 

[macfred]

Based on the manual :

In P mode (flash set to P-Full) you have Variable Aperture Synchronisation -
the aperture will be automatically set (FL is displayed on the Display Panel)

Automatic Flash Photography (A mode / flash set to A) -
set the aperture according to the film speed :
ISO50 = 2.8 ISO100 = 4 ISO200 = 5.6 ISO400 = 8

Manual Flash Photography (flash set to P-Full) -
adjust the aperture according to the camera-to-subject distance (F = GN / m)

 

[macfred]

Mike Butkus has the full manual - If it's helpful make a small donation ... http://www.butkus.org/chinon/konica/konica_hexar/konica_hexar.htm

 

[frank]

The camera can choose a slow shutter speed and balances this with its flash exposure. There's a way of setting the camera's slowest shutter speed so this doesn't result in blur. Read the manual.

 

[abhoan]

Cool Thanks a lot guys! Appreciate the information!