Konica Hexar AF instructions and ideas...better than official

These Konica Hexar AF instructions are better, certainly more concise and clear, than the painful official instructions.

AND some tricks/workarounds to overcome this camera's EXPOSURE INDEX and SHUTTER SPEED limitations. Hope they work.. please report your experience.

http://www.tedm.com/hexar/hexar_p.pdf

I got some great results with my Hexar AF's but never warmed to them as I always felt that I was working around automation or trying to remember some quirk in the interface. If I had used them more, I'm sure that would have eased. Your post had me looking for a scan of the quick guide that came with the cameras and found one to post, I recall it having more info than this one (is this incomplete?). It was handy in the camera bag.

I stopped using my Hexar AF when I found it didn't like low light situations...or high light situations. And it didn't like seriously-pushed fast film.
I need to play with the workarounds I posted here yesterday...maybe they'll allow me to love this camera.
http://www.tedm.com/hexar/hexar_p.pdf

note especially:

"Hexar S-Mode (sort of, anyway..) Yep, it's true, the Hexar does not sport a shutter priority mode. Programmed aperture preference (P-Mode), Aperture priority (A-mode) and full manual (M-Mode), it's all there. But there's no way to crank the selector button all the way up to an S-Mode. What the Hexar does have though, is a user programmable camera shake critical speed. Combined with the P-Mode, it offers a programmed shutter preference mode with full stop speed settings from 1/4 to 1/60th plus 1/250th. Here's how it works: ■ Select P-Mode. For the slower speeds (1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, and 1/60), set the camera shake critical speed to the shutter speed required -attainable by keeping the Select button pressed. Set the aperture wheel to 22. This very small aperture will cause the Hexar to use the slowest shutter speed available to it. This will be the selected camera shake critical speed, and when there's still too little light -as is often the case with f22 and the slower films the Hexar particularly favours- will automatically open up the aperture to one appropriate to the camera shake critical speed. ■ For the fastest speed (1/250), turn the aperture wheel to 2. This large aperture will cause the Hexar to use the fastest shutter speed available to it. This is the shutter top speed of 1/250, and when there's ■ still too much light -as is often the case outdoors with f2- will automatically close down the aperture to one appropriate to the camera shake critical speed. Hexar Silent Photography, Hexar S-mode contributed by Peter van de Haar

I got a Hexar AF earlier this year. It came to me unexpectedly and non-functional, and frankly I wasn't sure if I would like it (assuming I could repair it, which I did), given my preference for manual, non-battery-dependent cameras. I've been surprisingly pleased with it. The Program mode works essentially as a smart aperture priority mode, which I've found the most useful, but for street work it's very easy to lock in the same settings I normally use on maunal cameras and shoot similarly. I haven't encountered problems with accurately metering for film speeds from 50 to 1600.

Trying to use the camera in full Manual mode all the time, however, seems to me an exercise in frustration. If I'm in a situation where I want to use varied manual settings, I'll bring another camera. Like all tools, the Hexar AF is better suited to some tasks than to others.

I find the shutterbutton finicky. Can't seem to press it halfway and have it focus on something. Half the time it won't take pictures. I'll have to give it one more go. I really like the silent mode of this thing. But if I can't make a photo on the moment supreme I will sell it.

Peter de Groot said:

I find the shutterbutton finicky. Can't seem to press it halfway and have it focus on something. Half the time it won't take pictures. I'll have to give it one more go. I really like the silent mode of this thing. But if I can't make a photo on the moment supreme I will sell it.

Click to expand...

Cleaning the shutter button contacts may help, and it's fairly common problem area. I cleaned mine when I repaired the camera and the half-press works perfectly.

The Lost Commands of Hexar (scroll down) https://www.cameraquest.com/konhex.htm
I have my fourth Konica Hexar AF - like it a lot !

02Pilot said:

Cleaning the shutter button contacts may help, and it's fairly common problem area. I cleaned mine when I repaired the camera and the half-press works perfectly.

Click to expand...

Thanks. So Letting it be serviced might be a good idea? I am not going to tinker with it myself. I better start doing that with a cheap camera

Peter de Groot said:

Thanks. So Letting it be serviced might be a good idea? I am not going to tinker with it myself. I better start doing that with a cheap camera

Click to expand...

Yes, provided you can find someone willing to work on it who is familiar with these cameras. There shouldn't be a lot to service in the traditional sense, so the cost shouldn't be too high. Do a little reading on the internet about the shutter button repair before you talk to shops about servicing so you know what's involved - it's well-documented.

It's really not a difficult repair, so it might be something you are willing to tackle once you see how it's done.