Collapsible Konica Hexanon 50/2.4 LTM - how good?

[wlaidlaw]

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Has anyone any practical experience of this lens? Is the back focus distance exactly that of Leica. I have read 101 different opinions on Konica back focus distance but none of them seem definitive. How good is the lens optically?

 

The mechanical quality of my last 50/2/8 Elmar was not good, with almost undetectable detents on the aperture ring and a very wobbly extension. I bought it from the USA otherwise I would have returned it. It was a late coded from original model and was optically pretty good. I like the collapsible concept but the poor quality and self adjusting aperture ring irritated me, so I sold it. I have an early LTM Elmar (just post war) but at f3.5, it is a tad slow and I am not a big fan of the aperture on the front. I have been offered a Hexanon 50/2.4 at a reasonable price and I am thinking about it. Again it is from the USA, so I would like to get some independent opinions prior to seriously considering it.

 

Wilson

[graphlex]

I had one and found it optically superb (better than my M-Elmar) but mechanically wobbly. Kept the Elmar, gave up on the Hexanon.

[wlaidlaw]

I had one and found it optically superb (better than my M-Elmar) but mechanically wobbly. Kept the Elmar, gave up on the Hexanon.

 

Thank you for that info. It was the reports of "wobbliness" that put me off Dirk Rosler's Perar collapsible. I will therefore miss on this Hexanon, as I know that a wobbly or loose lens will irritate me. For travel lenses, I gave up on 50 Summicrons, after buying two bad ones and now have a superb 50/2 ZM Planar and a MATE but they are both a bit on the large size. I might search around to see if I can find a better made 2.8 Elmar than the one I had. Now that I use my M9 more than my M8, I need a 50mm lens more than I used to.

 

Wilson

[wizard]

Wilson, I own two current (well, sadly no longer current) Elmar-M 50 lenses, and they are both extremely good mechanically and optically. No wobbliness at all, one is even a tad too stiff for me (it will become looser with use I reckon), and the aperture ring has positive detents. All this can be adjusted though.

 

Andy

[jc_braconi]

Wilson, I own two current (well, sadly no longer current) Elmar-M 50 lenses, and they are both extremely good mechanically and optically. No wobbliness at all, one is even a tad too stiff for me (it will become looser with use I reckon), and the aperture ring has positive detents. All this can be adjusted though.

 

Andy

+2

[wlaidlaw]

Thanks guys. This is all a rather sad indication of Leica's iffy quality control over the last few years. We just should not have to scrabble round to find a decent version of any of the recent lenses. I must have looked at 10 different 35 ASPH Summiluxes before I found a good one. When I found it (a chrome and therefore heavy one) it was fantastic. My first 75 Summarit was dreadful my second was OK but not a lot better than that. On Zeiss ZM lenses, my recent record has been 4 bought, 4 great ones (21/2.8, 25/2.8, 35/2 and 50/2).

 

Wilson

[adan]

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We happen to have a Konica 50 f/2.4 in the store right now, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

 

Pix: full frame (M9), and center and corner crops (f/2.4)

 

Ours isn't wobbly - but age and use can make for variation.

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[wlaidlaw]

Andy,

 

Many thanks for posting that. Am I seeing something or does it have a reverse curved field. I see that the further Hassy magazines ($150 ticket) are more in focus than the one in front ($75 ticket). I am guessing the front magazine is in the same plane as the lens front on the centre crop. I know some Zeiss Biogons have a reverse curved field but it would be unusual on a relatively simple 50mm lens, with a pair of doublets and a corrective element on either side. PM on the way to you.

 

Wilson

[adan]

Possibly - without checking the exact plane the Hassy camera was in relative to the stack of backs, I can't say for sure (not at work today). The focus point for the center crop is well behind the lens near the wind lever (the tag slants), and I'm not sure how close either of the items were to the front of the shelves

 

If the Hassy display unit is set back from the shelf edge, and the camera set back on the display, and the tag set back along the side of the camera - and the backs overhang the shelf front - the focal plane may be nearly flat.

Edited December 10, 2011 by adan

[Raid Amin]

I love my 50 2.4 lens. It is very sharp.