Held together with wire, gaffers tape and superglue
I just made another repair on one of my Hexars; both are now officially ugly in a way that only a photographer could love. One has the replacement eyepiece lens held in with superglue and gaffer’s tape. On the other one, I’ve just finished a repair to keep the frame advance selector from moving too freely on its own. It had developed a tendency to migrate to the self-timer position when I wasn’t lookig. A bit of wire around the base of the selector and a bit of gaffer’s tape for cosmetic purposes has subdued its wander lust for the moment.
This is what happens when you use your cameras everyday. With very few gaps for digital diversions, I’ve carried one of these bodies almost everyday for 3 years. They’ve banged around in back packs, been rained on, snowed on, poked by TSA minions, slipped from my shoulder repeatedly and generally been treated like tools. They’ve never failed me. I’d consider buying another for the inevitable day when one finally dies, but prices for bodies in good condition have risen considerably since I bought mine. KEH is listing an EX grade body for almost $900. That’s 30% more than I paid for either of mine. Perhaps word has gotten out that they really are fine cameras. For that kind of money you can buy an RF for which spare parts actually exist. Unfortunately, you can’t buy anything with the same feature set of the Hexar RF for any amount of money.
I’ve been thinking about buying one of these with the Hexanon 50. I’m sure I’d enjoy it, but the price and lack of repairs puts me off. The Hexar AF is my most used camera – so much fun to shoot with – but I prefer a 50mm lens. At 50mm, compositions seem to fall into place.
I’d not let the lack of repairs put you off entirely, but at current Hexar RF prices, it makes sense to look at the Zeiss Ikon as well. If you don’t want a motor drive and the higher mag VF appeals, the Ikon might be the way to go.
Matt,
Should you need a reliable camera for 28-90 lens range and AE, the choice is pretty much between the ZI and M7. The ZI is a better camera and it costs 1/3rd of the Leica, I do not think there can be much more to consider, and BTW it is a real relief for a glass wearer (the 28mm frames are a bit hard to see with the glasses though). On the other hand the M7 will probably resist mechanical shocks better, but not by much. My remedy against the mechanical shocks is a half case to be kept on the camera (and a lens shade on the lens) at all times.
Marek how do you feel about the RF patch on the Ikon? I’ve heard that it stays put in the center of the VF unlike a Leica or Hexar which moves along as the frames parallax correct. I’ve wondered how this works at close focus distance; is the RF patch no longer in the center of the frame lines?
Yes, it is true, but, first of all the ZI patch is fairly big, and secondly the off centering of the patch starts to be visible only with lenses over 50mm at closest distances. I use the ZI 80% of the time with a 35mm and the remaining 20% with a 50mm, so this is not a problem at all.