Konica Hexanon 50mm 1.7 - worth having?

[pdh]

Konica Hexanon 50mm f/1.7

I may be able to pick one up for about £10 ($16). No idea as to internal condition, though externally looks clean, so it's pot-luck

What's the general opinion? Top notch? Nice? Good Enough? OKish? A bit ordinary?

 

[dixeyk]

Sure

Most definitely, the Hexanon 50/1.7 is very very VERY sharp and has decent bokeh. It has a little bit of CA but overall quite good and like most fast 50s it works best stopped down a bit. IMHO the 50/1.7 is a very good lens despite being very common and cheap as chips.

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I shot these Dahlias with the 50/1.7 on my EPL-1.

Kevin

 

[pdh]

Thanks. I saw that shot of yours in the adapted lens thread just after I posted my question, funnily enough!

I already have the 50mm f/1.8, which I got for nothing and is OK, though very dirty internally; I only really use it wide open, and does produce some lovely luminous images (wonder if the dirt & possible fungus causes scatter?), though not very sharp ones.

Still, it is a small investment & I might get lucky ...

 

[S38]

Hexanon 50mm 1.7 is the Legend!!!

If you want half stops get the early version.

 

[Ulfric M Douglas]

Yes. buy it. I got mine for £17 (with camera, postage, brochure) and I'm very happy. Fits ony my Oly e-410 4/3rds camera with addition of three bits of foam stickytape : no adapter!!!

 

[dixeyk]

Dang...I need more variety. Tomorrow looks to be good weather, I'll try and get some better shots.

I agree that for such a small investment you really can't go wrong. I will say that since I got the 50/1.7 my OM 50/1.8 MIJ just sits on the shelf collecting dust.

Thanks. I saw that shot of yours in the adapted lens thread just after I posted my question, funnily enough!

I already have the 50mm f/1.8, which I got for nothing and is OK, though very dirty internally; I only really use it wide open, and does produce some lovely luminous images (wonder if the dirt & possible fungus causes scatter?), though not very sharp ones.

Still, it is a small investment & I might get lucky ...

 

[MiniMax]

AR lenses on Four Thirds bayonett directly?

Yes. buy it. I got mine for £17 (with camera, postage, brochure) and I'm very happy. Fits ony my Oly e-410 4/3rds camera with addition of three bits of foam stickytape : no adapter!!!

Does this mean, that the Konica AR bayonett ist identical in its physical properties, diameter, flanges etc, to accomodate a AR lens without any major adaption??

 

[pdh]

hmm shame it went for 25 quid which is more than i was willing to take a risk on (the seller wasn't willing to offer a description )

 

[BillN]

yes it's a good lens but I find MF difficult on the EP and G1 even in good conditions - in bright light it is impossible and wide open shots are just hit or miss
wide angle manuals are OK using scale focusing - but wide open on anything is difficult (for me anyway)

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[stanleyk]

Can someone post the link or just recommend the brand of Konica M 4/3 adapter they are using? I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!!

 

[daimos]

here's one :

Konica AR to Micro 4/3 43 Olympus E-P1 G1 GF1 1 Adapter - eBay (item 150392038059 end time Sep-21-10 06:12:14 PDT)

 

[pdh]

mm that's pricey -- try rainbowimaging (RJ) on eBay too
There's a whole thread about adapters on the forum: https://www.mu-43.com/f40/comments-adapters-720/

 

[Boatman]

I have the Rainbow Imaging Konica adapter for a 1.8/40 and a 4.0/200 Hexanon lens. Both fit without any problems but both do focus past infinty quite a bit. This shortens your minimum focus distance some and makes zone focusing difficult.

 

[pake]

I got my Hexanon 50mm f/1.7 yesterday and I gotta admit I'm REALLY disappointed! It SHOULD be "one of the sharpest lenses ever made" but I just can't get a decent shot with it. I've been playing around with my Hexanon 135mm f/3.5 for a week and and I've managed to get really sharp pictures with it. So I'm pretty sure it's not the user's fault that pictures taken with 50mm are soft...

Here's perhaps the sharpest picture I've managed to take (straight OOC):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3944282/kuvia/m43/hexanon50mm_example.jpg

Please tell me there's something wrong with my new lens and it shouldn't produce such soft pictures! I've tried different apertures but it didn't help...

If there's something wrong with my lens, can it be fixed (for a reasonable price)? Otherwise I would be tempted to try the 40mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.4 since I really want to "experiment" with a 40-50mm fast lens.

 

[Mellow]

I got my Hexanon 50mm f/1.7 yesterday and I gotta admit I'm REALLY disappointed! It SHOULD be "one of the sharpest lenses ever made" but I just can't get a decent shot with it. I've been playing around with my Hexanon 135mm f/3.5 for a week and and I've managed to get really sharp pictures with it. So I'm pretty sure it's not the user's fault that pictures taken with 50mm are soft...

Here's perhaps the sharpest picture I've managed to take (straight OOC):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3944282/kuvia/m43/hexanon50mm_example.jpg

Please tell me there's something wrong with my new lens and it shouldn't produce such soft pictures! I've tried different apertures but it didn't help...

If there's something wrong with my lens, can it be fixed (for a reasonable price)? Otherwise I would be tempted to try the 40mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.4 since I really want to "experiment" with a 40-50mm fast lens.

Unfortunately that was my experience too, discovered during my "let's check out all the 50mm's" phase. My copy was just OK stopped down and pretty soft wide open, with a distinct glow. I think there was just a lot of variability between copies, or maybe some of these older lenses have been mistreated during their lifetime so that they're no longer what they were.

I have seen photos posted by this lens that were great, so I'm sure there are some good copies out there. Mine just wasn't one of them.

 

[Alanroseman]

You know, this is an old thread. Not a bad one to revisit though.

If you're going to have a Hexanon, the reigning king for µ43 is the 40mm f1.8.

The Hex 40 is an awesome little lens and I much prefer it to the Hex 50 which I let go of some time ago. The 40mm though, will live on in my kit.

 

[pake]

No wonder I got disappointed with the lens - the aperture ring doesn't work! Well actually the ring works but the blades won't move at all. Is it worth the repairs? I mean I bought it for 40$ (inc.postage) so if the repair costs too much I'm tempted to take my chances and buy another one from eBay... Any ideas how much it could cost to get it working again?

 

[Mellow]

That's funny . . . I had the exact same experience with my first Hexanon 40mm f/1.8 from eBay. The seller just didn't check them before he sold it.

But don't throw it away. Contact the seller and explain what happened. This is a classic case of "item not as described", and most sellers will be happy to make it right. They don't want any bad feedback any more than you want a broken lens.

 

[aw614]

Mine was a bit stiff on my 40mm, but I took it apart and lost the little ball bearing, I wonder if anyone has one or knows where to get one for konica lenses?

 

[pake]

I got my Hexanon working again! I opened the lens and found out what was wrong and fixed it myself. It's a bit soft wide open but I'm pretty sure I will be taking good shots with it in the future...

Here's a brief sample (of my other "new" lens, Tamron 70-210mm):

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