A Late Summer Find

This summer I spent time creating work using only adapted lenses. This process allowed me to slow down and think before committing the full force of my right index finger on the shutter button. It also left me searching for more lenses to add to my collection and in my search, I found another lens I want to recommend to you: the humble Konica Hexar 28mm F3.5.

Wide angle lenses are my favorite due to their ease of focus and coverage when adapting to smaller formats other than full frame. On an APS-C sensor, you still have a wide enough field of view for most subjects as opposed to a 50mm. I personally believe that the 28mm focal length is the new 50mm due to it being closer to what our smartphone cameras capture.

Reviews online will say that Hexar lenses are not worth it due to their “poor optical performance”, but I believe in giving lenses a chance, especially if the price is right. The Hexar name was given to Konica’s consumer line of lenses while the Hexanon name was assigned to their premium offerings. The Hexanon lenses were manufactured by Konica while the Hexar versions were produced by Tamron. This Hexar lens, like most consumer grade lenses of the time, are prone to lens flare. Luckily the version I bought came with a dedicated lens hood which helped significantly.

Konica made various versions of their 28mm, but the Hexar can be acquired for as low as $30 before shipping while a functioning Hexanon version starts at $50. It’s important to note what the text on the front of the lens says since I did come across sellers listing the Hexar 28mm as “Hexanon”. I was surprised to see that there were more Hexanon listings than Hexar but I was not shocked. You’d expect the version made for the masses to have more listings in the resell market but that just isn’t the case for this lens. The inverse is true and I have some insight on this. In the late 2000’s into 2010’s, consumer grade lenses from the film era were not as valuable as they are today. This is due to the way consumer glass was perceived at a time when DSLR’s dominated the market. DSLR’s did not have the best adaptability but nowadays, that sentiment has changed drastically due to mirrorless cameras demonstrating the true potential of vintage glass. My theory is that many Hexar lenses were simply scrapped while Konica’s premium products survived the wave of obsolescence.

Below are some images taken with the Hexar 28mm on a Fujifilm X-Pro3. Things I noticed while using this lens are that its soft wide open. There is a noticeable bloom around intricate detail such as people out in the distance. Despite this, there is a decent amount of contrast which I credit to the lens hood. I plan on taking more photos with this lens this August for a follow up. What I’m looking forward to is how the “bloom” effect behaves under different lighting conditions.