The motor drive also contributes to stability. On the Hexar RF, there is no lever and no problem. Being left-eye dominant, I focus and frame with my left eye, and that means I often poke myself in the eye with either the lever tip or my thumb when advancing the film on a Leica M. I know that sounds silly, but bear with me. There is decent eye relief, but the finder is not as big and tolerant of eye positioning as the Zeiss Ikon, but then, neither is a Leica M.įor me, the best thing about the viewfinder is the motor drive. The viewfinder is acceptable (but not the best available) for glasses wearers. I couldn’t care less, because I am in love with 28mm and that means I just fill the finder and press. The left side of the finder has a tendency to pick up light and can look a little like a 28mm line.
A twiddle on the manual frameline selector is needed. On mine, the 35 sometimes appears among the 50+57 framelines. It has all the right framelines and I am told it even accepts Leica lens glasses. I would describe it as being in the same league as a Leica M6/M7 or Zeiss Ikon ZM, but definitely not as good.
It’s good it’s clear, moderately contrasty, easy to focus and is multicoated to reduce flare. I am lucky enough to have owned two of these excellent cameras and Bellamy has asked me to share my thoughts on them, both positive and negative. The Hexar RF is an advanced motor-driven M-mount camera body. My good friend and passionate camera aficionado Dan K has put together a detailed and very informative review of this great camera.