KONICA M HEXANON 50mm F1.2(Limited)

Review and Photo example of the HEXANON 50mm F1.2.

Gallery

Sample photo taken with the HEXAR-RF +Kodacrome64

Review

Hexanon 50mm F1.2 is a large-diameter standard lens released in 2001 bundled with HEXAR RF Limited (limited to 2001 units).

The photos in the gallery were taken in 2007 at Nishiki Market in Kyoto using a genuine set of HEXAR RF Limited +M-HEXANON 50mm F1.2 loaded with KR64 (Kodachrome-64).
Although the film sensitivity is ISO64, when I used the Hexanon 50mm F1.2 at wide open aperture, I was able to obtain a reasonable shutter speed, and there were almost no shaky photos.
It was an easy-to-use lens with good spherical and front-to-back blur.

When I acquired this camera and lens set in 2007, film cameras were in their final stages, and camera and lens sets were being sold at much lower prices than they are now.
It was released in 2001, but perhaps because the price of the camera and lens set was high, when I bought it in 2007, unused boxed versions of both the camera and lens occasionally found their way onto the market.
After that, I continued to see unused boxes one after another, but perhaps collectors had run out of stock, and in the 2020s I only occasionally saw single cameras and lenses.

Since this is a lens that comes with a camera called Limited, a lot of effort has been put into finishing the lens barrel. The titanium color and orange letters are beautiful. The focus ring’s knurling has just the right width and unevenness to allow for smooth focusing. The aperture ring is also located at the very front of the lens barrel, making it impossible to accidentally change it while shooting.
A large hood is included, but I rarely use it because it gets in the way of the viewfinder frame.
Compared to the KL-HEXANON 60mm F1.2, which has a simple black and silver lens barrel, this one definitely looks better.
As stated in the specifications, the shortest shooting distance for the lens alone is 0.9m, which is disappointing.

I had a lot of standard lenses, so I sold them without being able to use them much, so I would like to buy them again if I have a chance.

As a side note, the HEXAR RF is a well-made rangefinder camera that served as a mainstay camera before going completely digital. Even after switching to digital, I still wanted to use film cameras, so I acquired the M6 and M6TTL. However, by then, Kodachrome had disappeared from the world.
Leica was progressing with digitalization, so I expected HEXAR RF Digital, but what happened after that was well-known, starting with the merger of Minolta’s camera business into Konica, and the transfer of the camera business from Konica Minolta to Sony. Sony has not released rangefinder cameras, which have many mechanical elements, due to the focus on and widespread use of mirrorless cameras, which are Sony’s specialty in electronic devices. Unfortunately, it probably won’t be released in the future.

Specification

Items	コニカ KM (This lens)	キヤノン	MS-ISM	ノクトン
Focal length(mm)	50	←	←	←
Max aperture	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.1
Min aperture	16	22	16	16
Leaf blade	12	11	16	10
Lens Construction	6群7枚	5群7枚	5群7枚	6群7枚
Min distance(m)	0.9	1.0	0.8	1.0
Lens length(mm)	50	39	41	57.2
Max diameter(mm)	68.8	63	54.7	69.6
Filter Size(mm)	62	55	55	58
Weight(g) lens only	390	322	178	428
Lens mount	KM	L39	M	VM
Release date	2001	1956.09	2019.08	2009.6.29
Price(Yen/No-tax)	–	¥60,000-	–	¥131,250-

Focal length	Lens name	Release date	Technical Report
28mm	M-HEXANON f28 / F2.8	1999年	28/50/90mm-PDF
50mm	M-HEXANON f50 / F2	1999年	28/50/90mm-PDF
90mm	M-HEXANON f90 / F2.8	1999年	28/50/90mm-PDF
35mm	M-HEXANON f35 / F2	2000年	35mm-PDF
50mm	M-HEXANON f50 / F1.2	2001年	50mm/F1.2-PDF
21-35mm	M-HEXANON f21-35 / F3.4-4	2002年	21-35mm-PDF