KONICA L HEXANON 50mm F2.4
Gaussian type retractable standard lens
A review and Photo example of the HEXANON 50mm F2.4.
Table of contents
Gallery
- Sample photos taken with the LEICA M8.2.
Review
1．Usage
The Hexanon 50mm F2.4 is a standard lens with a Konica L39 screw mount.
The lens barrel is solid and precise, typical of Konica, and both the retractable mechanism and the focus ring are smooth and easy to operate, and the focus lever is of a moderate size, so you can adjust the focus smoothly.
Looking at the results of the LEICA M8.2 used in the example, it is a very ordinary, modern-style lens with little change in the image depending on the aperture value, and it is a stable lens.
Because a large number of lenses were supplied at the time and the lens specifications were mediocre, it was not popular in the used market, and even in the 2020s, you can sometimes find lenses in like-new condition at a reasonable price.
Unfortunately, it was buried in the 50mm lenses in my house, so I sold it when I bought another lens. And I thought that I would not be able to find a photo of the lens’s exterior even if I looked for it in my old photos, but when I found one while sorting through old photos, I found that it was a lens that went well with a black M-type Leica.
2．Lens overview
The Hexanon 50mm F2.4 is a standard lens that Fujisawa Shokai commissioned Konica to manufacture in a limited run of 1,500 to 2,000 units. It has a retractable barrel, a Gaussian lens configuration of 6 elements in 4 groups, and an aperture of F2.4.
The barrel is silver, and a black screw-on trumpet-type hood is included.
3．Comparison with competitors
The latest model of the Elmar-M 50mm F2.8 is similar in both shape and release year. The lens configuration of the Elmar is a modified triplet, while the L HEXANON2 is a Gaussian type, so it is inevitable that the lens of the Hexanon will be larger, and the actual size of the Hexanon is also larger. In general trials, the total lens length of the Hexanon is written as the size when retracted, so it is smaller than that of the Elmar, but in actual use it will be longer than the Elmar.
The image quality depends on whether you prefer the clarity of the triplet or the flat image with the advantage of Gaussian aberration correction. Since it is a standard 50mm lens, neither of them will produce terrible images.
One of the reasons why the maximum aperture of this lens is kept to 2.4 is thought to be to differentiate it from the M HEXANON 50mm released in 2000. The reason for this is that the M HEXANON 50mm also has a 40.5mm filter diameter, the same as this lens, and since the lens construction is also Gaussian, there is no reason why it cannot be made brighter up to F2.
Standard lenses include Voigtlander Heliar-type lenses, so it is a good focal length for playing around with lenses, as you can use lenses that have been reconstructed using modern technology at a low cost.
Specification and Competitor
| Item | HEXANON L 50mm | ELMAR 50mm |
| focal length(mm) | 50 | 50 |
| Maximum aperture | 2.4 | 2.8 |
| Minimum aperture | 16 | 16 |
| Lens configuration | 4groups 6elements | 3groups 4elements |
| Leaf blade | 10 | 6 |
| Minimum distance(m) | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Lens length(mm) | 30.3 (+M/L ring, when retracted) 52 (+M/L ring, when used) | 21.6 (M, when retracted) 37.6 (M, when used) |
| Lens max diameter(mm) | 52 | 52 |
| Filter diameter(mm) | 40.5 | 39 |
| Weight(g) | 200 | 170(Black) 245g(Silver) |
| Release date | Year 1997 | 1994〜2007 |
| List price(Yen) | ¥68,000- | ¥100,000- |
Reference links
Update history
- 2024.9.8
- 2024.03.02:Update the article
- 2022.05.23:First draft
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