Gaussian & collapsible KONICA HEXANON 50mm F2.4 L39mount

A review and photo examples of the KONICA HEXANON 50mm / F2.4 L39 mount used with the LEICA M9 and LEICA M8.2.

Table of contents

Gallery

The following cameras were used to take the sample photos:

• LEICA M9
• LEICA M8.2

Review

1．Overview

The Hexanon 50mm f/2.4 is a Leica L39 screw-mount lens released in 1997.
This standard lens was planned by Fujisawa Shokai and produced by Konica in a limited run of 2,000 units*1.

*1 There are various opinions about the production number, but we have listed the figures from KONICA @ wiki Konica LTM interchangeable lenses (Japanese), which is considered the most accurate estimate.

The lens specifications are as follows, with details provided in the specifications table.

The lens construction is a Gaussian lens with six elements in four groups, a minimum focusing distance of 0.8m, and a maximum aperture of f/2.4.

• Aperture: 2.4
• Lens Construction: 6 elements in four groups
• Aperture Blades: 10
• Minimum Focus: 0.8m
• Leica M Rangefinder Camera Rangefinder Coupling: 0.8m
• Filter Diameter: 40.5mm

The lens barrel is silver and retractable, and comes with a black screw-on trumpet-type hood.

2．Usability

The Hexanon 50mm f/2.4 lens boasts the solid, precise construction you expect from Konica, with both the retractable mechanism and focus ring operating accurately and precisely. The lens’s moderately sized focus lever allows for smooth focusing.

When photographed with the LEICA M9, a 35mm full-frame sensor camera, the image quality is delicate, with the cat’s fur beautifully rendered. While the maximum aperture of f/2.4 isn’t particularly bright, the bokeh in front and behind the subject is beautiful, with no vignetting or distortion at the edges, making it a safe and reliable choice.

In backlit situations, there’s a slight tendency for flare and overexposure to occur, but there’s no noticeable ghosting, and adjusting the contrast with image processing can reduce this effect.

The LEICA M8.2 is equipped with a smaller APS-H sensor than the LEICA M9, resulting in a focal length of 50mm * 1.33 = 67mm, resulting in a larger image magnification at the same subject distance. Because only the best rendering part in the center of the lens is used, the overall resolution of the image appears good, but the blur at the edges is cut (cropped), so you need to be aware that the sense of distance from the subject is different from that of the LEICA M9.

In terms of styling, the size matches well with digital Leica M cameras, and although the lens barrel is silver, it looks natural on either a black or silver body.

Unfortunately, I never used it with a film camera, and I don’t have any film results, but judging from the results with the digital camera, it seems like this lens is fully capable of handling the delicate rendering of reversal film.

3．Summary

In conclusion, to sum up the Hexanon 50mm f/2.4, the lens barrel has a nice texture and produces clear images.

However, Konica’s standard lens lineup is extensive, including the 50mm F3.5, 50mm F1.9, 50mm F2, and 50mm F1.2, and there are lenses that are faster and offer better images, so it’s a shame that this lens doesn’t have any particularly noteworthy features as a standard lens.

Specifications, considerations, etc.

Similar in shape and release year to the Hexanon 50mm f/2.4 is the latest model of the Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8.

The Elmar uses a modified triplet lens, while the Hexanon uses a Gaussian lens, making the Hexanon slightly larger.

The image quality depends on whether you prefer the sharpness of a triplet lens or the flat image produced by the Gaussian lens’s aberration correction. As a standard 50mm lens, neither lens produces terrible images.

This lens was produced in considerable numbers for its time, and its specifications were mediocre, making it unpopular on the used market. In the 2010s, it was possible to find like-new lenses at low prices. Entering the 2020s, this has of course become less common, and the lens has become somewhat rare.

One of the reasons this lens’s maximum aperture is limited to f/2.4 is thought to be to differentiate it from the M HEXANON 50mm, released in 2000. The reason for this is that the filter diameter of the M HEXANON 50mm is also 40.5mm, which is the same as that of this lens, and the lens construction is also Gaussian, so there is no reason why it cannot be made brighter up to F2.

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 (+M/L ring, when retracted) 43 (+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

• KONICA @ wiki About KONICA made LTM lens(Japanese)
• Camera wiki.org Konica-lenes(English)
• Ms-Optics APOQUALIA H 50mm F3.5・Shige’s hobby
• KONICA L39 HEXANON 50mm F2.4・Shige’s hobby
• Voigtlander L39 HELIAR 50mm F3.5 Year101・Shige’s hobby
• LEICA ELMAR 50mm F2.8・Shige’s hobby

Affiliate links

• Hexanon 50mm f/2.4・Ads by ebay

Amazon Prime Sale

Update history

• 2025.10.22
• 2025.4.30
• 2024.9.8
• 2024.03.02:Update the article
• 2022.05.23:First draft