View Full Version : Konica Hexar RF:the solution to a lost eye piece
buzzardkid
09-13-2009, 11:11
Hi,
I got a message from a fellow RFF member inquiring if I might have a lead on where to find a 0-dioptre eye piece for a Hexar RF camera.
Every now and then my weird and contorted memory comes in handy, I remembered this post (http://www.1point4photography.com/blog/diy-hexar-rf-eyepiece/) on another blog.
While the solution presented there actually works, I'm pretty sure some of us here can come up with even better looking solutions.
For starters, anybody care to post the thread diameter and pitch from the original eye piece of a Hexar RF camera? And, any known substitutes that fit the Hexar RF? Nikon SLR eye pieces? Mamiya Porroflex? What about the eye piece on the Hexar AF? Anything else circular off a camera?
LOL .... Yohan: thanks. I got Matt's camera! So we are back to square one here.
Matt and his Dad did a great job in replacing the missing eye piece. I am just hoping that I can somehow get the original eye piece in place.
buzzardkid
09-13-2009, 11:35
Hm.
And I thought I had a good idea, but it seems it turned on me...
But, Raid, Matt in his post suggested he would look into getting a different dioptre lens installed and upgrading the finder to a .9x magnification. Maybe he can be bothered to calculate what lens would be needed for that?
And, I'd still like to read here what the diameter and pitch on the original eye piece is, so others possibly can profit from that. If you could have the substitute eye piece made to fit into the tube of the viewfinder (optical store, optician?) you might get close enough!
Johan,
This thread can be very useful indeed.
We all will learn something about optics,and maybe we will even discover another way to get an eye piece without any distortion for the Hexar.
Thanks.
Hm.
But, Raid, Matt in his post suggested he would look into getting a different dioptre lens installed and upgrading the finder to a .9x magnification. Maybe he can be bothered to calculate what lens would be needed for that?
I would be very interested in finding out what Matt managed to do in this regard. Maybe it is still a possibility.
I wrote DAG to get his opinion too.
FrankS has kindly volunteered a replacement original eye piece!
DAG did not have any spare partfor the eye piece.
I need to remove the current eye peice and then place the new one in its place.
Matt(1pt4)
09-13-2009, 14:25
Before I glued that lens on, I looked high and low for an original equipment replacement. Now, I'd try the Japan Exposures spare parts service (http://www.japanexposures.com/services/#parts). It's worth a try.
If anyone wants to repeat what I did, the focal length seemed to be 51mm. The diameter was close to 15mm. www.surplusshed.com had plenty to choose from. This solution actually worked really well. Apart from a bit of barrel distortion, it worked like the original, and I used the camera this way for almost two years until getting and M6TTL.
I never did get the .9 VF worked out, but there are magnifiers on the market that will work with the Hexar RF. Try ebay or japan exposures.
Enjoy the camera Raid.
Thanks a lot, Matt. I like the feel already. I center my eye on the eye piece, and I can easy focus.
I may get a 1.3 magnifier.
Raid - re: magnifier, I have one of Dirk's 1.3 x mags that I use on my, um... Nikon dSLR (that happens to have the same thread and diameter as the R-D1 and Zeiss Ikon) and I don't think it fits the hole in the Hexar. I can tell you the mag from HK Supplies (eBay seller: etefore) is a solid performer and a relative bargain.
John,
They also have a small adapter ring to for the Hexar for the magnifier at JapanExposures.
As a prior owner of the Hexar RF, I had fully investigated the eyepiece issue on the camera and can honestly say there is no easy fix except another Hexar RF eyepiece. The size is unique, the clearence for opening the back door is fairly slim with the eyepiece in place and the eyepiece optic is a quite strong plano-convex lens vital for viewing. Either a standard Hexar RF eyepiece or "0" diopter Hexar RF eyepiece works. Any other Hexar RF eypiece will work but you'd have work backward with a Megaperls (Japan Exposures) adapter and an accessory Leica diopter eyepiece to get the correct combination. For example if you come across a -2 Hexar RF eyepiece, you'll need either a +1 or +2 diopter Leica eyepiece to get a combination of -1 or 0 diopters repectively (your preference). I'm not sure, but possibly the eyepiece of a Hexar AF might work as well.
If there is someone interested I have spare 1x -2D and 1x -3D orginal Konica eyepiece. Both new in box.
buzzardkid
09-14-2009, 11:08
As it happens I have a dioptre lens from the Hexar AF eye piece.
I used to sell Hexars on *Bay and once had one that came with a 0-dioptre and an additional dioptre, which I kept. I Cannot figure out whether that is a + or a - dioptre or what strength it is, but yesterday evening I tested it for size with the spankin' new Hexar RF I'm selling.
The eye piece dioptre on the Hexar is fixed into the retaining ring, while the Hexar AF has retaining ring and dioptre as separate parts, but the dioptres from the AF and RF seemed a perfect match in size. Cannot vouch for the thread diameter and pitch, but would be very suprised if these differed.
So, having established that, anyone want to take plunge at a + or - dioptre lens from a Hexar AF? Ten bucks and its yours, shipping and PayPal on me.
JapanExposures
09-16-2009, 16:27
I have sourced eyepieces only from Konica (now Sony) before. First it worked ok, then they started wanting me to submit the whole camera for "repair" just for the eyepiece, which is costly, but there is no alternative. About six weeks ago they did a job for me and said that this was the last eyepiece they had so no more.
I think the normal eyepiece (no rim markings) is actually a +1 diopter lens, so the other diopter lenses should work in place. I can still get the +2 new, everything you need to search used. +2 may not be ideal if you have normal eyesight but better than nothing.
It is a shame that the lost eyepiece and render this camera totally useless so watch it carefully.
Yoroshiku, the actual diopter power of the normal eyepiece is rather high, something on the order of over 20 diopters but the effective power when taking the entire optical viewfinder system into account is only -1 diopter (as per Konica's specs). This is probably the Achilles heel of the camera, i.e. a critical optical component that can be inadvertantly lost rendering the camera functionallly useless now that these parts are quite scarce.
My eye sight requires a +1 diopter, but I have managed well without any diopter with the rest of the cameras that I use.
If you can somehow figure out if it's -1 to -3, I'd pay you more than $10 for it.
As it happens I have a dioptre lens from the Hexar AF eye piece.
I used to sell Hexars on *Bay and once had one that came with a 0-dioptre and an additional dioptre, which I kept. I Cannot figure out whether that is a + or a - dioptre or what strength it is, but yesterday evening I tested it for size with the spankin' new Hexar RF I'm selling.
The eye piece dioptre on the Hexar is fixed into the retaining ring, while the Hexar AF has retaining ring and dioptre as separate parts, but the dioptres from the AF and RF seemed a perfect match in size. Cannot vouch for the thread diameter and pitch, but would be very suprised if these differed.
So, having established that, anyone want to take plunge at a + or - dioptre lens from a Hexar AF? Ten bucks and its yours, shipping and PayPal on me.
If it fits the AF, I"d be interested in the -2.
If there is someone interested I have spare 1x -2D and 1x -3D orginal Konica eyepiece. Both new in box.
JapanExposures
09-16-2009, 18:20
Yoroshiku, the actual diopter power of the normal eyepiece is rather high, someting on the order of over 20 diopters but the effective power when taking the entire optical viewfinder system into account is only -1 diopter (as per Konica's specs). This is probably the Achilles heel of the camera, i.e. a critical optical component that can be inadvertantly lost rendering the camera functionallly useless now that these parts are quite scarce.
I see thanks. I was not sure if +1 or -1 was normal, apparently it is -1 then.
Indeed it must be high because when looking through the VF without the eyepiece you get an amazing blur. I have had people approach me begging for a replacement as they have been shooting like that, unbelievable. :eek:
So, a "0" means that no adjustment is needed, whereas someone in life needs a 1.5-2, does this mean that a +1 is the correct strength,and does this imply a +2 eye piece here?
JapanExposures
09-16-2009, 18:29
I don't think so, it would be too complicated. If you buy a -2D lens then that should be what you are getting. I was just trying to clarify what is "normal" (the unmarked eyepiece lens) because it is not always 0. If someone has a parts catalog perhaps they can derive from that.
OK, Dirk. I understand what you meant now.
I can still get the +2 new,
Dirk,
I can use the +2 diopter. You can PM me with the price or post it or I will email you.
Randy
The Hexar RF optical system with it's original eyepiece has a total optical power of -1. The original eyepiece itself has an optical power of +5 or +10 or +15 (not sure what, just a high + power) which is why a plain glass eyepiece won't work. Diopter-adjusted eyepieces marked + or - 1, 2, or 3 are relative to the original eyepiece (that has it's own diopter power.) This is how I understand it to be.
By "high +" I mean somewhere on the order of +20 diopters (not sure of the exact diopter but that's my estimate). Konica designates the power of their RF style eyepiece by the net power (just like Nikon). If your distance eyeglass Rx is +1.5 diopters, you'll do best with a +1 diopter eyepiece since a +2 diopter eyepiece might cause a slight blur. Leica for example designates their eyepiece power by the actual power on the accessory eyepiece. By convention, many japanese camera manufactures set the dioptric power through the finder as -1 diopter. Leica M cameras use a power of -0.5 diopter.
No it is for Hexar RF and have left only -3D.
If it fits the AF, I"d be interested in the -2.
Anyone needing an eyepiece for the Hexar RF should grab the one Vobluda is selling. You can always tailor the power to your liking with a JapanExposures Hexar RF eyepiece adapter and a used Leica eyepiece diopter. For example, if you desire -1 diopters, get the +2 Leica diopter to be combined with the above -3D.
I sold it today on ebay within couple of minutes after it was listed.
I dont have any more spare eyepiece for Hexar RF (have only one +2D for myself).
No it is for Hexar RF and have left only -3D.
My eye sight requires a +1 diopter, but I have managed well without any diopter with the rest of the cameras that I use.
If you need a +1 diopter correction (as I do too), you ought to hunt for the "0D" eyepiece.
I confirmed this today, having taken delivery of the Vienna/Austria Leica store's very last eyepiece (lucky me, but it almost cost an arm and a leg). They only had a "0D" and I thought I might have to put another lens into it, but actually the "0D" works better for me (actually perfectly) than the unmarked standard eyepiece.
Petr Black
01-31-2010, 11:04
Hello Looking for a normal diopter for Konica Hexar RF.
I have a -3D on my camera and its blurry for my eye sight.
Anyone wants to trade? Or i would just like to buy the normal one.
If anyone has another solution for a some sort of a rig on how to get the proper magnification from other parts i would appretiate it very much.
Thanks,
Petr
Petr Black
01-31-2010, 11:05
BTW which would be the correct one for normal eye sight?
Look here: http://www.kamera-service.info/
I have been ensured they can CLA an Hexar RF and also have replacement parts for the VF...
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