Konica lenses in Leica screw mount
See Konishiroku lenses in Leica screw mount for the screw mount lenses made by Konica's predecessor Konishiroku in the 1950s.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Konica made limited edition lenses in Leica screw mount. Four models were offered, for three different optical designs were offered.
Contents
35/2 lenses
35/2 Hexanon
The first of these lenses was the 35/2 Hexanon, released in Spring 1996. It was a special edition of the fixed 35mm f/2.0 Hexar lens of the Hexar camera.[1] It was distributed by Fujisawa Shōkai, and it is said that the 1,000 units were sold in two months.[1]
The lens has seven elements in six groups; the design was described as a modified Xenotar,[1] but it is said that it was evolved from the Summicron 35mm f/2 and Nikkor 3.5cm f/1.8.[2] The barrel is silver finished. The focus ring is knurled, and the distance scale is graduated both in feet and metres, down to 0.9m. The aperture ring goes from 2 to 16. The filter size is 46mm.[1] The front bezel is inscribed KONICA HEXANON LENS 1:2/35 and JAPAN, and has a three digit serial number.
35/2 UC-Hexanon
The 35/2 UC-Hexanon was a newer edition of the Hexanon, of which other 1,000 units were made. It was released in September 2001, also by Fujisawa Shōkai, and its initial price was ¥11,400.[1] The optical design remained the same, but the lens barrel was made more compact, and multi-coating was applied on all twelve air-to-glass surfaces.[1] (The "UC" prefix stands for Ultra Coating.)[1]
The lens barrel is all black. The focusing ring offers no grip, and is driven by a tab only. The minimum distance and aperture are unchanged. The filter diameter is reduced to 43mm.[1] The diaphragm has ten blades,[1] giving an almost round aperture — this was perhaps already the case of the earlier Hexanon. The front bezel is inscribed JAPAN KONICA UC–HEXANON LENS 1:2/35 and has a four-digit serial number in the form 0xxx/1000. The first example, presented to the press and in the website of Fujisawa Shōkai, has no.0000/1000.[3]
50/2.4 Hexanon
- 50/2.4 Hexanon (collapsible), chrome, 1000 made, 1997
60/1.2 Hexanon
- 60/1.2 Hexanon, black, 800 made, 1999
Notes
Bibliography
- Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.61, September 2001. ISBN 4-257-13039-3. Kine Ekizakuta kara hajimaru kurashikku 35mm ichigan-refu (キネエキザクタから始まるクラシック35mm一眼レフ, special issue on 35mm SLR, from the Kine Exakta onwards). "UC-Hekisanon 35mm F2 L-maunto rinyūaru shite tōjō" (UC-ヘキサノン35mmF2・Lマウント・リニューアルして登場, UC-Hexanon 35mm f/2 in Leica screw mount, released in a new version). Pp.130–1.
Links
In English:
- 35/2 UC-Hexanon in Dante Stella's website
- 60/1.2 Hexanon at Cameraquest
- Past sales by Westlicht:
- 35/2 UC-Hexanon, lot no.362 of auction no.9 (May 20, 2006)
- 60/1.2 Hexanon, lot no.390 of auction no.14 (November 30, 2008)
In Japanese:
- Website of Fujisawa Shōkai, with information on the 35/2 UC-Hexanon
- 35/2 Hexanon and 60/1.2 Hexanon at Cielworks Photo Garage
