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Info/adaptor for Hexanon 40 f/1.8

Diane B

New member
Micheal mentioned this lens as one I might be interested in for my 35-40 FL range. I've found one, reasonable as he says, but can find no way to use with the G1 without a DIY project to convert to use for 4/3rds. This really isn't my forte'. Is there any other way to use a Hexanon AR lens on the G1 without adding the spacers or grind it down, etc.?

Diane
 

Diane B

New member
Monza---what DIY directions do you recommend? I found several--found a long thread about brass spacers, etc. on dpreview.

Diane
 

Jonas

Active member
I recommend the Jim (kernow) brass spacer. It is a little more labour than just throwing in an O-ring or make something out of a cereal box or a piece of cardboard. But, some work pays off and you get a durable and "real" conversion with a lens sitting tight and snapping at place.
 

Diane B

New member
Thanks all. I bought the 40 f/1.8 this evening and it will be shipped MOnday--- and someone has, for a very reasonable sum, offered to convert the lens to 4/3rds for me--with the brass spacers (I really didn't want to tackle that myself). I'm very pleased---its a FL I wanted with a lens with an excellent reputation.

When I bought the Panasonic 4/3rds to m4/3rds adaptor to use with the Oly 9-18 lens I rationalized that I would be able to branch out to other MF lenses (beyond my FDs) and have been trying to find a fast, good lens in this FL--so its worked out well. I doubt I would have explored the Konica lenses without some recommendations from this forum.

Diane
 
B

butterdada

Guest
Konica hexanon 40mm F1.8 is a good lens
U can modify it by yourself. Very easy!
Photos with Panasonic DMC-L10


 
M

Mingjai

Guest
As I mentioned in another thread, I have this lens and love it. It's nice and sharp, and I've taken some great shots with it--in fact, I use it as much as I use my FD(n) 50mm f/1.4.

I touched on this in the other tread, but it's probably more relevant here. I have two minor complaints--maybe concerns or reservations is a better word--with the Hexanon. My first is that you can't set the aperture to half-stops. In application, it's a stop slower than the FD 50 because I can shoot with great results at f/2 on the FD while I have stop down to f/2.8 on the Hexanon to get similar results.

The other concern is that at f/2.8 (the next notch down from wide open), the aperture blades have a funky shape, which makes for some funky bokeh when there are light sources in the background. The notches go mostly away at f/4. See this review HERE for illustrations.

Again, don't think I'm dislike this lens, because I don't--quite the opposite, in fact. It's a great and compact lens, and it gets a lot of use on my G1. It probably will be a staple in my travel kit because of its image quality and compactness, whereas the FD lenses are very dense.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the part most relevant to this tread--I used the conversion kit sold on Ebay by Tai Chung to convert the lens to 4/3s. It worked fine for me and I completed the whole operation in an hour, though apparently some of the more time consuming steps are unnecessary having a fully functional lens.
 

Brian Mosley

New member
Mingjai, you can remove the small ball-bearing which snaps into each aperture stop - which allows the aperture ring to run smoothly, allowing a continuous range of aperture positions.

Kind Regards

Brian
 
M

Mingjai

Guest
Mingjai, you can remove the small ball-bearing which snaps into each aperture stop - which allows the aperture ring to run smoothly, allowing a continuous range of aperture positions.

Kind Regards

Brian
Thanks, Brian. I might consider that if it does become bothersome. As it stands, it's a minor concern because the lens does shoot great. I guess the real question is how it shoots in between 1.8 and 2.8. If it shoots well enough, then maybe the extra half to full stop I could pick up might be worth it.
 
E

ekso

Guest
Thanks all. I bought the 40 f/1.8 this evening and it will be shipped MOnday--- and someone has, for a very reasonable sum, offered to convert the lens to 4/3rds for me--with the brass spacers (I really didn't want to tackle that myself). I'm very pleased---its a FL I wanted with a lens with an excellent reputation.

When I bought the Panasonic 4/3rds to m4/3rds adaptor to use with the Oly 9-18 lens I rationalized that I would be able to branch out to other MF lenses (beyond my FDs) and have been trying to find a fast, good lens in this FL--so its worked out well. I doubt I would have explored the Konica lenses without some recommendations from this forum.

Diane
Diane, I'm on the lookout too after seeing some of Brian's photos for a Hexanon lens and the conversion. Do let us know how you get along.

Ekso
 

scho

Well-known member
As I mentioned in another thread, I have this lens and love it. It's nice and sharp, and I've taken some great shots with it--in fact, I use it as much as I use my FD(n) 50mm f/1.4.

I touched on this in the other tread, but it's probably more relevant here. I have two minor complaints--maybe concerns or reservations is a better word--with the Hexanon. My first is that you can't set the aperture to half-stops. In application, it's a stop slower than the FD 50 because I can shoot with great results at f/2 on the FD while I have stop down to f/2.8 on the Hexanon to get similar results.

The other concern is that at f/2.8 (the next notch down from wide open), the aperture blades have a funky shape, which makes for some funky bokeh when there are light sources in the background. The notches go mostly away at f/4. See this review HERE for illustrations.

Again, don't think I'm dislike this lens, because I don't--quite the opposite, in fact. It's a great and compact lens, and it gets a lot of use on my G1. It probably will be a staple in my travel kit because of its image quality and compactness, whereas the FD lenses are very dense.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the part most relevant to this tread--I used the conversion kit sold on Ebay by Tai Chung to convert the lens to 4/3s. It worked fine for me and I completed the whole operation in an hour, though apparently some of the more time consuming steps are unnecessary having a fully functional lens.
Mingjai, Could you please tell me which time consuming steps are unnecessary? I have the same kit but I'm a bit hesitant to use no less than 3 different types of glues at different stages of the operation - hopefully, these are the unnecessary steps.
Carl
 

Diane B

New member
Mingjai or anyone else that has this lens with 4/3rds or m4/3rds--do you have any wide open? I am assuming that butterdada's second shot is wide open, but that's the only one I've been able to find. I've seen some very nice ones stopped down so have little concerns there.

Mine is in transit to be converted--so may have it back in about 10 days to 2 weeks or so. The lens looked great on arrival--also very small. I was sort of surprised at the very small aperture ring (relative to my FDs). I'm looking forward to shooting with it--its about the same size as the MA-1 adaptor I'll need to shoot with the G1.

Diane
 

monza

Active member
I have two of the 40/1.8 lenses and the brass rings, but don't have the time to convert them, send me a PM if interested. :)
 
M

Mingjai

Guest
Mingjai, Could you please tell me which time consuming steps are unnecessary? I have the same kit but I'm a bit hesitant to use no less than 3 different types of glues at different stages of the operation - hopefully, these are the unnecessary steps.
Carl
Carl--

It's a little hard to describe because I followed the instructions to a tee, while others converted the "other" way which has less steps. Apparently I didn't have to remove the metal lens mount flange in order to yank the retaining ring.

We had a discussion about it over at the DPR forums:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&thread=31548656

My suggestion would be to follow the instructions given to you by Tai Chung, but where it calls for superglue, use something else because superglue is too runny and too unforgiving. I use something called Power Poxy, which is basically like super rubber cement. It's easy to clean, remove, or reposition until it sets up, and then it's there for good.

Try running a search the DPR Pany and Oly SLR forums for Hexanon and you should be able to find more related discussion that might be helpful.
 
M

Mingjai

Guest
Mingjai or anyone else that has this lens with 4/3rds or m4/3rds--do you have any wide open? I am assuming that butterdada's second shot is wide open, but that's the only one I've been able to find. I've seen some very nice ones stopped down so have little concerns there.

Mine is in transit to be converted--so may have it back in about 10 days to 2 weeks or so. The lens looked great on arrival--also very small. I was sort of surprised at the very small aperture ring (relative to my FDs). I'm looking forward to shooting with it--its about the same size as the MA-1 adaptor I'll need to shoot with the G1.

Diane
Diane--

I rarely shoot wide open with this lens. I'd say it's comparable to my FD 50mm 1.4 shooting wide open--I'll try to post something shot wide open on my Hexanon and my FD 50 tomorrow.
 

Diane B

New member
Diane--

I rarely shoot wide open with this lens. I'd say it's comparable to my FD 50mm 1.4 shooting wide open--I'll try to post something shot wide open on my Hexanon and my FD 50 tomorrow.
Thanks. That would be great--of course, now I own the lens anyhow LOL--but I don't own the 50 f/1.4, only the f/1.8.

Diane
 

scho

Well-known member
Carl--

It's a little hard to describe because I followed the instructions to a tee, while others converted the "other" way which has less steps. Apparently I didn't have to remove the metal lens mount flange in order to yank the retaining ring.

We had a discussion about it over at the DPR forums:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&thread=31548656

My suggestion would be to follow the instructions given to you by Tai Chung, but where it calls for superglue, use something else because superglue is too runny and too unforgiving. I use something called Power Poxy, which is basically like super rubber cement. It's easy to clean, remove, or reposition until it sets up, and then it's there for good.

Try running a search the DPR Pany and Oly SLR forums for Hexanon and you should be able to find more related discussion that might be helpful.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions Mingjai. I'll give it a whirl.

Regards,
Carl
 

Michiel Schierbeek

Well-known member
Mingjai or anyone else that has this lens with 4/3rds or m4/3rds--do you have any wide open? I am assuming that butterdada's second shot is wide open, but that's the only one I've been able to find. I've seen some very nice ones stopped down so have little concerns there.

Mine is in transit to be converted--so may have it back in about 10 days to 2 weeks or so. The lens looked great on arrival--also very small. I was sort of surprised at the very small aperture ring (relative to my FDs). I'm looking forward to shooting with it--its about the same size as the MA-1 adaptor I'll need to shoot with the G1.

Diane
Diana,
Sorry I did not react on your post before but I was abroad. I just wanted to make an example with this lens wide open for you but the diafragma is stuck.
Don't worry, I know what it is, but I just don't have the time now to repair it. I still didn't convert my Hexanon lenses more permanently. At the moment I just use a small cardboard ring with a thickness of 1.5 mm.
I do have photo's with the lens but not at 1.8
But I think you will like the lens once you have it.
Kind regards, Michiel

Here is one from the lens this winter with the E-3 in the Amsterdam Vondelpark.

 

scho

Well-known member
Thanks for your comments and suggestions Mingjai. I'll give it a whirl.

Regards,
Carl
I did the conversion this afternoon and it took less than 1 hour. All went well and the lens works great. Infinity focus checks out fine, focusing is smooth, and aperture setting click stops are positive. I'll post some comparison shots with the 40 Nokton (with M mount adapter) tomorrow. Preliminary evaluation with shots around the house indicate that this lens is very sharp across the field with no corner or edge distortion. Bokeh is not the greatest, but then I didn't really expect it to be outstanding in that department. I think I will like this lens for walk around casual shooting.
 
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