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[OM] Re: OM4ti, Leica, and *HEXAR*

Subject: [OM] Re: OM4ti, Leica, and *HEXAR*
From: Doug Cooper <visigoth@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 1999 14:25:18 -0400 (EDT)
Cc: olympus-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Denton Taylor wrote:

>As a camera that must be kept quiet and the photographer unobstrusive,
>such as in street or documentary work, the M is unsurpassed.


Well, I would argue that it has been surpassed, by the original black
model of the Konica Hexar (the one with the silent feature, which was
removed from subsequent iterations).  This camera is quieter than a Leica
M, or a Rolleiflex TLR (and I shoot with a Rollei daily).  And the
autofocus -- much as I generally disapprove of auto-anything -- makes
shots from the hip that much easier.

If Cartier-Bresson were still shooting today -- he prefers to draw with a
pencil -- I'm convinced he would use a Hexar.  (Unless he were put off by
the 35mm focal length; I mean, the lens holds its own with similar
offerings from Leitz, but C-B prefered a 50mm.)

All this said, I have now been seduced by the OM system, and I am
considering selling or trading my Hexar -- as a travel photographer, it
doesn't make sense to carry too many different systems.

If anyone has a mintish OM4t or OM3t, or an exotic piece of Zuiko glass, I
would consider a trade.  The Hexar is in mint condition, and has always
had a UV filter over the lens.  It recently received the ROM upgrade from
Konica, which allows one-touch manual shutter setting, double exposure,
flash GN adjustment, etc.  And, most important, it is the original model,
now a collectors' item (sigh), with the silent feature.  I have a (mint)
box, and documentation.

I have published numerous landscapes shot with this camera, some of them
blown up to two-page spreads; the lens is a marvel.



Doug Cooper


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