Konica Hexanon 28mm f3.5 - vintage lens review

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 The lens is made out of metal, it weights 150g, it is 36 to 40mm long and it has an external diameter of 63mm, with a 55mm front thread.
The iris had 6 blades, the aperture is clicked and it goes from f3.5 to f22 plus auto. The silver button releases the ring from auto.
The focusing ring is rubberized, it turns 150 degrees and minimum focusing distance is 30cm.
Flange distance for the Konica AR mount is 40,5mm.
Both the focusing ring and the aperture are just a bit tight. The lens is very light and won’t compromise the balance even on smaller mirrorless cameras, also thanks to the short flange distance.
Sharpness wide open is very good, only getting softer in the corners.
By f8 the corners are just a tiny bit less sharp than the center.
Wide open some blooming can be seen in the highlights and chromatic aberration is almost absent.
Colors are fairly neutral and true to life, with good contrast and saturation without being too vivid.
Specular highlights have hard edges and occasionally some onions rings, but they don’t deform much towards the edges and backgrounds don’t really feel busy.
Flares are well controlled and some ghosting can be seen under specific conditions, but neither appear in normal use.”
This lens might not have a strong character or a very wide aperture, but I have found it to be easy to use and reliable, two things that I look for in a lens.
Is it the best 28mm? No, but it does match with the rest of the Konica Hexanon lenses, contributing to a consistent look throughout the range.



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