The Konica Hexar AF captures moments that matter.

Me and my son are having some amazing lads time this summer.

He's getting to the age where he can mill around me playing whilst I take my usual pics.

I took last Friday off work and we pretty much spent most of the weekend in Crowborough, which is my home town.

The day before, Paul lent me the Konica Hexar AF to shoot a roll through and review.

AF stands for ‘auto focus'.

Here's a thing about auto focus. You have to be able to rely on it.

Any photographer will know that there is nothing more heartbreaking than shooting a beautiful image and getting home to find that image is out of focus.

Over that weekend I was shooting my usual William Eggleston-esque images but there were also some choice moments where my little boy came into the frame.

I think this was the first time that he had become part of one of my photographic stories in this way.

The images weren't just about photographing the usual beauty in the banal but also about how he was interacting with the environment.

When taking those shots there was part of me that was wondering if that autofocus would deliver.

With newer modern cameras you take it for granted that auto focus will always give you sharp images but with an older point and shoot that first appeared in 1992 you’d be right to wonder.

In truth, the Konica Hexar AF autofocus certainly delivers. When I got the images back from the lab I was over the moon. There were no misses and thanks to the 7 element 6 group 35mm F2 lens the images contrast and sharpness was beautiful.

The camera itself is kind of a rangefinder/point and shoot cross. It looks like a rangefinder and even has projected frame lines in the viewfinder, but it isn't manual focus so it isn't one.

Although I didn’t use this particular feature it’s worth mentioning that one of the great features of the Hexar AF is its silent mode. When activated this mode quietens the internal mechanisms of the camera, great for street photographers who don’t want a grilling from their subjects.

I think what I like about using this camera is that it feels solid and reassuring in the hand yet you can grab it and quickly take shots like you can a point and shoot.

I know in my previous review I was going on about how much better made the Yashica T4 was than expected but this is very different. It's solid.

Another great thing about the Hexar AF is that you can grab those split second ‘once in a lifetime’ moments but there are also manual controls that give you flexibility.

For me I actually just left it on 1/250 and then adjusted the aperture as required leaving it in manual mode for most of the weekend.

You do also have aperture priority and also a nifty program mode, if you want it.

Going back to me mentioning the 1/250 shutter speed, there is a con. I personally don't actually think it's that much of one but the max shutter speed is 1/250.

When I was out with the Leica M6 (not mine, review to follow) I was shooting at around 1/500 at f/11 to f/16 with HP5. It was a sunny day.

That leads me to think that realistically if you own a Hexar AF you are going to need a neutral density filter. Seeing as the light meter isn’t through the lens and sits on the front of the camera, it won’t account for an ND filter, so you need to compensate for that yourself.

Which is a faff.

Also, when you look through the viewfinder and focus the frame lines adjust, which is to be expected. However, what happens when you depress the shutter is that those lines kind of flick out and in. It's mildly distracting.

But apart from those two little foibles I loved using this camera. I loved it even more when I got those images back. I was really chuffed with how they came out.

For me it ticks a lot of boxes, it’s very very sharp, the autofocus nails it and it feels lovely to hold and use.

This is a lovely camera for when you want to grab something to take every day but still want a bit of creativity with the manual controls.

By all accounts Peter Lindbergh also loved it. Apparently he carried around one of these beauties in his kit bag next to his medium format camera. I can totally imagine how the Hexar AF would be great for BTS shots on a fashion shoot.

If I look back on that weekend I think the greatest thing about this camera is that you can clearly rely on it. I’ve been shooting with manual focus cameras all year and there is no doubt that I have missed moments.

Having that camera on me ensured that those moments where my little boy wandered into frame could be captured safe and sound. Which is magic.