Slightly OT: Lenses that do not make your ZI tilt

horosu

Well-known
Local time
9:38 PM
Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
444
Hello,

I was just wondering if there are any lenses out there that do not make the ZI tilt forward. While I was expecting my chrome Summicron with its 335 gr. to do that, I was surely astonished that even its smallish brother, the chrome Elmar-M, would do the same to this camera:eek: :eek:. It weighs only 245 gr !!!

So: are there any lenses (preferably in silver :)) that would keep the ZI steady?
 
i'd have to check as i have not really noticed one way or another.
plus i use an m grip on both bodies and that would change things some.
 
horosu said:
Hello,

I was just wondering if there are any lenses out there that do not make the ZI tilt forward. While I was expecting my chrome Summicron with its 335 gr. to do that, I was surely astonished that even its smallish brother, the chrome Elmar-M, would do the same to this camera:eek: :eek:. It weighs only 245 gr !!!

So: are there any lenses (preferably in silver :)) that would keep the ZI steady?

It stays upright with both my Rollei 40/2.8 Sonnar and with my CV 28/3.5 Skopar. These are both compact lenses, each less than 30 mm in length, so I imagine any similar lens would allow the camera to stay upright.

It also stays upright with my 35/2 Biogon when it has the shade on it. My guess is that all of the ZM lenses with the same type of round shade will have the same result.
 
I also thought that the Planar and 35 Biogon should let it stand upright, as they are lighter (210 gr, if I remember correctly)...
 
Depends...

Depends...

Well,

Back in my SLR days I had Contax RTS II with a 28/2.8, 50/1.5 and 85/1.4 lens. I am not sure about the third lens, but the former two definitely didn't tilt the camera. I am not a tele-shooter, so I figured a rangefinder would make much more sense :eek:
 
I don't have a ZI, but surely the M-Rokkor 40/2 wouldn't over-balance the camera. I think the main cause would be the distance it sticks out from the body, more than the weight itself. And the 40mm M-Rokkor sticks out less than an inch.
 
Last edited:
40oz said:
I don't have a ZI, but surely the M-Rokkor 40/2 wouldn't over-balance the camera. I think the main cause would be the distance it stickes out from the body, more than the weight itself. And the 40mm M-Rokkor sticks out less than an inch.

Exactly right. It's the distance they stick out. I would think that the VC 40/1.4 would be another lens that doesn't tip the camera forward.
 
horosu said:
I also thought that the Planar and 35 Biogon should let it stand upright, as they are lighter (210 gr, if I remember correctly)...

Both of these lenses tip the camera forward. It's the length, not the weight. However, with a Zeiss lens shade, they don't tip because of the diameter of the shade.
 
I read this from the ZI blog:

"The eyelets for the neck strap are on the sides of the camera, but toward the front. Seems an unusual place, but here's something else unusual. When a lens is mounted, you can hold the camera by the strap and the camera doesn't tip forward or backward. What this means is that the camera with lens is almost perfectly balanced. That was true with either the 25mm or 50mm mounted on the camera."

http://elekm.net/zeiss_ikon/pages/zi_blog111305.html

I have no personal experience on this. YET!
 
MFFF said:
I read this from the ZI blog:

"The eyelets for the neck strap are on the sides of the camera, but toward the front. Seems an unusual place, but here's something else unusual. When a lens is mounted, you can hold the camera by the strap and the camera doesn't tip forward or backward. What this means is that the camera with lens is almost perfectly balanced. That was true with either the 25mm or 50mm mounted on the camera."

http://elekm.net/zeiss_ikon/pages/zi_blog111305.html

I have no personal experience on this. YET!

This quote is absolutely correct. The Zeiss Ikon does not tip forward with any of my lenses when I am holding it by the strap or when it is hanging from my neck.

I may have misunderstood the original question. I inferred that he was asking whether it tips forward when it is paced down on a flat surface. I guess I assumed this because that is the only time tipping forward is at all an issue. It could just be my mistake. Sorry if this is the case.
 
Huck,

You understood perfectly well: I meant to ask if there were any lenses not tipping the camera forward when the camera was placed on a flat surface, as it is slightly annoying to watch my beautiful camera and lens look like the rear of the Titanic :)
 
Back
Top Bottom