jawarden
Well-known
What an interesting start to 2018, with a new camera. And there is a story.
In 2010 I purchased a new Zeiss Ikon and ZM lenses to replace my ailing but much loved Contax G2 kit. The Ikon suited me well, with an outstanding viewfinder, manual focus and aperture priority. I used that camera happily for five years before it died. And by death I mean it had no display and wouldn’t work at all.
I sent the camera to Zeiss New York, but after inspecting it they decided to send it to Zeiss Germany, thinking something unusual was wrong. A few weeks later the bad news came from Germany: the camera was a complete loss, with damage to both the main board and mechanical system making it too expensive to repair. I was at a loss because the camera had never been wet, dropped or abused, and was used carefully.
Instead of incurring the expense of repairing the camera Zeiss suggested I purchase a replacement demo Ikon from Zeiss Germany at a discount. The discount price was not attractive to me though so I declined. We exchanged a few polite emails and I talked once again with the representative from Zeiss USA but it seemed nothing could be done so I asked them to send the damaged camera back to the USA so I could sell it for parts and move on.
When I received the defective Ikon a few weeks later there was no note in the box, but it was my camera alright. I put the box away and made a mental note to sell it on eBay. Laziness kept me from doing that, and so the Ikon body has sat in the box for the past three years. Since then I have been using its replacement, a Leica M3, which is a camera I honestly don’t like very much, especially after living with the Ikon.
I communicated with three employees by phone and email at Zeiss throughout this process by the way, and all of them were professional and courteous, and tried to rectify the situation. All this to say there were no hard feelings on my side, but of course disappointment that a camera of this quality and with the Zeiss name on it lasted only five years.
Fast forward to today and I happened to see a post about whether or not Zeiss should reintroduce the Ikon on RFF. I added to the thread and decided to find the camera body to remind myself how nice that viewfinder was. While fiddling with the camera I depressed the shutter release AND IT FIRED. What the hell? So I half depressed the shutter release and the display turned on! I grabbed a frozen roll of Tri-X and walked around the house shooting, thinking nothing would come of it but ruined film, but here we are. The image below is from today.
So while the camera returned safely from Germany back in 2015 with no note in the box, perhaps there should have been one. Here’s what the note should have said:
So here I am three years later with a camera that works perfectly, and feels like a new camera too after such a long absence. The Leica goes in the drawer today, not to be seen again until the Zeiss dies of natural causes, which is hopefully never.
And Zeiss, I love you too.
In 2010 I purchased a new Zeiss Ikon and ZM lenses to replace my ailing but much loved Contax G2 kit. The Ikon suited me well, with an outstanding viewfinder, manual focus and aperture priority. I used that camera happily for five years before it died. And by death I mean it had no display and wouldn’t work at all.
I sent the camera to Zeiss New York, but after inspecting it they decided to send it to Zeiss Germany, thinking something unusual was wrong. A few weeks later the bad news came from Germany: the camera was a complete loss, with damage to both the main board and mechanical system making it too expensive to repair. I was at a loss because the camera had never been wet, dropped or abused, and was used carefully.
Instead of incurring the expense of repairing the camera Zeiss suggested I purchase a replacement demo Ikon from Zeiss Germany at a discount. The discount price was not attractive to me though so I declined. We exchanged a few polite emails and I talked once again with the representative from Zeiss USA but it seemed nothing could be done so I asked them to send the damaged camera back to the USA so I could sell it for parts and move on.
When I received the defective Ikon a few weeks later there was no note in the box, but it was my camera alright. I put the box away and made a mental note to sell it on eBay. Laziness kept me from doing that, and so the Ikon body has sat in the box for the past three years. Since then I have been using its replacement, a Leica M3, which is a camera I honestly don’t like very much, especially after living with the Ikon.
I communicated with three employees by phone and email at Zeiss throughout this process by the way, and all of them were professional and courteous, and tried to rectify the situation. All this to say there were no hard feelings on my side, but of course disappointment that a camera of this quality and with the Zeiss name on it lasted only five years.
Fast forward to today and I happened to see a post about whether or not Zeiss should reintroduce the Ikon on RFF. I added to the thread and decided to find the camera body to remind myself how nice that viewfinder was. While fiddling with the camera I depressed the shutter release AND IT FIRED. What the hell? So I half depressed the shutter release and the display turned on! I grabbed a frozen roll of Tri-X and walked around the house shooting, thinking nothing would come of it but ruined film, but here we are. The image below is from today.
So while the camera returned safely from Germany back in 2015 with no note in the box, perhaps there should have been one. Here’s what the note should have said:
Dear Jeff,
We agree with you. This camera shouldn’t have failed so we decided to repair it for you, free of charge. Enjoy.
Also, we love you.
Your friends at Zeiss.
We agree with you. This camera shouldn’t have failed so we decided to repair it for you, free of charge. Enjoy.
Also, we love you.
Your friends at Zeiss.
So here I am three years later with a camera that works perfectly, and feels like a new camera too after such a long absence. The Leica goes in the drawer today, not to be seen again until the Zeiss dies of natural causes, which is hopefully never.
And Zeiss, I love you too.
f16sunshine
Moderator
Lucky you! Congrats on the new camera 
Axel
singleshooter
What a great story or - more kind of a fairytale!
That's awesome... such a lovely camera that I never had the pleasure of using. I'm sorry it took you 3 years though!
jawarden
Well-known
Yes, three years and a Leica that I purchased unnecessarily! :bang:
Colin G.
Established
What luck! It must feel so good to be reunited with a dream of a camera! It's the only one I regret selling. I think of it often. Cheers to luck and Zeiss Ikons!
Pioneer
Veteran
Great news. Enjoy your fortune and keep on shooting!
It does make you wonder how effective their "testing" is if a camera that they decided was electronically and mechanically too difficult to fix suddenly returns to life a few years later.
It does make you wonder how effective their "testing" is if a camera that they decided was electronically and mechanically too difficult to fix suddenly returns to life a few years later.
j.scooter
Veteran
I read your post in the other thread about how you were going to sell The ZI for parts and felt sad....
Very happy to have read this thread. Congrats and enjoy!
James
Very happy to have read this thread. Congrats and enjoy!
James
t.s.k.
Hooked on philm
Who doesn't like happy endings?
Do you think I can convince Zeiss to "look" at my broken Nikon scanner?
Do you think I can convince Zeiss to "look" at my broken Nikon scanner?
jawarden
Well-known
Hey thanks.
And just to be clear, they never said it was too difficult to fix. They only recommended forgoing repairs because the combination of repairs would exceed the value of the camera, so it made no sense to them to proceed. But they felt bad about the situation which is why they offered me the deal on a demo camera. Obviously they had a change of heart at some point and decided to rehab the camera for free before shipping it back to the states.
Axel
singleshooter
Pioneer
Veteran
Oh no!
Three years to discover that nothing is like it seems
Rock´n Roll
Yes. Sometimes the legend turns out to be just another old camera and not your cup of tea.
Huss
Veteran
jawarden
Well-known
As the creator of that thread, you are welcome.
I owe you a beer!
aizan
Veteran
That's a happy story. So modest, those Germans.
Archiver
Veteran
Holy codweasle. I'm going to check mine tonight because it has suffered the same 'dead as a doornail' symptoms. Mine was bought brand new and only had about 10-15 rolls through it over the years.
Congrats on your newly revived Ikon! Long may it live!
Congrats on your newly revived Ikon! Long may it live!
Out to Lunch
Ventor
Hollywood should do a movie about it...
ian_watts
Ian Watts
I'm already pitching the script to Dreamworks. I've suggested Tom Hanks should play Jeff as the crestfallen 'older' guy and Michael Fassbender to be the sympathetic Zeiss tech over in Germany. They've said they're interested but they want me to rewrite the Zeiss part for Charlize Theron and have the two leads meet up and get married at the end.
Timmyjoe
Veteran
Well that brightens my day, thanks for sharing.
Best,
-Tim
Best,
-Tim
dp13
Member
I have been thinking about getting back into film with a Zeiss Ikon ZM. This is mainly because I bought 3 ZM lenses for my Sony a7 when it first came out.
They are fairly pricy on eBay and I don't want to buy one if they are prone to failure. Is this an unusual occurrence or should I look into another body. The Minolta CLE looks interesting too.
They are fairly pricy on eBay and I don't want to buy one if they are prone to failure. Is this an unusual occurrence or should I look into another body. The Minolta CLE looks interesting too.