an ikon does the g20

[emraphoto]

i picked up an ikon and 40mm for the g20 fandangle and thought i'd share my experiences. it was literally get it in my hands and off i go .

it poured the first few hours and the ikon is definitely NOT sealed up. the viewfinder fogged up almost immediately and it was all scale focus from there. normally i would have put the thing away and waited it out but i was working for someone so soldier on was the call. i was almost certain the camera would be toast within the first two hours as it was really coming down. surprisingly the ikon never missed a beat (and still works like a charm).

so the first few hours was sort of a point and shoot affair. i ran plus-x at iso 500 and f11 was the name of the game. as the "festivities" wore on the rain cast it's last effort and out came the sun. so did the anarchists/black block/whatever?. after about 30 minutes the finder had cleared up and we were rolling.

 

[emraphoto]

once the finder cleared things really heated (and brightened up). the viewfinder really is something else... for the first few hours i had trouble with eye position. you need to keep your eye set back OFF the frame of the finder to see the rf patch clear. you also need to keep yourself fairly centered. it was a bit of a bugger for a short stretch but once i got in the ikon "flow" it ceased to be an issue. actually that's not true...

when things are chaotic and it all hits the fan i am used to making that "connection" with the camera. many years on an m6 made it a habit i suppose. it's also an easier method when violence and very close action breaks out. eye placement ceases to be a consideration. thankfully that does not happen very often.

 

[emraphoto]

the release took a little getting used to. i found my finger needed to be right on top of the release and the motion had to be as straight up and down as possible. a few times, when things got hairy, my finger came at the release from an angle and it was nowhere near as smooth as an M. i am not normally the sort of fella to talk about or concern myself with how smooth the release is but this was something i noticed. it really was an issue during specific circumstances so please bare in mind you may not have the same problem.

 

[back alley]

i like the images, very gritty.

 

[emraphoto]

the meter was very accurate and predictable (yes folks, i am an admitted AE shooter 90% of the time). i still prefer the half shutter for AE lock but as i can not justify nor afford an M7 right now i will grow fond of the ikon way.

film loading. well, it was pretty straight forward really. the only concern i had was getting knocked about with that back door open. i shoot 36's and try and time myself right but every once in a while... again, for most individuals this is not a big concern.

 

[emraphoto]

i like the images, very gritty.

i am an unabashed low-fi guy Joe. hey, didn't you shoot an ikon for a while? how did you find the release? i know a softie would do a great job but i had to stop buying those things as i lost them faster than i could buy them.

 

[emraphoto]

the shutter. well, believe it or not i found the shutter quite soothing. almost like an "all is well with the ikon" sort of sound. i am not a "sneaky" shooter really so this is also of little concern to me. i don't want a pentax 6x7 or nothing but really, it (shutter noise) is quite low on my list of priorities.

when things went super violent it became a soothing sound. click, click... everything is ok. click, click... focus on the task at hand.

anyhow, must dump some things in the FTP and hit the hay but i will add more thoughts as i can.

 

[back alley]

i am an unabashed low-fi guy Joe. hey, didn't you shoot an ikon for a while? how did you find the release? i know a softie would do a great job but i had to stop buying those things as i lost them faster than i could buy them.

i had 2, the release was fine on both.
the actual db level of the ikon is no higher than on an m3...i measured...but the sound is more metallic.

 

[sojournerphoto]

'Nice' photos - with a certain classic quality. I've never had a problem with the Ikon's shutter release, but I lost a softie yesterday.

Once agin, nice pcitures. Which 40 did you use?

Miike

 

[emraphoto]

summicron c

i could have used a lens built by Tichy with the way i work. wouldn't have made much of a difference.

 

[emraphoto]

i retract that... the first day it was a VC 40mm. second day a summicron C