Finding a Zeiss Ikon ZM in Europe

[willdmo]

Well, the title says it all.
I do happen to be lusting over said camera. Sadly I do not find any good source to get one (preferably a black one).

 

[Cyrus]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zeiss-Ik...363699?hash=item3fe74a9273:g:50UAAOSwNF1fO4go

 

[Reinvention]

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...ss_1397_805_ikon_35mm_rangefinder_camera.html

... if you're up for paying shipping and any duties from New York, New York, USA

 

[kshapero]

Not to burst your bubble but besides the best VF ever the Zeiss Ikon does not age well. Paint chips easily. The rest of the camera is a warmed over CV Bessa which is a warmed ever Nikon FM10 (yuch). Plus they go for used way more than they sell for originally. Yes it is aperture preferred. For my money I would get a Nikon FE for about 8% of the cost. Built better in every way. Just saying......

 

[Bill Blackwell]

... besides the best VF ever ...

Whenever I read this about the ZM I cringe. Best ever VF based on what? The RF focusing patch whites out far too easily for the otherwise "bright and clear" VF to be of any consequence!

 

[kshapero]

Whenever I read this about the ZM I cringe. Best ever VF based on what? The RF focusing patch whites out far too easily for the otherwise "bright and clear" VF to be of any consequence!

It seemed dang nice to me. But then you are making my point.

 

[Freakscene]

The rest of the camera is a warmed over CV Bessa which is a warmed ever Nikon FM10 (yuch).

To be fair, it's a warmed over Nikon FE10. It has aperture priority autoexposure.

I really like the viewfinder, and for me it is the best VF around. I sold mine, which I got very cheaply, because I was worried about its electronics, but also because I was offered a stupidly huge amount for it.

Of course I should worry the same about my M7 but for some reason I don't.

Marty

 

[Out to Lunch]

because I was worried about its electronics

Why? In regard to the M7, I tried to service mine in Toronto in 2019, and no one would touch it.

Cheers, OtL

 

[Freakscene]

Why? In regard to the M7, I tried to service mine in Toronto in 2019, and no one would touch it.

I worried because that camera was flaky. I had it fixed several times, always electronic. The on/off switch stopped working, then the ae lock button, then the shutter timings were off, then the viewfinder lights went out. The last time I got it back from Zeiss in Germany I sold it for twice in $US what I paid for it in $AU. A total win.

Leica will work on an M7. You need to get it to Wetzlar but for now they have parts and are happy to take them. There is no-one who will work on them locally for me but Camera Clinic in Melbourne can repair them.

I somewhat guiltily admit that almost all of my film shots since 2015 have been taken with a Nikon FM2n. Why guiltily? It’s irrational but I feel bad for all the other nice cameras I don’t use as much as I should.

Marty

 

[Out to Lunch]

I worried because that camera was flaky. I had it fixed several times, always electronic. The on/off switch stopped working, then the ae lock button, then the shutter timings were off, then the viewfinder lights went out.

Perhaps because you bought yours 'very cheaply'?

I bought two new Zeiss bodies from one of the RFF advertisers in the USA in 2009, and 11 years later, both work flawlessly.

This said, I am happy to hear that Leica Germany continues to service the M7, especially since I'll be selling it. I like the M6 better.

Cheers, OtL

 

[kshapero]

To be fair, it's a warmed over Nikon FE10. It has aperture priority autoexposure.

I really like the viewfinder, and for me it is the best VF around. I sold mine, which I got very cheaply, because I was worried about its electronics, but also because I was offered a stupidly huge amount for it.

Of course I should worry the same about my M7 but for some reason I don't.

Marty

Right I meant the Nikon FE10. But an M7 is a Leica, different animal.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Right I meant the Nikon FE10. But an M7 is a Leica, different animal.

In that case, you'll agree that the Nikon FE10 and the Zeiss Ikon ZM have nothing in common, except that both are cameras. Cheers, OtL

 

[Archlich]

The danger poised by the ZI is with it, I don't use my M7 anymore. Just couldn't resist the temptation and bought and sold the ZI for like 4 times. Gotta protect that M7.

I don't own one at the moment, but still keep a ZI grip just in case I got one again in the future (more likely if the price ever comes down). Meanwhile the M7 still went mothball in my dry box...

 

[kshapero]

In that case, you'll agree that the Nikon FE10 and the Zeiss Ikon ZM have nothing in common, except that both are cameras. Cheers, OtL

Not true, they both share the same manufacturer (Cosina) and their underpinnings are close to identical.
So yes the Zeiss Ikon is a warmed over Nikon FE10.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Not true, they both share the same manufacturer (Cosina) and their underpinnings are close to identical.
So yes the Zeiss Ikon is a warmed over Nikon FE10.

Nonsense. You should know better.

 

[Reinvention]

I like my Zeiss Ikon that I got two years ago so much that I told the folks at Zeiss International that I hope they produce cameras again. It works very well no matter how it got built.

 

[Tim Gray]

Leica will work on an M7. You need to get it to Wetzlar but for now they have parts and are happy to take them. There is no-one who will work on them locally for me but Camera Clinic in Melbourne can repair them.

Off topic, but I sent my M7 for repair for an electronics problem to DAG at the end of 2019 and he had it back to me in just a few weeks.

 

[willdmo]

The Problem is to me.. I am not at all seing me buying a camera with a cloth shutter, so all Leica's are out. The only rangefinder camera I like so far is the Mamiya 7 which is very much because of the rangefinder. Another thing is, anything Leica except for an M2 or M5 is actually much more expensive than the ZM. So it is basically down tho the ZM, a Bessa of any make or not trying 35mm Rangefinders at all (outside the Contax IIIA I have).

 

[Scrambler]

Nonsense. You should know better.

I think in this case you are both correct.

1) Start with Cosina manual and shutter- automated 35mm slr. Nikon FM10 and FE10 as examples.

2) Modify FM10 to have rangefinder on top, alter mirror system to second shutter, and use M39 mount. Do as little as possible to chassis, body. Call this "Bessa R"

3) Modify Bessa R by upgrading chassis and using metal body/door panels. Change to Leica M mount. Call this Bessa R2

4) Square the metal body, use electronics from aperture priority (FE10 etc) system: including electronic shutter. Bessa R2a

5) Redesign EVERYTHING except the shutter system to create Zeiss Ikon.

So on the one hand, there is a "warming over" process. On the other, only the shutter is in common from FE10 to ZI. It's a Grandfather's Axe situation.

 

[Freakscene]

Nonsense. You should know better.

They share enough parts that buying an FE10 is a good way to have an inexpensive parts backup for your ZM. The shutter is interchangeable.

Perhaps because you bought yours 'very cheaply'?

I bought two new Zeiss bodies from one of the RFF advertisers in the USA in 2009, and 11 years later, both work flawlessly.

This said, I am happy to hear that Leica Germany continues to service the M7, especially since I'll be selling it. I like the M6 better.

It was new old stock, still in the box when I bought it. It was just flaky.

Marty