It's Official - I got my Ikon today...

DRabbit

DRabbit

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I'm sorta new around here (have really only started posted recently, though I joined in 2007)... have had an M8 for about 2 years, so I'm not a complete newbie when it comes to Rangefinders. I am however, new to film. I've come to love the rangefinder format and decided it was time to explore that world a little bit more.

So after lots of research I decided on the Zeiss Ikon ZM. I have two Zeiss lenses already (35 f/2 Biogon and 50 f/2 Planar) so it'll be a nice match-up.

I got the camera today! (Bought used on Ebay). Biggest surprise is how light it is! I almost thought the box was empty when I picked it up at the post office (and a little bit of panic set in). I stood there and opened it at the counter before leaving and was very pleasantly relieved when the cam was in there! Ha!

It's in very good condition. It all seems to work but the film I've ordered hasn't come yet (doh) so I can't try it out properly until this weekend -- I'm so excited!

I hope you'll welcome me to your ranks and hope to be sharing some photos soon!
 
Welcome! The ZI is a fun camera. I actually have those two lenses as well. The Planar is exceedingly sharp, and paints with an almost 3D'esque quality. I just got the 35/2 Biogon from another RFF member (Thanks Andrew) and hope to test it out this week.

For film, these days, I prettry much order exclusively from Freestyle, specifically Arista Premium 100 (Plus-X?) and 400 (Tri-X?), and have recently ordered a few rolls of Legacy Pro 400 (Neopan?).

Congratulations, and again, welcome!

Keith
 
Congratulations. It's a very nice camera. Solid without being heavy. The body also is tight -- no creaks like plastic-bodied cameras can be.

The camera is simply the Zeiss Ikon, while the lenses are known as ZM (Zeiss M mount).

The viewfinder is quite good, and overall it's a very easy camera to use. Eye placement is crucial, because the rangefinder patch can disappear. The viewfinder is almost too large, because the shutter speeds are way to the left. On the other hand, I don't know if you can fault a camera for having a viewfinder that's too large.

I hope that you have a lot of fun with the camera.
 
Thanks guys...

Jason - It's actually one of the reasons I chose the Zeiss. I didn't want to compare a digital Leica to a film Leica... I wanted to see what Zeiss had to offer in it's body.

Keith - The film I'm waiting for is from Freestyle, and is actually Arista Premium 400 😉 -- I had gotten advice on another forum to try Freestyle out and that their AP400 was very similar to Tri-X. I won't be developing on my own to start (so gotta find someone to do B&W processing), but I did get a negative scanner and will just be processing negatives and then scanning on my own.

Thanks ZeissFan - My impressions are all positive so far, but of course I haven't actually USED it yet. I can't wait!
 
For scanning consider Ilford XP2. No grain aliasing because no true grain (it's chromogenic). Kodak makes chromogenics too but I prefer the tonality of XP2.

Cheers,

R.
 
amy, check out zeiss fan's site - it has some great zi info.

and welcome to the world of zeiss, the zi is a superb camera and you already know the lenses are wonderful as well.

don'tforget to post a shot of your new kit in the zi porn thread.

joe
 
Congrats on the 'new' camera and not getting ripped off! When I get something new I buy a cheap roll of colour film, shoot it and have a one-hour lab process it. Then at least I know the new stuff works.
 
Congratulations ... I still have fond memories of opening the box from Matsuiya in Japan that contained my Ikon and being completely blown away by the obvious quality of the camera! More than a year on I'm no less convinced that the ZI represents the absolute pinacle of currently available film rangefinders.

Bring on the ZI-D ... ! 🙂
 
Awesome! I've had one for a few weeks now and absolutely love it. It (and film) has totally reinvigorated my photography endeavor and it's simply great fun. I have the 35mm Biogon and the 50mm C Sonnar. Both are wonderful, but I absolutely love what the Sonnar does. To me, that lens is reason enough to own a film rangefinder.
 
Thanks again everyone!

Roger - Will do! Unfortunately, I discovered tonight that the scanner I bought isn't compatible with Mac... my fault for not researching more carefully. I got a return-authorization from Amazon and already ordered a different model that IS Mac-Friendly.

I know a lot of people here develop themselves, but any suggestions on good places to do B&W processing?

Joe - I'll try to post my ZI Porn this weekend 😉

Victor - I may just end up doing that... Mostly because I'm too impatient to wait until the weekend!

Astroman - I think you're right 😀

Keith - Oh, believe me, if a digital version comes out... I better start a new ZI-D fund now... Oh, and thanks for the link!

Andrew - That's another reason I wanted to try to Zeiss Ikon. I just LOVE the Zeiss lenses on my M8 so it made total sense to get a Zeiss body.
 
Hey! Congrats on the purchase. I'm sure you'll love this camera. I certain enjoy mine very much. Can't wait to hear your hands on comments when the film arrives. Do keep us updated.

Cheers,
 
Hi Amy - I'm sure there are places in NYC that would do a good job developing film, but if you don't mind sending your film to my neck of the woods (the left coast), A&I is pretty much the gold standard for professional film development.

http://www.aandi.com/

I've also heard a lot of good things about DR5.

http://www.dr5.com/

Keith
 
Last edited:
kxl said:
Hi Amy - I'm sure there are places in NYC that would do a good job developing film, but if you don't mind sending your film to my neck of the woods (the left coast), A&I is pretty much the gold standard for professional film development.

http://www.aandi.com/

I've also heard a lot of good things about DR5.

http://www.dr5.com/

Keith
Click to expand...

Being in NY (on Long Island) there has GOT TO BE a good lab around but I'm having a problem finding one... it's getting a little frustrating searching on google and coming up with CVS and Walgreens. :bang:

A local photographer I recently met has given me the number of a real local lab (literally 5 minutes drive) but it turns out they only do color. I was so disappointed.

I did find out tonight that one of my vendors (I'm an Art Director by trade) does developing. Says on their website they use dip and dunk machines and process all E-6 and B&W films. I'm going to call them tomorrow. They aren't exactly close though, but being I know them it might be worth the extra drive.

Another vendor I used to use also does it... but he's not close either and he's a little creepy - LOL!

Funny thing, in most of my searching for film processing on Long Island I came up with NEITHER of these... so what keywords would you suggest to find professional photo labs in my area? I did try "professional photo lab" and "film processing" in google maps and came up with a lot of chains.


And thanks for the welcome Michael and Benny!
 
I'd say google "film processing" as a starting point -- you might get few hits, but I'd say your best bet would be to go through the various online photo communities. For this specific question (B&W lab in NYC), APUG regulars may be your best bet.

http://www.apug.org


Good luck!
Keith



DRabbit said:
Being in NY (on Long Island) there has GOT TO BE a good lab around but I'm having a problem finding one... it's getting a little frustrating searching on google and coming up with CVS and Walgreens. :bang:

A local photographer I recently met has given me the number of a real local lab (literally 5 minutes drive) but it turns out they only do color. I was so disappointed.

I did find out tonight that one of my vendors (I'm an Art Director by trade) does developing. Says on their website they use dip and dunk machines and process all E-6 and B&W films. I'm going to call them tomorrow. They aren't exactly close though, but being I know them it might be worth the extra drive.

Another vendor I used to use also does it... but he's not close either and he's a little creepy - LOL!

Funny thing, in most of my searching for film processing on Long Island I came up with NEITHER of these... so what keywords would you suggest to find professional photo labs in my area? I did try "professional photo lab" and "film processing" in google maps and came up with a lot of chains.


And thanks for the welcome Michael and Benny!
Click to expand...
 
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