New Zeiss Ikon ZI owner

android

android

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Aug 29, 2007
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Hi,

After many years of using digital cameras I've just purchased a ZI. I've only had it for a few days but I'm already in love with it :). In fact it's inspired me to keep a (probably) short blog about my move from digital back to film. If anyone's interested it can be found here : http://seberg.blogspot.com (please don't expect too much, I'm not technical)

Thanks to all the posters to this forum - comments here were one of the deciding factors in my choosing to purchase the ZI.

Best
Andy
 
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Thanks Arvay. It really does feel good to shoot film once more. Even the smell of fixer has brought back fond memories!
 
oohh! A nice handsome black version! With a black Distagon to match! I'm sure you'll be having loads of fun with that.

Cheers,
 
Congatulations on getting the best current film rangefinder being manufactured ... (ducking). :p

One thing I've changed about the way I shoot mine is use of the AE function. I was committed to metering manually but the last couple of rolls of film I've let the camera make the exposure decision for me and I'm impressed with the results. It means getting a lot more spontaneous shots when you have this confidence. :)
 
Thanks for the tip Keith. I've only run a couple of rolls though the ZI and haven't tried using the AE lock yet. I'll probably head out this morning with a roll of TMAX 400 and give it a try.

bennyng - that's actually the Biogon 35/2 mounted in that shot. BTW, coming from an R-D1s it feels incredibly wide as the R-D1s crop factor meant this lens was around 52mm. Seems like i have to get a lot closer to the action now!
 
android said:
bennyng - that's actually the Biogon 35/2 mounted in that shot. BTW, coming from an R-D1s it feels incredibly wide as the R-D1s crop factor meant this lens was around 52mm. Seems like i have to get a lot closer to the action now!
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OOOh!! Something I was looking at just 2 days ago. But limited finances forced me to walk away without it. Hopefully, I'll be able to add some Zeiss lens into my porfolio in the near future. But in the mean time, I'll make do with my Cosina Voigtlander alternatives.

Cheers,
 
I've been really pleased with the ZI's metering too. The shutter speed numbers can be hard to read in bright light conditions and every once in a while I've ruined a shot because I didn't see the 2000 blinking (overexposure), but it's handled most situations very well for me, even some night shots have turned out fairly well. Extreme backlighting of course has fooled it, but that's to be expected really. Of course, I'm not shooting chromes, so some of my satisfaction probably comes from the latitude inherent in print film to begin with. Still the meter seems to do it's job quite well on the ZI.
 
I did it too...

I did it too...

too weeks ago!

Sold the digital stuff and bought a black ZI, a Biogon 35 and a Nikon Coolscan V instead!

The first roll is not developed yet, but I'm getting courios about it!

So Have fun!
Peter
 
Congratulations on joining the club.

Selling all the digital is a very bold move, not sure I'm ready for that yet. My trusty 5D is still giving good service. I do love my ZI though - about 15 rolls so far.

Finances prevent me from getting the Coolscan just yet, so at the moment I'm limited to 6Mp scans from my local lab. Scanning silver film is tricky, so until I get my own scanner I'm sticking to XP2.
 
back alley said:
'i love the smell of fixer in the morning!'

welcome and enjoy the zi, it's a great camera.
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Never liked the smell of fixer myself. However, I love the smell of fresh film. Nothing like loading my ZI with a roll and then having a chunk of time to shoot some. I find myself in a very happy place after using the ZI for a while.
 
Thanks Andrew. I wish I had a few images to upload but I'm still waiting for the scanner to arrive.

Incidentally, I read an excellent article at rogerandfrances.com about B&W photography. In it they suggest rating film at around 2/3 stops lower than their actual ISO. Is that something anyone here would recommend? Perhaps some opt to use AE compensation? Be keen to know what opinions are on this.

Regards
Andy
 
android said:
Is that something anyone here would recommend?
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Anyone here? Well, maybe Roger himself ... Anyone else? In one of the B&W books that I own (the one by John Garrett, IIRC) it says something about rating 125 film at 80 and 400 film at 320 to keep more detail in the shadows. I always stick to the advertised rating and never had complaints.

I will check it.
 
It all depends on the situation/light, of course. If it's bright out and I want to retain (a bit more) shadow detail, I routinely shoot my b/w film at 1/3 - 2/3 stops lower than the rated ISO. Dim light, on the other hand, I'll shoot at rated speed. Experiment and decide what works (best) for you is what I would suggest.
 
Thanks. Interesting tip Papercut, sounds like a reasonable approach. I've actually run the last three films through at 1/3 of a stop lower than the film rating, just waiting to see the results now.
 
Say, I have a VC 50/1.5 Nokton that's mounted on a useless Canon P. Will it work with an M-adaptor on the Zeiss Ikon?
 
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