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ZeissFan

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I've created the framework for my review of the Zeiss Ikon.

Not a whole lot there, but the basics are there. It will change quite a bit as I get more into the camera.

Here it is. Best viewed with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768.
 
Nice work, Mike!

Nice work, Mike!

Nicely done site. Looking forward to reading more about your experiences and impressions of the Zeiss rangefinder.

And no, you can't have the half case back! :p
 
May I make a suggestion, and please don't take this the wrong way. ...

Make it navigate the way people expect it to.

Having part of it pop up in a new resized window with no control buttons is incredibly annoying. :(
 
I have to agree with that.. while the content looks very promising, the frame structure would prevent me from spending much time there
 
Looks good, not much info but good, get rid of the pop-ups---that would be good.

How's the Ikon's viewfinder compared with the black Bessa R3A? :)
 
Ok, I've read it, big mistake!
Now I realy want one although I may compromise on my first M-Mount lens and get a Cosina 35mm Pancake first.

And Frank, reread it! There is a lot of information about the viewfinder.
 
...I don't mind the pop ups, and I find it pretty intuitive but more importantly it's an interesting read....well done!

...by the way "ZeissFan" your Contax IIa web page sent me on a downward spiral!!! :)
 
It's looking great. Never thought I'd sit at a computer, neglecting crucial work for 10 minutes while i played sound files of 'clicks' from different cameras.... please don't tell anyone who knows me!
 
I added a few photos. Yeah, I might move it back into a traditional window. Still thinking about that. Thanks for the comments. I'm always willing to try something different. Some things work; some don't.

The 25 flared badly in one shot. The sun was to my left and up a bit. It was near sunset, and I was at the bottom of a hill, but there was a stream of light coming down the hill to my left and slightly in front. I'll have to try a few more shots over the next few days and see if I can replicate it.

Some of the photos are up to 200k, while others are smaller. I really want to try popup, but this is a simple way to run through all at once, unless you're on a dialup. Then life on the Web sucks.

-Mike
 
I've reworked my minisite. Dumped the popup and went to a slightly more traditional frames page. Probably works better -- doesn't feel as cramped.
 
I wrote on an Internet posting that Leica users might come away feeling disappointed with the camera, because the Zeiss Ikon doesn't have that heavy feel, which some equate with high quality.
Click to expand...

That's because the body is made with solid aluminium. :cool:
 
ZeissFan said:
I've reworked my minisite. Dumped the popup and went to a slightly more traditional frames page. Probably works better -- doesn't feel as cramped.
Click to expand...

Much better. Thank you. :)
 
Frank Granovski said:
That's because the body is made with solid aluminium. :cool:
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what the implication is, Frank. :confused:

The Nikon FM3A is made of an aluminum alloy - just like the original Nikon FM2 was back in 1982. The Zeiss Ikon die-cast chasis is clad with another light-weight metal, magnesium - modern materials for a modern camera. The manufacture of a die-cast chasis makes both the FM & the ZI extremely rigid - just like uni-body construction in a car chasis. The FM series has always been considered extremely robust & no one has ever knocked it for using aluminum. In fact, one of the benefits of aluminum - & magnesium as well - is that it is extremely resistent to corrosion. When I was involved with a school playground committee, we chose aluminum for the structure for the same reason: anti-corrosive qualites. It is the best metal for this purpose. For the same reason it has been used in many other applications, such as airplanes.

For all of the desire to compare the Zeiss Ikon with the Leica M series, it is not the same camera. It is not "Leica-lite." I think that the Nikon FM series is a better comparison. Nikon created the FM series as a lightweight, compact, lower cost alternative to its professional series cameras, aimed at the entusiast & advanced amateur segment of the market. The FM was a completely new design even though it provided the same function - to take pictures - in a manual camera & many of the same features as the more advanced pro cameras of its day. The FM in the late '70s & the FM2 in the '80s took the market by storm. Nikon was surprised to find that in addition to the target market, it was also popular with professionals as a second body. Its combination of features, high quality, reliability, & ruggedness served even professionals well, even though none of them would have expected it to be on the same level as an F2 or an F3. The point is: they appreciated it for what it was in its own right.

IMHO this is how the ZI ahould be viewed - as a tour de force in its own right. Not because it's as good as or better than a Leica M. How could it be? It's half the price of an M7. However, if seen for what it is, it can be appreciated in its own context. It is the camera that Leica should have made for a different market segment. Unlike Nikon, they chose not to.

Huck
 
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To further add to Huck's comments, the trap is that you get into these endless comparisons of Leica vs. Zeiss Ikon with nitpicking over tiny features and you miss the bigger picture, which is this:

This camera should succeed or fail on its own merits but not because of how it compares with Leica.

That's why I want to give it a vigorous workout over the next six months. You really get to know a camera's strengths and weaknesses. And like any camera, you do adapt your style a bit to fit its ergonomics.
 
ZeissFan said:
That's why I want to give it a vigorous workout over the next six months. You really get to know a camera's strengths and weaknesses. And like any camera, you do adapt your style a bit to fit its ergonomics.
Click to expand...


That's absolutely true, zeiss fan ! Thats why i like the contax g2 so much the lenses are incompareble. At least in my (humble) opion.
By the way nice camera that zeiss ikon thing
 
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Dammit ! I want to get a medium format system but your website is giving me serious Ikon GAS... I've already got the Ikon xxxxl boxers :D
 
Huck Finn said:
I'm not sure what the implication is, Frank. :confused:
Click to expand...

Huck, obviously you haven't spent enough time on photo.net where Frank and his avatars run rampant. :p

IMHO this is how the ZI ahould be viewed - as a tour de force in its own right. Not because it's as good as or better than a Leica M. How could it be? It's half the price of an M7.
Click to expand...

If the ZI proves to be reliable over the long run, it IS better than a Leica (at least from a user's POV) such as my M6TTL - and it will prove that Zeiss and Cosina are much more efficient (or at least their margin is much more reasonable to the customer) than Leica.

Funny how Leica zealots keep singing praises about things like the "smoothness" of the film advance. Guess what? The first thing I noticed about my brand-new M was how unsmooth the same mechanism was (and still is), compared with my lowly Nikon FM. :rolleyes:
 
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