YES I have a ZeissIkon

[Lars Menzel]

Good News,

ZeissIkon is real and the 1st customers have got one.
I am really happy to own one now.

First impressions:
- It is really solid build
- The opening machanic is clever and you cant open it accidental
- the viewfinder is very bright and i can use the 28er frame as wearer of glasses


I will shoot some rolls and report when i have results.

look forward the other ZI's are on the way


Greetings

Lars

 

[Doug]

Congratulations, Lars! Did you get a lens with the body too?

 

[sheepdog]

Quick! Put a 12 frame no-name roll through and have it processed at the local lab to check for light leaks, pierced shutter curtains, unadjusted rangefinder mechanism and the likes!
Er, wait.. A NEW camera?
Have I been buying too much FSU-gear lately? 🙄

Have a lot of fun with the new tool!

Kind regards
Kjetil

 

[Socke]

great, I can't wait for your report.

 

[Frank Granovski]

That's why I've held off buying the black professional Voigtlander Bessa R3A...I wanna look at this Ikon to see if I should go with it instead.

 

[Lars Menzel]

Yes I have some ZI-Lenses too.

I own 2,8/80 and 2/50 and my "old" rollei lenses 40 and 80

I have shot a roll today and can't wait until its ready.
The store can't give me a guaranty that it will be ready tomorrow, but i hope so.

I have taken shots with ZI 2/50 and Rollei 80 in BW (Kodak BW400cn)

More impressions now:

- the camera is not as alaoud as my rollei 35rf but you have still a significant noise
- the Viewfinder is a pleasure; it is very bright also in difficult light conditions and it is very
usefull to show focal length in the right frame so you can't used it wrong
- the weight is perfekt for me
- one problem, like leica, the viewfinder correction lens is screwed in, so you can loose it;
check this before using it after get the camerea out of package
- the filmload is very simple better than leica, bessa and rollei
- if you want to check, whether the film will be correct transported, you can do it easy by
holding the camera with the left hand and touch the bottom
- the ae lock is odd but very usefull. you can use it to lock several pictures
- there is a on/off switch around the trigger, so you can avoid taking pictures randomly
- i don't like the tripot mount, not having it at center, but the camera is not to heavy for it
so it is just odd for me
- you can use several types of battery, so there is no problem, if one type is out of stock

So the next impressions come, if i have a developed film, hopefully tomorrow.

But untill now i can say, it is a pleasure to take pictures with the Zeiss Ikon.
I hope you get yours as soon as possible and can share my pleasure.

Greetings

Lars

 

[awilder]

So you own the 80/2.8 Rollei Planar, 40/2.8 Rollei Sonnar and the 50/2 ZM Planar right? Is the 80/2.8 all that good for it's price?

 

[Lars Menzel]

Yes the 80/2.8 Rollei Planar is a very good lens and you can get it from rollei for the half list price, but you have to hurry, because they don't produce it anymore 🙁
I haven't checked the close focus dinstance until now. So i can't judge about it.

But be aware, the 80er frame is only on the rollei. But the difference to the 85er frame of the Zeiss Ikon shouldn't be to much.

 

[ZeissFan]

I also received mine yesterday, but I got locked out of the system. Zeiss has done an admirable job with assembly and packaging, and there are several notable things about the camera and lenses (in a good way). Fit and finish are very nice.

My goal over the next few weeks is to run through between 20 and 30 rolls. I want to give it a very strenuous workout and see how it responds.

 

[ZeissFan]

I'm going to be working on a "mini-site" for the camera. So lots to do and write. I hope everyone else gets their cameras soon.

 

[JoeFriday]

let's see lots of photos of it.. and please include ordinary objects in a few shots so we can get a sense of perspective to compare it to other cameras

 

[ZeissFan]

That was way too small. Let's try again. Here's what's good about the world.

 

[ZeissFan]

It's noticeably larger than the Contax IIa. The physical dimensions are nearly identical to the Leica M7. The Zeiss Ikon is 1mm shorter.

 

[ZeissFan]

Three lenses: f/2.0 Sonnar for the Contax, f/2.0 Planar for the Zeiss Ikon and f/2.0 Planar for the Contarex.

 

[ZeissFan]

I'm going to do a much more in-depth review, but in general Leica users won't be that satisfied with the camera. It does have a very different feel, and if you move back and forth between the two, you'll get a feeling that it's not as substantial.

It's similar to using a vintage Zeiss Ikon Contax and a Leica. They each are excellent cameras in their own right, but each is very different from the other. The user experiences (to use modern lingo) aren't comparable.

The more I handle the camera, the more I like it. There are some very nice things to say about the camera, and the shape and styling of the top deck are very curious and I believe will lead to some interesting discussions.

The camera feels well balanced with either the 25mm Biogon or the 50mm Planar. The 40mm Sonnar from the Rollei 35RF makes for a very compact camera, despite its width.

The viewfinder is excellent and far exceeds the Voigtlander offerings. I always thought the Voigtlander viewfinders were good -- the precision of the Zeiss Ikon's rangefinder and viewfinder is just a huge step beyond it.

I don't want to scoop myself, but I'll try to add a bit more later.

 

[jbw]

how does the viewfinder compare to a Leica m-7? any thoughts? substantially better? i am a glass wearer..

 

[ZeissFan]

With glasses, you can see the top and bottom frames lines for 28mm. You do need to shift your eye to see the right and left frame lines.


35mm lines are easily visible.

The 25mm lens brings up the 28/85 set. I'm interested to see if I can simply go out to the edges of the viewfinder for the 25.

The camera includes a strap that is vaguely similar to the Domke Gripper and what Cosina provides for it Voigtlanders but a step better in terms of quality. "Zeiss Ikon" is embossed in the leather that is on the either end of where the neck strap ends and the connecting thing nylon strap begins.

There are a lot of small details that may or may not go unnoticed.

 

[ZeissFan]

I sold my M6, so I can't do a side-by-side. I have a very soiled M3 that won't do as a comparison.

I like the ability to see the shutter speeds. It's a bit complicated to explain in print. In use, it's an easy system that you can learn in a minute.

I think someone described the shutter sound as a "snick," and that's an accurate description. It sits comfortably between a Bessa and a Leica. It's a very positive sound, and of course being that it's electronic, no more buzz on the slower speeds (I'm one who actually likes that little sound).

The bayonet lens shades fit tightly to the lens, and there's no way that they'll accidentally fall off.

 

[JohnL]

That was way too small. Let's try again. Here's what's good about the world.

That's a very clean-looking camera. Congratulations!

 

[Trius]

ZeissFan: I'm not asking you to "sccop yourself", but in your full on review, once you prepare it and post it on your site, could you try to include how you feel about the handling of the ZI versus the Contax? I really don't care as much about the ZI versus a Leica.

Also, could you speculate as to why the ZI is so much larger than the Contax? Maybe Hasselblad could help us out with that, but given the similarity of the baselines, the family heritage, etc., it would be interesting to know why the new ZI became a larger camera.

Trius