Zeiss Icon AE Lock

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swissrobin

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Hello gang!

this is my first post here, but have been an avid reader.
I currently own a Mamiya 7 and a Olympus 35 RC; both of which I deary love. especially the Mamiya; once you start with medium format, it's hard to look at 35mm neg.

anyways, I'd like to buy a more substantial 35mm rangefinder, which I'd like to use in conjunction with a wide and fast lens (the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 springs to mind). options for bodies (so far) have been:

- Leica M7; expensive and film loading might get on my nerves

- Hexar RF; like the look and feel, but can't get on with the motorized film advance, and the shutter release sound. I want something 'old' sounding!

- Zeiss-Icon; which I've never used.

the Zeiss is high on my list for now; it sounds like the right mixture of great features, solid build, priced between a Hexar and a used M7, and I really love the look of it too. one thing that I'd love to have answered by all you fine folk, is:

does the AE lock only work with the designated AE lock button, or will it also work with depressing the shutter? the designated button sounds like a great feature, but I compose with my left eye, and wonder if I'd poke my eye out/pick my nose every time I'd set AE lock? also, I wouldn't always want to use it, I think.

so that's my question, sorry for rambing on a bit.
any general thoughts on the 3 models listed, and how you think they compare (in a nutshell) would be very appreciated.

cheers,
Robin
 
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On the ZI, the AE lock only works with the AE Lock button not with a halfway shutter push. Really no big deal. The lock button works just fine. Also film loading on a Leica M camera is an acquired skill (like 5 minutes). Really it also is no big deal. Not familar with the Hexar. Sounds like a ZI would be a great choice.
 
Yep, ZI is a great camera. The AE lock is a single push and relaease the button - then it holds the reading for 20 seconds. Works well in practice.

I've not used an M7 or Hexar, but I'm sure they're all fine. The Ikon has a great viewfinder.

Mike
 
The AE lock is purely operated from the designated button on the back of the camera but it does remain locked for a set period until you press the button a second time or turn tha camera off. I think that's a good feature and should have been incorporated on the Bessas.

I've had the Hexar and liked it a lot but I guess the whirr of the film advance is not to everyone's liking.

Also had an M7 which I sold to get my Ikon. There's a lot of things on the M7 that don't make sense to me ...particularly the stupidly positioned, arkward to use exposure compensation dial on the back of the camera.

I love my Ikon and may finish up selling all my other 35mm rangefinders and getting a second Ikon body.
 
I no longer have my Ikon to try it out but from memory the shutter half press doesn't have AEL. Rather when you half press the shutter, only then does the meter turn on.
I would think the other cameras would also operate in a similar manner.
 
The Hexar is a very well made camera. It has a lot of automation: autoexposure, autowind and autorewind. The quality of construction is excellent. The camera is somewhat heavy. The camera is no longer in production, which means that you'll need to find a third party for repairs or service. There are a lot of third-party repair outfits.

Loading an M-series Leica will take a few tries to get it right. It's not a monumental task, although it does take time, and your actions have to be deliberate, which isn't a bad thing.

The Zeiss Ikon is a cost-effective alternative to the Leica. Well made. Excellent viewfinder and rangefinder. It also has a lighter-weight body.
 
i can't comment on the M7, but i do have an MP and the Ikon. The AEL button on the ikon works nicely, just needs to get used to using it if you're moving from a shutter half press AEL type of camera.

In practice for me, sometimes i forgot, obviously because i use both leica and the ikon :bang:

Nothing beats the big viewfinder of the ikon, the disappearing and moving center patch might be annoying for leica users, but once you get used to it i'd say nothing beats it.

One other personal opinion is, the light meter on leica is easier to use, it's more predictable and is definitely more center weighted (semi spot for me). The ikon's meter is ok once you get used to it, but i'd say the leica is easier to use because of the narrower metering area.
For me the metering is very important, honestly i'm very tempted to get an m7 just because the AE on the ikon is a bit crippled by the metering system.
 
Ikon is a great camera. I very much like the exposure compensation system which is awesome compared with the completely useless system in the M8. The VF is superb in the Ikon. Film loading in both Leica and Ikon is fine, although I think the Leica system is more bullet proof.
 
Film loading on the 'modern' M's really isn't hard. The only annoyance is that you have the removable base to deal with - it'd be nice to have a third hand for that. Otherwise it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

The Ikon's finder is big and bright. From my recollection of briefly using one and from reading online, the focussing patch is more finicky on an Ikon than on an M. So take, "The Ikon's finder is better," with a grain of salt. Parts of it are better. There's also something funky about the center patch while focusing, I forget what it is though. Does it move relative to the frames parallax correction? The M's patch is always in the center of the frame.

I personally like the M7's half shutter press to activate AE lock. Makes sense to me and it's how my Canon 1V does it. However, I could see *some* instances where a button on the back would make more sense.

M7's are getting cheaper used. You might be able to find one for only a bit more than what the Ikon is new, so it makes it an even tougher choice. Personally, I really like my M7 and wouldn't replace it with an Ikon, though I would entertain the notion of getting an Ikon over a second M7. The Ikon would make a nice body for hard to focus lenses due to it's longer RF base. Unfortunately my hard to focus lens is the 75/1.4, and I don't think the Ikon has 75 lines...
 
I'm a left-eyed shooter, and have never poked myself in the eye or shoveled gook out my snout while using the ZM & its AEL button. Although to be truthful, I don't use AEL that much.

One of the things I DO like on the ZM is how shutter speed, mode selection, and exposure compensation are all combined into one dial. A very neat idea. Too bad Leica never thought of it....
 
Double Negative said:
AEL only works with the dedicated button - which you can't really activate unintentionally - and stays active for 8 seconds.
Click to expand...

Fixed. I can't speak about shooting with your left eye, but the AEL on the Ikon is the single best feature of the camera. One of the best AE locks ever. I am however frustrated how the Ikon SW uses what would be the frame select lever as the AEL.
 
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I have both the M7 and the Ikon. The Ikon is a more advanced camera, but the M7 gives you more tactile pleasure to shoot with. Anyway, for the 35mm frames the Ikon simply cannot be beaten, and in fact my Nokton 35/1.2 lives on it most of the time - they make the best low light combo in my opinion. ( and the lens balances well on this body - consider it as a better choice respect to the 35/1.4) The weighed metering pattern of the Ikon is quite clever, and you have to remember to shoot the verticals with your right hand over the camera, otherwise you will meter too much of the sky.

Zeiss Ikon + Nokton 35/1.2 wide open

2269881392_418f2b5534_b.jpg
 
mfogiel, great shot, I love it. It also is perfectly lit to be exploited with the Ikon. If the lights were on the other side it might not be so well exposed by the AE system.
 
I have both Ikon and M8 - not for long yet, though. Not sure how M8 and M7 compare, but:
Aside from film/digital preferences, I prefer the Ikon over the M8 because of the viewfinder, lighter weight, (others will disagree) general feeling and handling and most importantly the longer rangefinder baseline. I can focus the Ikon faster and more accurately (in same time frame) than the M8. I do miss the half-way pressed button AEL lock though, but I may just need to get used to it.

I would pick the Ikon over the M7, except if I really need the (limited) functionality of the M7 when batteries are dead. I have no experience with Hexar AF (only Contax G2).
Also - The AEL button will not interfere with your nose.

Hope that helps!
Peter
 
Mr. E. & Kiyoshi: Now, now, boys, you know what I meant. (Bad choice of words, I guess. "Gunk" would have been better.) Let's not be bringing up racial perjoratives from a war fought 40-odd years ago....🙂
 
I's avoid the Hexar as repair is not straightforward anymore. In the US repairs are handled by two places I know of, and one is iffy at best.

I shoot with MP and M7 cameras the most, but have an Ikon loaded with slide film (Velvia now, for the first time since 12/30/10) in the kitchen drawer. I like the Ikon, but I love the Leicas. The Ikon just doesn't have the same solid feel in the hand- and the wind-on is very different, and I never feel like I've wound all the way. I am used to the Leica wind-on however.

I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the Ikon if AE is necessary- the ergonomics of AE shooting are certainly better than the M7 (or M9 for that matter), and the ability to skew ISO without constantly being warned is a pleasure. I find the readout of the shutter speeds in the Ikon a lot harder to see, but in AE mode that certainly isn't a problem. My Ikon focusses beautifully with everything I've used on it- a 50/1.4 pre ASPH (even wide open- dead on), a 35/1.4 pre and a V2 28/2.8.
 
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