ferider said:
The M3 and .85 M6 have longer effective baselength than the ZI.
Yes, the M3 & .85 M6/7 have longer effective base lengths than the ZI, but this is comparing apples & oranges. Those Leica cameras DON'T have 28 mm frame lines. In fact, the M3 doesn't even have 35 mm frames. These Leicas are not designed for all-around use in the way that the ZI is with its built-in 28 frame lines. The ZI has the longest effective base length o fany camera ever built with 28 mm frame lines in its view finder.
The net keeps talking about better QC for the ZI than for the Bessa.
Unless somebody explains the difference in QC process this is just noise/marketing.
There are 3 elements to the Zeiss Ikon that demonstrate higher quality control: design, manufacture, & inspection.
1.
Design:Carl Zeiss AG invested R&D into this camera that Cosina never has into the Bessa line. The camera was designed as an integrated unit from the beginning without compromise. The parts were designed to fit together & work together as a whole unlike the Bessa in which parts were forced to fit into an existing SLR design. After the development of a protototype, Zeiss field tested the camera & solicited consumer feedback in focus groups. They also consulted with the manufacturing people for feedback to the designers. The camera was revised based on this input before it ever came to market. Having such an intensive & extensive design & dvelopment process before production line assembly ever began set a high standard for quality from the beginning.
2.
Manufacture: In his review of the Zeiss Ikon system, Erwin Puts reported that his inspection & tests revealed that the system was built to tighter tolerances than the Bessas - not as tight as a Leica, but about half way between the two.
The use of a rangefinder with a 75 mm base line alone is a quality control feature. This is double the length of the Bessa RF base line. Therefore, any error in manufacture & has twice the effect in usage in a Bessa caera than in a Zeiss Ikon. In the development of a precision rangefinder, increased magnification is not a substitute for physical length of the base line.
3.
Inspection: Every Zeiss Ikon camera that comes off the production line is examined & certified by a by a QC inspector before it is packaged & shipped. This is not done for Bessa cameras. Quality control is performed by the consumer. Same for the ZM lenses. Every lens that comes off the production line is tested on a Zeiss MTF plotter to insure that it meets performance standards before it is packaged & shipped. We know that this has never been the Cosina practice because the MTF plotters had to be installed in the Cosina factory in order for them to comply with Zeiss requirements.
BTW, from pictures it seems like the R[23]M has a different shutter than earlier Bessas, it looks identical to the ZI's.
The issue with the ZI shutter has never been its physical parts. It's a standard Copal shutter. No need to reinvent the wheel. It was modified to make it quieter & Cosina may well have copied this same modification for the R2/3M. I have no idea. What makes the ZI shutter different is its electronics, which were specially developed for this camera. The firing of the ZI shutter & the electromagnet used allow for the shutter to have the same shutter lag as the M7, i.e. 14 ms (milliseconds) in manual & 20 ms in AE. In addition, the travel distance of the ZI shutter release is only 0.9 mm, compared with 2 mm on an M7. And the first 0.6 mm of travel of the ZI shutter release is just to activate the meter, leaving only 0.3 ms to actually fire the shutter. The combination of lack of shutter lag & short travel distance of the shutter release allows for instantaneous response by the camera. This is at the very heart of rangefinder photography - the ability to capture your subject in the moment. In contrast, Popular Photography reported a shutter lag of 100 ms when it tested the Bessa R. Cosina has never reported any improvements in shutter lag in its succeeeding Bessa incarnations nor have they reported any attempts to improve shutter performance.
