Zeiss Ikon SW - Are they being stupid again?

c.poulton said:
The logic behind the camera may be questionable, but at least they are developing the Ikon system and that can not be a bad thing?

Sure it can.
 
Finder said:
I don't understand your venom toward Zeiss Ikon. Why build another rangefinder - they already have one. This looks like a good idea like jlw stated. It also expands their line.

Besides, how do you know rangefinders are what they do best? They have only made one. You cannot make statistical conclusions from a sample of one.

From the various postings regarding the strength of a Zeiss Ikon body, most happy users concluded that the rangefinder base length and the clear, bright viewfinder are what make the Ikon unique among all these cameras. I do doubt that a light-tight box with a Zeiss badge is worth the 799 euros price tag since a used Bessa-T (or new in box) is less than $200 and is only a tad taller than the L and comes with M-mount. If you really need AE with the ultra-wides, R2A/3A are really good enough.

If Zeiss has industrial background regarding the ZF lenses, I don't see it here. What kind of application requires a M-mount film camera without a rangefinder that is only good for ultra-wides? Beats me.
 
this is really a crazy camera a 35mm camera should be more than a black box.
drop the price of a normal zi rf camera and this product shouldn,t be nessecary.
800 euro CRAZY
 
The camera is most likely aimed toward the professional rather than amateurs. This type of superwide camera is very fast to work with because of its simplicity. My medium-format superwide is much faster to use than my medium-format rangefinder even though the rangefinder has AE. While I can understand this speciality camera would be a mystery to amateurs, this could be a very good system addition to a professional.

Sure you could buy a Bessa L, but do you think it is as well made? If price was the only factor in buying gear, Cosina would have put Leica out of business years ago.
 
Finder said:
My medium-format superwide is much faster to use than my medium-format rangefinder even though the rangefinder has AE.
Why? Do you still look into the viewfinder of the rangefinder? If not, zone focusing should be just the same.

Finder said:
While I can understand this speciality camera would be a mystery to amateurs, this could be a very good system addition to a professional.

I can anticipate the existence of such cameras. The Hassy SWC was one, the Bessa-L another. But Zeiss introducing a "professional dedicated film camera" right now? C'mon, why not spend more time and effort on bringing out better lenses for us? Or even the Digital ZI.

Finder said:
Sure you could buy a Bessa L, but do you think it is as well made? If price was the only factor in buying gear, Cosina would have put Leica out of business years ago.

You have your point here, but I still don't see the justification for a 799 Euro light tight box, no matter how well it is made. There is very little delicate moving parts and no optical elements in this one, unlike the Ikon.
 
Maybe it is kind of stepp into a digital system? maybe they would need this setup for digital and they are getting ready for it? 😀 😀
 
Finder said:
My medium-format superwide is much faster to use than my medium-format rangefinder even though the rangefinder has AE. While I can understand this speciality camera would be a mystery to amateurs, this could be a very good system addition to a professional.

Why? Put a viewfinder on your MF and compose and focus in the same way as you would with your SW.

It's a technique that is easy to understand for professionals but may be a mystery to amateurs.
 
Well, it's basically a body to use the ZI superwides on. The Bessa L doesn't have an M mount. The main competition here is the Bessa T, which isn't made anymore - Stephen Gandy sells out his last batch for $185. Over the Bessa T the ZI SW does hold an advantage or two - notably AE, less notably the second accessory shoe for a bubble level which is a good idea IMHO, even though not worth EUR 800. So there is a market for this IMHO since Cosina themselves have been pulling out of the market. As Cosina are cooperating with Zeiss on this, they are probably in agreement.

A price of EUR 799 probably means USD 800, too, at least that what it was like with any other new camera in recent years.

but I still don't see the justification for a 799 Euro light tight box, no matter how well it is made.
I guess if Leica came out with something like this today (an MD-7 or whatever) they wouldn't charge less than EUR 1000, either, and people would still buy it because it's the original.

Philipp
 
leafy said:
I can anticipate the existence of such cameras. The Hassy SWC was one, the Bessa-L another. But Zeiss introducing a "professional dedicated film camera" right now? C'mon, why not spend more time and effort on bringing out better lenses for us? Or even the Digital ZI.

Better lenses?

And how does bringing out this camera rule out whether they are working on a digital body? Just because they haven't said anything about those developments? I'm pretty sure they're proceeding with that and any announcements/hints will be according to their schedule, not yours.

BTW, I have no opinion on the SW. They may have missed the mark on the price (time will tell), but to compare it to a used Cosina whatever is silly.
 
The ZI marketing slang is quite big-mouthed: "The Zeiss Ikon SW offers the same extremely high image quality as the known Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera: far above today's digital cameras."

How can they pretend that? Todays best DSLR's have a resolution that beats film. Anyway how does the camera make a picture better? I thought glass and emulsion make the bigger difference than metering and shuttering.

And btw - guess who produces the SW... Cosina of course. The SW's inbuilt second accessory shoe is the only thing I miss on the Bessa L.

But what about putting a sensor in such a camera. A digital scale focusing camera? That would be neat (but preferably in the Bessa not Zeiss price categories).

Didier
 
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