Zeiss Ikon ZM on eBay (2019-06-10)

maigo

maigo

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This chrome Zeiss Ikon ZM was listed last week but failed to get a bid. Relisted this week for same starting price at $1050USD. 6 days left now.
I thought that demand for these cameras was high so I am surprised to see it not sold yet.
What is scaring bidders off?
Condition?
Shipping from Taiwan?
Seller history? (positive but few recent transactions in past year)

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/293116738722


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I'm currently borrowing one from o buddy. Holy crap, amazing camera.

If you have the funds to spare, go for it. Ebay will sort it out eventually if anything's amiss.
 
Not a bad price. But the ZI is discontinued. I would be concerned about parts availability now. I did want one for a while, though. I didn't see one for a reasonable price, and eventually the urgency to get one went into remission.
 
james.liam said:
Do yourself a favor. and don't wonder.
Hold and compare the ZI and an M6/7. You will quickly understand the difference.
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I have never held any of them.
Just Canon P, Bessa R4M and Bessa-L. Plus a zillion compact RF.
If you do not mind, what is your understanding of the difference between ZI and M6/7?

Thanks,



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Huss said:
I know. I love my M7. What a difference.
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M6 maybe but not so much the M7 ... I had one and never really got to love it. A certain well known Leica repair person in the US expressed an opinion that more or less said the M7 was a disaster just waiting to happen! :p:p:p
 
Keith said:
M6 maybe but not so much the M7 ... I had one and never really got to love it. A certain well known Leica repair person in the US expressed an opinion that more or less said the M7 was a disaster just waiting to happen! :p:p:p
Click to expand...

I must admit, like with Jaguar cars, to have found the need for two M7s so I can have an operational one at all times, but only have found the need for one MP.

Marty
 
The ZI is/was a much lighter camera but with a very bright finder. It’s haptics, build, ’gravitas’ in hand is marginal compared to the LEICAs. More akin to the latest Bessas, also discontinued and ‘flimsier’. IIRC, it is more like the M7 in that no manual operation is possible without a battery. But the M7 will remain serviceable as it remains in productions whilst the ZI is more of a gamble. And in the end, you'll probably end up with an M film camera when all is said.

Leica no longer repairs the electronics on the M6TTL as the boards can longer be sourced, so for me the simpler, so-called M6 "classic" is the way to go.
 
james.liam said:
Do yourself a favor. and don't wonder.
Hold and compare the ZI and an M6/7. You will quickly understand the difference.
Click to expand...


I own an Ikon and a M7, and I like both for different reasons. The M7 feels wonderful and solid, the shutter sound is divine, wind-on is smooth, everything you expect from a Leica.


But, the Ikon is lighter, has a much larger and brighter viewfinder, is slimmer in the hand, and overall feels like a more 'agile' camera.


Before my Ikon developed a fault that has yet to be fixed, I used it a lot more than my M7, simply because it is lighter and has that great viewfinder.
 
james.liam said:
IIRC, it is more like the M7 in that no manual operation is possible without a battery. But the M7 will remain serviceable as it remains in productions whilst the ZI is more of a gamble.
Click to expand...

The M7 shutter works at 1/60 and 1/125 if the batteries are flat. The ZI does not work with a flat battery.

The Leica M7 was discontinued in May 2018 and is no longer produced.

Marty
 
if i am not mistaken the Ikon ZM shares the same internals as the Nikon FE-10 and other cheapos developed by Cosina. so yes, no operation when the battery is depleted :eek::eek::eek:
 
richardHaw said:
if i am not mistaken the Ikon ZM shares the same internals as the Nikon FE-10 and other cheapos developed by Cosina. so yes, no operation when the battery is depleted :eek::eek::eek:
Click to expand...


And built as well

https://www.35mmc.com/19/03/2016/zeiss-ikon/

..Of course, as I’ve unfortunately discovered, it’s also easier to damage. This is the bottom of my Ikon, it shows damage that I don’t even remember inflicting. I’ve dropped Leicas, from a height, and done more damage to the floor than I have the camera – and that’s not an exaggeration.
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I own both and it's been quite a while...

The ZI is a relatively simple camera. No motor to fail, no sophisticated reader to mess up with metering. Its modern, proven, simple electronics are reliable enough that the camera has had very few (if not zero) known issues in the past 15 years. Cosina will honor parts & labor into 2022. After that I doubt you'd be hard pressed to find a technician to perform CLA on the camera. It's like a Nikon FE or F3.

The M7 went through many electronic-related troubles since inception. I find it hard to get that people would think it's a safer bet than the ZI, especially in the long run. Sudden brickings are not unheard of. Almost all well known repair person refuse service it, stating either they don't work on electronic cameras or lack training to do so. You'll have to send it back to Wetzlar and wait for the hefty bill. There's never a clear deadline by the time of which Leica will stop servicing it. Since it's now discontinued for over a year and Leica doesn't have a good track record of keeping old electronic parts, its future serviceability remains unclear...
 
So in this version of 'Zeiss Ikon vs M7', we can draw the conclusion that we just use these cameras until they give up, because future electronic repair status is ambiguous, and the implication is that a mechanical rangefinder is more future proof, hahaha.
 
Archiver said:
So in this version of 'Zeiss Ikon vs M7', we can draw the conclusion that we just use these cameras until they give up, because future electronic repair status is ambiguous, and the implication is that a mechanical rangefinder is more future proof, hahaha.
Click to expand...

as somebody who used to repair old cars (because i cant afford new ones), mechanical stuff will always outlast their electronic counterparts so long as there are parts for them like air filters and suspension, etc :eek::eek::eek:

for cameras, there are very little consumables as i call them. the shutters last a surprisingly long time too :rolleyes:
 
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