Huck Finn
Well-known
My new Zeiss Ikon LE arrived yesterday. It seems as if I've been waiting a year for it to get here. Uh, oh yeah, I have been. LOL.
I won't attempt to do a comprehensive review as ZeissFan already has this territory staked out & I can't possibly do anything comparable to what he already has posted on his new website (http://elekm.net/zeiss_ikon). However, I will share some initial impressions.
The package includes the camera with body cap, Zeiss Ikon camera strap, Zeiss Ikon protective case, manual in 5 languages, Zeiss 1-year warranty, & inspection certificate signed by the quality assurance specialist who inspected & tested the camera. It was packaged in styrophome molded to fit the camera, so it should travel well. A note on the case. It has the look of a purse - padded & a leather-like material. A top folds over to close it in & holds its position via two magnets inside the double thick material. It holds only the body, which fits snugly with absolutely no room for even the smallest of lenses. It's a nice extra which will protect the body against scratches even when it's in your camera bag.
Out of the box, I was immediately struck by how compact it appeared. I had handled prototypes a couple of times before, but my living room is a different environment than a camera show & at home it just seemed compact, the way a rangefinder camera should be. It also felt heavier & more solid than I had remembered the prototypes to be - especially in light of the fact that Zeiss had revised the weight down from the originally posted weight of 510 grams (a year ago) to 460 grams. As a result, I was compelled to go out & weigh it today to verify the weight. After installing the battery & the strap rings, it weighed 1 lb, 1.1 oz, or 485 grams.
I also noticed something about the shape that I hadn't noticed before. The front is not quite as wide as the sides. By that I mean that where the sides & rear are rounded they bulge out just a little farther than the width of the front. The significance of this is that the front is squared off, but given the fact that the sides don't meet it straight on & squared off, it has a nicer feel than you might expect from what you see in a photo of it.
My next reaction was that its appearance seemed understated to me - not flashy at all. There is nothing about it that screams out: "Look at me." The silver is not shiny & there is no color anywhere - just black leatherette & a toned down silver metal. I attached my chrome 50 Summicron & they fit together as though they had been made for each other.
When I looked through the viewfinder, I saw right away that it will take some getting used to. The rangefinder patch disappeared on me at times. I had not noticed this at all when handling the prototypes. The dealer told me that you must look at it straight on, that the problem only occurs when you are looking at the patch from an angle. Mike Elek says pretty much the same thing on his website. I'm sure I'll adjust. The dealer said the good news is that the viewfinder is more contrasty than a Leica viewfinder.
Ergonomically, everything is where it should be, so you just find whatever you need intuitively - except the bottom rewind crank, of course. The film advance seemd very smooth to my ear & feel; I didn't notice anything ratchety about it. I'll be going out to take pictures tomorrow, so I'll be able to tell you more about operations in use then.
Let me just add a note about the dealer. I made my purchase from Dr. Joseph Yao (joseph@yao.com) & I couldn't have received better treatment. Communication was superb with replies to questions the same day despite the time zone difference (13 hours). He even shipped before he had received my check! I recommend him highly. Price was $1395 + insured shipping. Shipping took 3 days from Hong Kong.
All in all, I'm quite pleased with my purchase one day after receiving it. More later.
Cheers,
Huck
I won't attempt to do a comprehensive review as ZeissFan already has this territory staked out & I can't possibly do anything comparable to what he already has posted on his new website (http://elekm.net/zeiss_ikon). However, I will share some initial impressions.
The package includes the camera with body cap, Zeiss Ikon camera strap, Zeiss Ikon protective case, manual in 5 languages, Zeiss 1-year warranty, & inspection certificate signed by the quality assurance specialist who inspected & tested the camera. It was packaged in styrophome molded to fit the camera, so it should travel well. A note on the case. It has the look of a purse - padded & a leather-like material. A top folds over to close it in & holds its position via two magnets inside the double thick material. It holds only the body, which fits snugly with absolutely no room for even the smallest of lenses. It's a nice extra which will protect the body against scratches even when it's in your camera bag.
Out of the box, I was immediately struck by how compact it appeared. I had handled prototypes a couple of times before, but my living room is a different environment than a camera show & at home it just seemed compact, the way a rangefinder camera should be. It also felt heavier & more solid than I had remembered the prototypes to be - especially in light of the fact that Zeiss had revised the weight down from the originally posted weight of 510 grams (a year ago) to 460 grams. As a result, I was compelled to go out & weigh it today to verify the weight. After installing the battery & the strap rings, it weighed 1 lb, 1.1 oz, or 485 grams.
I also noticed something about the shape that I hadn't noticed before. The front is not quite as wide as the sides. By that I mean that where the sides & rear are rounded they bulge out just a little farther than the width of the front. The significance of this is that the front is squared off, but given the fact that the sides don't meet it straight on & squared off, it has a nicer feel than you might expect from what you see in a photo of it.
My next reaction was that its appearance seemed understated to me - not flashy at all. There is nothing about it that screams out: "Look at me." The silver is not shiny & there is no color anywhere - just black leatherette & a toned down silver metal. I attached my chrome 50 Summicron & they fit together as though they had been made for each other.
When I looked through the viewfinder, I saw right away that it will take some getting used to. The rangefinder patch disappeared on me at times. I had not noticed this at all when handling the prototypes. The dealer told me that you must look at it straight on, that the problem only occurs when you are looking at the patch from an angle. Mike Elek says pretty much the same thing on his website. I'm sure I'll adjust. The dealer said the good news is that the viewfinder is more contrasty than a Leica viewfinder.
Ergonomically, everything is where it should be, so you just find whatever you need intuitively - except the bottom rewind crank, of course. The film advance seemd very smooth to my ear & feel; I didn't notice anything ratchety about it. I'll be going out to take pictures tomorrow, so I'll be able to tell you more about operations in use then.
Let me just add a note about the dealer. I made my purchase from Dr. Joseph Yao (joseph@yao.com) & I couldn't have received better treatment. Communication was superb with replies to questions the same day despite the time zone difference (13 hours). He even shipped before he had received my check! I recommend him highly. Price was $1395 + insured shipping. Shipping took 3 days from Hong Kong.
All in all, I'm quite pleased with my purchase one day after receiving it. More later.
Cheers,
Huck
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R
ray_g
Guest
I can't wait to see it. Does Dr. Yao have a website?
Bryan Lee
Expat Street Photographer
I cant wait to check one out at the Photo Fair in Bangkok in 2 weeks. Congratulations and thanx for sharing your experience with us! b.
Jason_K
Shooter
Thanks for sharing.
JoeFriday
Agent Provacateur
I want to see one in black.. well, no I don't.. I might be tempted to sell the M3 for one
Huck Finn
Well-known
ray_g said:
No, Ray, just the e-mail address. However, his is a family business (Four Seas Electronics Ltd.) that has operated for 57 years. He is primarily a Leica dealer & I found from other internet posters that he is highly reputable. Obviously my experience has been consistent with this reputation. I began e-mailing him with questions last spring when the ZI was originally expected on the market. From the exchange of correspondence, I developed trust in him.
Cheers,
Huck
S
Sumo_du_Jour
Guest
I also purchased from Dr. Yao. The transaction went smoothly - communication, packaging & shipping, purchase price - all excellent.
There was a minor issue where Aussie banks use a third party to handle wire transfer payments in Asian countries. This generates a fee that I covered (about US$10), but all this was communicated properly and I'm happy with the Zeiss 25mm lens.
You do need to understand that warranty work will not be accepted by the importers or distributors in your country and must go through him in Hong Kong. This is clearly stated in the documentation for Leica and Zeiss products.
There was a minor issue where Aussie banks use a third party to handle wire transfer payments in Asian countries. This generates a fee that I covered (about US$10), but all this was communicated properly and I'm happy with the Zeiss 25mm lens.
You do need to understand that warranty work will not be accepted by the importers or distributors in your country and must go through him in Hong Kong. This is clearly stated in the documentation for Leica and Zeiss products.
Congratulations, Huck! I know that this has been a long road of anticipation and study for you! This has to be a very exciting time 
Mazurka
Well-known
Congrats, Huck. Does the ZI demand better eye-centering than the M6TTL?
Or rather you have to send it to Shriro Hong Kong (http://www.shriro.com/hongkong-shrirohk.html) where it originally came from.
Sumo_du_Jour said:
Or rather you have to send it to Shriro Hong Kong (http://www.shriro.com/hongkong-shrirohk.html) where it originally came from.
F
Frank Granovski
Guest
Does Dr. Joseph Yao except MC or VISA?
Like Ray_g, I can't wait to see the ZI when we meet Huck in a couple weeks. Enjoy Huck!
back alley
IMAGES
very cool huck!
will we see a camera & coffee shot soon, and maybe a camera/self portrait and a ...?
new is nice eh?
joe
will we see a camera & coffee shot soon, and maybe a camera/self portrait and a ...?
new is nice eh?
joe
peter_n
Veteran
Congratulations Huck! Dr. Yao has a stellar reputation for Leica and should anything go wrong I'm sure he will look after you. He has a lot of fans on the German Leica forum and many customers in Australasia and south-east Asia. I haven't bought anything from him yet but have also exchanged several emails and he is very responsive.
Good luck with your new cam - I'm sure you are thrilled after all the anticipation!
Good luck with your new cam - I'm sure you are thrilled after all the anticipation!
Palaeoboy
Joel Matherson
Dont look upon greater eye centering as a negative.
There are 2 types of parralax with rangefinders, viewfinder parralax and rangefinder parralax. You know all about the viewfinder one but the rangefinder one is rarely talked about. If you look at the rangefinder patch from odd off center angles this can create focus errors. The greater eye centering you get the greater reduction in rangefinder parralax and in turn greater focussing accuracy. Its interesting to note that when the CL came out intial reviewers noted that the CL had less rangefinder parralax than the M of the same period. This aided its smaller rangefinder baselength to greater focussing accuracy.
There are 2 types of parralax with rangefinders, viewfinder parralax and rangefinder parralax. You know all about the viewfinder one but the rangefinder one is rarely talked about. If you look at the rangefinder patch from odd off center angles this can create focus errors. The greater eye centering you get the greater reduction in rangefinder parralax and in turn greater focussing accuracy. Its interesting to note that when the CL came out intial reviewers noted that the CL had less rangefinder parralax than the M of the same period. This aided its smaller rangefinder baselength to greater focussing accuracy.
Flyfisher Tom
Well-known
Huck,
Congratulations, and in time for the holidays too
By the way, does Dr. Yao deal only in Leicas? Any other cameras of note (Hassy, Mamiya etc)? Thanks.
Congratulations, and in time for the holidays too
By the way, does Dr. Yao deal only in Leicas? Any other cameras of note (Hassy, Mamiya etc)? Thanks.
Huck Finn
Well-known
Mazurka said:
Sorry, Mazurka, I don't know. Pose the question to Mike Elek (ZeissFan) either here or on his ZI website/blog. he recently sold his M6 I believe, so he's in a perfect position to compare the two.
Huck
Huck Finn
Well-known
Frank, I have no idea. We didn't discuss that. I encourage you to e-mail him. He's very responsive to any & all questions.
Huck
Huck
Frank Granovski said:Does Dr. Joseph Yao except MC or VISA?
Huck Finn
Well-known
Flyfisher Tom said:Huck,
Congratulations, and in time for the holidays too
By the way, does Dr. Yao deal only in Leicas? Any other cameras of note (Hassy, Mamiya etc)? Thanks.
Sorry, Tom, I don't know his inventory. I only became acquainted with him as a Leica dealer & of couse another M-mount camera system like the ZI fits in perfectly as a service to his customers. I'm sure that if you e-mail him, he will give you a full answer immediately.
Huck
taffer
void
I was stupid not to have found time to go to the SonimagFoto this year :bang: Even if probably they didn't attract so much attention as the digital stands (even better for me), I'm sure the Zeiss team was present there. I still remember I first saw the back then just introduced Bessa R's there. My first RF focus action ever was there, I still remember I had some trouble aligning the RF patch while trying to focus a quad.
Can't wait to have more info from you on this, it just crossed my mind that reducing my arsenal to a team of only 2RFs, composed by the CL and a black paint ZI would just be totally cool !
Just dreaming, I guess.
Can't wait to have more info from you on this, it just crossed my mind that reducing my arsenal to a team of only 2RFs, composed by the CL and a black paint ZI would just be totally cool !
Just dreaming, I guess.
back alley
IMAGES
dare to dream!