ZI: I think I'm in love

[Huck Finn]

Maybe this question should be addressed to CV Bessa owners. Cosina has been using magnesium cladding since they came out with the R2 four years ago. That should be enough time to have some idea of how the paint holds up & what the body looks like if it has become "distressed" in use.

Zeiss does include a body-only case, which isn't usable in shooting but which does protect the body from scratches when being carried but not in use.

 

[ZeissFan]

The rewind crank is on the bottom, because the viewfinder occupies that space, owing to the wide rangefinder base.

Zeiss could have narrowed the rangefinder base, or put the rewind crank on the bottom or somewhere on the side -- which really would have been unattractive.

One person suggested to me that they thought Zeiss should have put the film advance on the bottom, like the last folding Retinas.

My camera should be back in my hands later today -- I'll write about it later this week. I'm on a new work schedule.

 

[RObert Budding]

Perhaps one day they'll be a titanium special edition at thrice the price to make the Leica heads happy. 😎

Maybe one with leather from some rare endangered species!

 

[Huck Finn]

From the manufacturer:

"Extremely robust and long-lived because of high-grade materials and precision fabrication"

Who is the manufacturer? Leica
What are the high-grade materials? Magnesium with silver paint
What is the camera? The $1500 Digilux 2

I'd love to know more about this silver paint rumor since the manufacturer describes it as "varnished magnesium."

 

[Frank Granovski]

Maybe one with leather from some rare endangered species!

Left-wingers? Seriously, why leather? I prefer leatherette myself. Anyway, I believe this Ikon will grow into a family of Ikons: a black version, a titanium version, a digital version; and then they'll replace it with an Ikon 11! Oh, and then they'll be 'a la carte' options. 😎

 

[jano]

Perhaps one day they'll be a titanium special edition at thrice the price to make the Leica heads happy. 😎

Best served hot with a dish of of those silicone-injected christmas babes 😀

--

Oh... and be careful with that winder on the bottom. I don't wind the leader in all the way, and when I let go of the crank, the thing goes Wwwwwrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr back in the opposite direction like it's spring loaded. nearly broke a nail off (which I need for guitar)!

Yes, the viewfinder is something else. And the instrument, although light, is quite well built.

Jano

 

[ywenz]

I saw the ZI this weekend as well. And the camera felt cheap in my hands. The weight was probably had to do with the most of that. The viewfinder at 35mm is good for me ( a glasses wearer), but it's nothing a .58 viewfinder wouldn't fix. I had the ZI next to a M7 and MP, and the Zeiss just don't compare at all in terms of build quality.

 

[JimG]

Zeiss in black

Zeiss in black

I thought I read that they would have a black version out in March? Or sooner? ( just in time for my tax refund check)

 

[vincentbenoit]

I was considering grabbing one myself, and could've swore the body and lenses were chrome from all the pics I saw.

Really? Looks more like painted plastic than chrome to me... And that's based on seeing the camera "in the flesh", not just pictures of it.

 

[vincentbenoit]

I saw the ZI this weekend as well. And the camera felt cheap in my hands. The weight was probably had to do with the most of that. The viewfinder at 35mm is good for me ( a glasses wearer), but it's nothing a .58 viewfinder wouldn't fix. I had the ZI next to a M7 and MP, and the Zeiss just don't compare at all in terms of build quality.

Same experience here. I'm passing on the Ikon and getting an M6 0.58x instead.

 

[Huck Finn]

Really? Looks more like painted plastic than chrome to me... And that's based on seeing the camera "in the flesh", not just pictures of it.

It is painted . . . but it's not platic. To each, his own. Best of luck with the M6, Vincent. Great choice.

 

[Planar1.4]

I thought I read that they would have a black version out in March? Or sooner? ( just in time for my tax refund check)

JimG- looking at that photo of the Black Ikon- is it just me, or is the reflective grey on the shutter different than on the LE Silver edition? Doesn't look like the current "center weighted" lighter bar in the middle of the shutter.

First time I had seen a black one!

 

[JimG]

I can't tell Planar1.4. What do you think it would indicate if it is different? Since it's no longer the 'Special Edition' there could be some changes?