ZM lens focus ring stiffness?

A

analogpics

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Hey all, just thought i'd ask...ive handled both a 35mm f2 biogon and 50mm f2 planar and noticed a strange thing with both lenses. When mounted to a camera, if i turn the camera on its side to shoot a vertical shot, the focus ring gets really stiff. Then when i go back to horizontal, it moves freely. Just thought i'd ask if anyone else has had this issue. Cheers!
 
Nope, mine are the same in both orientations. Could it be that the lens *feels* different, because you have a different grip on it?
 
I thought maybe that was the case, so i took it off the camera to see, and it still was there. The salesman noticed it too :p
 
i notice my ZM lens is stiffer than any of my leica's, but the orientation has never made a difference.
 
I never had a ZM lens that varied by camera rotation. But I have had several that required dis-assembly, removing the old grease and re-lubrication. Then the focusing was perfect.

I still cannot comprehend how a factory can screw up the application of grease during manufacture of Zeiss Ikon lenses and seem to get it right every time for the cheaper CV ones.
 
Maybe it was just a fluke...ill have to try another one out and see if it does the same thing :p The price/build/IQ is just right for me :)
 
All of my ZM do this to varying degrees, especially when new. The good news is that the focusing ring will loosen with use and it's a temporary issue.
 
Ahhh gotcha....not to change topics but, what's everyone's opinion of the build quality of the ZI? I handled one the same day as the planar and thought it felt kinda light and fragile. Please tell me i'm wrong :p It has all the features i want in a carry around RF....
 
They are definitely quite light when compared to a leica but for all intents and purposes, the ZI seems quite robust... but..

I found the rangefinder mechanism in mine to be quite susceptible to being knocked out of alignment. One day it was fine, then after being in my bag for a day, it'd be out of alignment. (Mysteriously, this same process also fixed it)

Now whether or not I had poor camera, I can't say for sure. I'm just reporting in on my experience. All in all, it's a great camera.
 
analogpics said:
Ahhh gotcha....not to change topics but, what's everyone's opinion of the build quality of the ZI? I handled one the same day as the planar and thought it felt kinda light and fragile. Please tell me i'm wrong :p It has all the features i want in a carry around RF....
Click to expand...

That's a difficult question to answer. Light? Yes. Fragile? I don't think so, but my M6 certainly feels more robust. I am not sure if it's a matter of weight that gives the impression of durability and robustness. For practical purposes I prefer the ZI over the Leica.

As for the RF Inconsistency mentioned by spud10, I think it's a matter of eye alignment rather than RF.
 
analogpics said:
Ahhh gotcha....not to change topics but, what's everyone's opinion of the build quality of the ZI? I handled one the same day as the planar and thought it felt kinda light and fragile. Please tell me i'm wrong :p It has all the features i want in a carry around RF....
Click to expand...

I see build quality as being unrelated to light and fragile. I have seen several instances of screws simply not being tightened enough and parts falling off. Fortunately, this can be permanently corrected.

Light? Yes, a bit. I see this as an advantage. Weight adds nothing good unless one is talking about anvils. Reliable? Yes, other than the assembly problems. I think the design is excellent. It is a very good camera. When I lost both of mine, I replaced the ZI bodies and ZM lenses with exactly the same models.
 
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