Zeiss is in the house!

[Huck Finn]

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

[ray_g]

I can't wait to see it. Does Dr. Yao have a website?

[Bryan Lee]

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]

Thanks for sharing.

[JoeFriday]

I want to see one in black.. well, no I don't.. I might be tempted to sell the M3 for one

[Huck Finn]

Does Dr. Yao have a website?

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

[Sumo_du_Jour]

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.

[Doug]

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 :D

[Mazurka]

Congrats, Huck. Does the ZI demand better eye-centering than the M6TTL?


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.

Or rather you have to send it to Shriro Hong Kong (http://www.shriro.com/hongkong-shrirohk.html) where it originally came from.

[Frank Granovski]

Does Dr. Joseph Yao except MC or VISA? :cool:

[rover]

Like Ray_g, I can't wait to see the ZI when we meet Huck in a couple weeks. Enjoy Huck!

[back alley]

very cool huck!

will we see a camera & coffee shot soon, and maybe a camera/self portrait and a ...?

new is nice eh?

joe

[peter_n]

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! :)

[Palaeoboy]

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.

[Flyfisher Tom]

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.

[Huck Finn]

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.

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]

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

Does Dr. Joseph Yao except MC or VISA? :cool:

[Huck Finn]

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]

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.

[back alley]

dare to dream!

[Huck Finn]

I got out today to take some pictures while attending a Thanksgiving pageant for my granddaughter.

In regard to the focus patch, I learned that the problem is me . . . or at least my eyeglasses. Because of their configuration, they seem to naturally seek a certain spot on the viewfinder eyepiece, which happens not to be properly aligned with the RF patch. Once I realized this, I was able to reposition my eye & voila!, no more problem. the good news is that the ring around the eyepiece is rubber, so there is no scratching of eyeglasses.

I brought my FM3a so I could have 2 bodies & therefore not have to change lenses. I really appreciated the clear bright viewfinder compared with the view through an f/2 lens on the FM3a. I was also able to compare shutter noise & the ZI was distinctly quieter than the FM3a, although neither shutter sound was an issue for anyone even during a quiet classroom activity.

Thanks to everyone for all of the good wishes! Much appreciated.

I'll keep you posted as I learn about the camera in use.

Cheers,
Huck

[taffer]

Well, nothing was lost. I've just been browsing the sonimagfoto website and the Spanish distributor brought there the Hasselblad digital MF and a couple Metz flashes plus Tamron lenses only.

I forgot I live in digital city.

[ZeissFan]

I think Joel points to a very important piece of information regarding viewfinder and rangefinder parallax. It's something I've not considered because I don't have that technical understanding of viewfinder systems. Wish I did, but I don't.

The Zeiss Ikon viewfinder is unlike any other viewfinder I've used, Leica or Voigtlander or Zeiss Ikon Contax or Retina or classic Voigtlander or a number of others.

The view is very bright and very large. Just taking a couple of snaps today, I picked up camera, put it to my eye and never gave it a thought. The need for precise eye placement is something I noticed initially but as I use the camera more and more, it's become a nonissue.

However, new users should take note of this and find a comfortable grip that properly places your eye in the viewfinder.

There is no flare in the rangefinder patch, nor would I expect there to be. This has been an issue only with the Leica, and the rangefinder system is unique to this camera and doesn't use the same design and components as the Leica -- nor would you expect it. Although in general all rangefinder systems operate on the same principal and are therefore similar in overall design.

[vincentbenoit]

I forgot I live in digital city.Well, don't we all live in Digital World? ;)
Vincent

[taffer]

Well, don't we all live in Digital World? ;)
Vincent

groan... yeah, even though digital can be cool also :)

[jano]

I, too, have joined the ranks! :D First shots here with 35 ZM biogon, all shot on aperture priority mode (I was too lazy to do manual). SOFA from this lens is great!

No photoshop except for a slight perspective fix to make veritclas more vertical in the boat shot (it was top down shot).

http://jano.smugmug.com/gallery/1014048

[Doug]

That really looks like a great lens! Congratulations on your new gear, jano. Looking forward to many more photos...

[ZeissFan]

Hey Jano, that's good stuff you've done.

[peter_n]

Excellent jano! That Biogon looks great!!

[jano]

Oh, thank you! I just read what I wrote, kind of odd. To clarify, these are my first shots with the ZI (used aperture priority mode). I had the 35 mounted, which is my first and only m-mount lens, have had it for a couple months. I'm very happy with the lens, need a little more time with the camera before I provide an opinion :)

[Huck Finn]

Loading film is a dream. There is no fitting a leader into a slot on the take-up spool. Wow! It's the easiest film loading on a manual camera I've seen this side of a Canonet.

Huck

CORRECTION: The quote above is an incorrect statement, so I have deleted it from my original post for the benefit of posterity.

Wow! What an idiot I am. I was in a hurry loading the film, checking the manual just to be sure I was doing everything properly & my eyes skipped over one step in the directions. So, I carefully made sure that the sprockets were fitted into the matching holes in the film & thought that was it. Wrong! :bang: There IS a slot on the take-up spool for the film leader. Pretty traditional system, easier than some I've used, but nothing much out of the ordinary.

The good news is that everything functioned perfectly without the film leader fitted into the slot on the take-up spool, so do your best & don't fuss over it. All will be fine.

I just got my first roll of 36 prints back. I shot everything in AE, just so I could see how effective it is. Using 400 speed film, I set the ISO for 400. Shots were taken both indoors & outdoors. All exposures were spot on. This was not my experience with the Rollei 35 RF (Bessa R2). I learned to compensate a little for the camera's metering by setting the ISO 1/3 stop down or everything would be underexposed a little. Once I learned this, metering on the Rollei/Bessa was consistently fine.

Rewinding the film was smooth although I'm going to have to grown my fingernails a little longer as I had some trouble getting the rewind crank out of the camera's "foot" into which the crank folds. It's designed with some tension to it so that it doesn't just fall out with gravity - which of course would be a bad idea if it did since it's on the bottom. You have to pry it out & hold onto it until you get it into the rwind position. Not a big deal, but there's a learning curve for a dolt like me. When I rewound the film, the film leader was sticking out. I don't know if it's designed this way or just an accident of my inexperience with the camera. If it's designed this way, that would be a nice thing so that one could remove partially exposed rolls & then return them later for additional use. I'll update you later after I've shot more film.

On a cautionary note, I learned an important detail when I completed shooting the roll of film. I had the camera on the front passenger seat of my car after I finished shooting this roll of film. I left the car with the camera. When I returned I found the eyepiece sitting on the passenger seat! I guess from moving my eye around, I had worked the eyepiece loose & it had become unscrewed. I screwed it back in & everything is fine now, but I will be tightening it regularly henceforth. It is a screw-in design so that it can be easily replaced with a diopter if needed, but I didn't expect it to unscrew so easily.

I used exposure compensation for some backlit shots & exposure was just as I had hoped. The camera is a good little shooter. It's a pretty basic set-up; everything is where you expect it to be. Shutter noise was not an issue for me in any of the situations in which I was shooting, which did include a classroom with some quiet listening activities & an audience of doting grandparents. After the first week of use, everything is working properly out of the box including the rangeinder. I have not yet used AE Lock, so I'll save comment on that for a future date.

Cheers,
Huck

[scottmcl]

I brought my FM3a so I could have 2 bodies & therefore not have to change lenses. I really appreciated the clear bright viewfinder compared with the view through an f/2 lens on the FM3a. I was also able to compare shutter noise & the ZI was distinctly quieter than the FM3a, although neither shutter sound was an issue for anyone even during a quiet classroom activity.


I've shot an RF (Bessa R, Leica M6TTL) with my FM3a, the latter typically mounting a 105/2.5 and the RF body a 50 or 28. Works great, for me. I'd put the FM3a on AE, which works well for the more tightly framed compositions with the 105. My FM3a sounds like a canon compared to an RF body, but I've come to like the authoritative slap of the FM3 :)

Scott