Rubber eyepiece ring disappeared from my Ikon.

[Adam]

Has anyone out there had an issue with durability of the rubber ring on the perimeter of the eyepiece on their Ikon? I was on a trip a couple of weeks ago and noticed that one side of the ring was tearing off. Next day after wearing the Ikon at my side over my shoulder, I brought the camera to my eye and lo-and-behold, no more rubber ring. Just bare metal to which the ring used to adhere. Part of my Ikon is now somewhere in the streets of a distant city. Easily fixed, no doubt, but a little sad.

I'm not sure if it was because it was rubbing against my leather jacket, or because of the way I regularly inserted/removed it into/out of my camera bag, but it was clearly due to some repetitive stress.

This, combined with the fact that my relatively fresh batteries died last winter in the middle of shooting in a cold New York, and a couple other niggling issues have me thinking of buying a used Leica MP. Care to convince me to not go to the dark side? (tongue in cheek, there). Care to buy my slightly loved Ikon?

[IdeaDog]

Sorry you lost your little rubber ring. :-(

I suggest you send me your ZI and buy yourself an MP immediately.

[kknox]

Just super glue a rubber o ring on. Put a drop at 112, 3, 6, & 9. Then press the o ring on, works great I use em on my M3 & M5.

[tedwin]

I've been hankering after an MP. Today I finally got round to calling in to the importers with my ZI and M3 for comparison. I was hoping to find the viewfinder comparable to the ZI, and the build / feel of the M3. Disappointed on both counts, the M3 is heavier, smoother and quieter. The ZI viewfinder truly in a class of one. An M2 with a VCII is next on my list of musings, but I'm not sure how accurate the metering pattern will prove to be, obviously it will be unaffected by focal length... Anyone with advice??

[back alley]

were the batteries the ones that came with the camera?
my originals died soon after putting them into my zi but subsequent batteries have lasted much longer.
the eyepiece screws off, buy another and screw it on, problem solved.

[IdeaDog]

I've been hankering after an MP. ...Anyone with advice??

Tedwin, go to amazon.com and search for Leica MP. There you'll find a used silver .72 at Ace Photo for $2,499.99. I don't know the reputation of the dealer (and I am not affiliated with them), but I do know if you buy that MP, I won't have to think about it anymore. :)

My ZI is excellent. But gear lust is persistent.

[Frankie]

were the batteries the ones that came with the camera?
my originals died soon after putting them into my zi but subsequent batteries have lasted much longer.
the eyepiece screws off, buy another and screw it on, problem solved.

The rubber rimmed eyepieces for Nikon FM, FM2, FM3A...also the old F2 and the cheaper FM10 all fit the ZM eyepiece thread. Used ones are cheap on eBay. New ones are still widely available. :D

[back alley]

The rubber rimmed eyepieces for Nikon FM, FM2, FM3A...also the old F2 and the cheaper FM10 all fit the ZM eyepiece thread. Used ones are cheap on eBay. New ones are still widely available. :D

also the eyepiece from the bessas fit and are cheaper than the zeiss ones.

[patrickjames]

Let's see, the cost of your ZI plus 50 extra eyepieces = way less than an MP. When you look at it that way, it is easy.

[Adam]

Let's see, the cost of your ZI plus 50 extra eyepieces = way less than an MP. When you look at it that way, it is easy.

Your utility function is different from mine. If it can be helped, I prefer not to lose parts of my camera mid-trip. That is part of my equation, as well as the cost.

[yzblog]

Batteries will go dead in the cold winter in any camera, that's how batteries work.

Anyway I have lost my ZI eyepiece also, bought a new one, and also bought a diopter corrected one so now I can shoot without my glasses on. That's a real happy ending of a lost eyepiece.

[Adam]

Batteries will go dead in the cold winter in any camera, that's how batteries work.

While I, uh, appreciate the glibness of your comment, I didn't mean to convey that level of ignorance. I know how temperature affects batteries -- did you wonder why I added the word 'cold' in front of 'New York'? -- but my point was that I'm thinking about not having to depend on batteries at all. Hence my consideration of the MP.

Sheesh.

[Adam]

were the batteries the ones that came with the camera?
my originals died soon after putting them into my zi but subsequent batteries have lasted much longer.
the eyepiece screws off, buy another and screw it on, problem solved.

No, the batteries were not original. But it was awfully cold. I wasn't surprised when the shutter didn't fire after a couple of hours. I had spares with me, but neither I nor my wife were of a mind to remain stationary while I fumbled with tiny camera parts.

[optikhit]

Same story, but mine was found in my bag. :-) Twice!

[back alley]

No, the batteries were not original. But it was awfully cold. I wasn't surprised when the shutter didn't fire after a couple of hours. I had spares with me, but neither I nor my wife were of a mind to remain stationary while I fumbled with tiny camera parts.

i live in a northern canadian city and shoot in winter, the temps can hit minus 40c but i usually quit at minus 30c and i have not had problems with batteries.
silver oxide are best in the cold, keep the camera inside my coat etc. and stop for coffee often ;)

for me, i figure most things today run off some sort of power and i live with it so why not my cameras too?

[Adam]

...the temps can hit minus 40c but i usually quit at minus 30c...

Yikes. I'm sure it's lovely there, but that sounds like Mars!

[back alley]

it can be very pretty right after a snowfall but i prefer the summers ;)

don't give up on the zi, it's really a very good camera and you could buy a back up or 2 (complete with batteries) for the price of the mp.

[Adam]

don't give up on the zi, it's really a very good camera and you could buy a back up or 2 (complete with batteries) for the price of the mp.

I'll probably hang on to it a bit longer. It is a lovely camera. I was just in a nitpicking kind of mood. It's not as if I have $2500 burning a hole in my pocket for a used MP, anyway.

[Adam]

the eyepiece screws off, buy another and screw it on, problem solved.

Back Alley -

Any suggestions on how to remove the eyepiece? I don't know how to get a good purchase on that metal ring. FWIW, here's a lousy photo of the backside of my Ikon with the rubber ring missing, courtesy of my phone:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3219/3022048971_ccab3dc056_b.jpg

http://flickr.com/photos/midnightzulu/3022860494/sizes/l/

[back alley]

mine just unscrews, counter clockwise.

is that a leica cell phone? it has a certain glow...;)

joe

[tmfabian]

Just super glue a rubber o ring on. Put a drop at 112, 3, 6, & 9. Then press the o ring on, works great I use em on my M3 & M5.

did the same thing when the ring fell off my m7

[Adam]

mine just unscrews, counter clockwise.

is that a leica cell phone? it has a certain glow...;)

joe

Believe it or not, no. That's just from the grease on my fingers.

I'm beginning to think my Ikon has been missing a piece this whole time (or maybe I have). At any rate, I've ordered a new Zeiss Ikon neutral diopter-thingamajig, so we'll see where that gets me.

[fstop]

Just super glue a rubber o ring on. Put a drop at 112, 3, 6, & 9. Then press the o ring on, works great I use em on my M3 & M5.

Wouldn't the fumes from the super glue fog the viewfinder glass?

[Merelyok]

A silly question. Would shooting with the rubber ring off make any difference? (considering that i do not need diopter correction?)

[Papercut]

merelyok, no it doesn't. i got my ZI "used" (refurbished from Zeiss) and it did not have the rubber eyering from day one -- absolutely no effect on use; terrible effect on my glasses, however! ;-)

[kxl]

I like using eyecups -- I have one on every body I own. But when I got my ZI, the Nikon DK-3 eyecup just would not fit, although the ZI's viewfinder seemed the same size as the Nikon FM2.

Then it dawned on me, why not use the FM2's eyepiece with the DK3 ON the ZI, and use the ZI's eyepiece on the FM2n. EVERYTHING WORKED!!! :D

The problem was not the thread diameter size or pitch -- it was the depth of the ZI's eyepiece versus the Nikon's. The Nikon eyepiece is deeper, so there is more "thread contact" and thus stays on much more securely.

Long story short -- go to bocaphoto.com and order the Nikon eyepiece for the Nikon FM series. It fits the ZI.

Keith

[samoksner]

I understand that you don't want to be battery dependent, but the MP is the most expensive way to do it. How bout an M2, M4, M4-2, M4-P, M6 or M6 TTL? I don't see why you would need to spend $3000 if what you want is battery independence.

[Merelyok]

merelyok, no it doesn't. i got my ZI "used" (refurbished from Zeiss) and it did not have the rubber eyering from day one -- absolutely no effect on use; terrible effect on my glasses, however! ;-)

Thanks for the reply..

I've just got mine too and its very, very sweet! ;)

[capitalK]

Thanks to this thread I am ordering the Nikon one for my Bessa R2A. Hopefully it lasts a little longer than the original did.

[capitalK]

Got it, fits the Bessa perfectly.

[toothless]

Mine fell off recently in Berlin, unfortunate but doesn't seemed to have effected anything, so all is well.

[Merelyok]

I got the Nikon eye ring. Fits my Ikon perfectly. New old stock from a Nikon FE.

Goodstuff!