Zi or save for Leica M7/MP?

[Larss]

Hi!

I fell time is running out for film cameras and I want to bay a good film rangefinder before time is gone, I have a Bessa R2A and was looking at ZI witch I can afford and the Leica M7 or MP!

I use autoexposior a lot and I take pictures one Tri-X 400 so if it shout be I was thinking about the M7 but I want to keep it fore good therfore the thort of MP!

Shout I save more mony and bay the one of the Leicas or is the ZI´s quality so good as Leicas for the cost is only 1/3?

Thanks!
Lars

Sorry my terribly english

[ghost]

from where you're coming from, i'd say go for an m6. you already have an r2a for shooting purposes; your play camera doesn't need autoexposure as much.

[Larss]

Thanks ghost but I woud use the Bessa for 2./backup camera so I wanted a good nr. one!
I like having a new thing from the box and then use it and all whats happen to it is my own fault and wen I give it fore my grandchildrend in 35 years I can tell I had it from new!

[Flyfisher Tom]

Whatever your choice, buy from a reputable dealer with a great return and service policy good luck

[Larss]

I will bay it direct from Zeiss if I choose the ZI! (I live in Europe)

Thanks Tom!

[chican]

Buy the MP or second hand M6, I've been in negative temperatures (cº) and all the cameras went off and my MP kept going!!! You already have a auto/battery dependent camera!!! It will last a life time...

[ghost]

well, in that case, save up for an m7.

[Larss]

Thanks Chican!

As design I like the the MP at most and I thought the MP will last for my lifetime (you are the first to give a reel feedback) and in my dayliy work I use all manuel exposior but autofocus as portraitphortographer so I think its wenn you have no other choisee I woud use manuel exposior!

So 1 to 0 for Leica!

[Olsen]

Lars,

Etter min mening står ikke Zeiss Ikon noe tilbake for M7. Snarere tvert imot. Er man vant til et automatisk kamera så er ZI mer intuativt å bruke. ZI er dessuten lettere, har kvalitetsfølelsen og koster halve prisen. Med introduksjonen av ZI har verdien av en M7 blitt halvert. Jeg ville ikke gi mer enn 10.000 kroner for en M7 i topp/ny stand.

Tom

[ywenz]

Zeiss is technically the same as the Leica.. but has a better viewfinder.. worser construction. However, it has no romance like the Leica....

[mervynyan]

a MP should be the last film manual rangefinder you will ever need. If you have to choose between ZI or a M7, I will take ZI.

[peter_n]

Time is not running out for film cameras! Get the M7. You will never regret it.

[ZeissFan]

In what way is the construction of the Zeiss Ikon worse than the Leica? Be specific.

[whitecat]

I've had both and I say do the Zeiss.

[ywenz]

Originally Posted by ZeissFan

In what way is the construction of the Zeiss Ikon worse than the Leica? Be specific.

I said worser not meaning that the Zeiss is of poorer quality. The Leica feels like a brick and is rock solid. The Zeiss feels light and plasticy relative to the Leica.

[Avotius]

I had the same thoughts as you, thinking the ZI would do instead of the m7. I got mine, first time I fired the shutter it jammed, sent it back, im saving for an m7.

[SDK]

The M7 is a wonderful machine. It's got Leica's most accurate and quietest shutter. I've two, a standard 0.72X finder and a wide 0.58X. I prefer the 0.58X because I like wide angles like the 28mm Summicron and the Zeiss 25mm Biogon. I've had no trouble with either camera, except for the cheap batteries Leica supplies with new bodies, 1/3N cells which did not last long. I'm sure the Zeiss Ikons are great too, especially for the 1/2000s shutter speed. Hopefully, Zeiss is resolving some reliability issues, but not every new MP or M7 is perfect either.

[richard_l]

If you are considering Leica at all, then you may have been bitten by the Leica bug. The only cure is to buy a Leica. If you get a ZI as a substitute, as soon as the novelty wears off, you will begin thinking once more about Leica. (I'm not saying that the ZI is not a worthy competitor to the M7; I'm talking about a 'disease' which causes an irrational attraction to Leica.)

I really would get the MP (or an M6) myself, instead of the M7. Whether or not it is justified, I get the feeling that the additional electronics of the M7 may make it less reliable and could cause repairs to be more expensive. (Of course, that's not necessarily the case. I have an old digital camera (Olympus) which has always worked perfectly. It doesn't even have any hot pixels.)

Richard

[Larss]

Sorry gays ( girls) my dicision became the Leica MP becurse my grandmar change in personalty in two weeks so whats life about wen everting is finish and and you are gone?
That my bank understud so I will become my MP in the start of october (I hope)!
Thanks for all the feed back!