Desmolicious wrote:
This thread is 7 years old retrofocus!
felix woke it from it's slumber...
I just returned a like new condition ZM Ikon after it failed. 2 rolls in.. (uneven film spacing and the shutter sporadically would not cock).
I was not disappointed to return it.... People who keep going on about how big the VF is conveniently fail to mention the rf patch (which you cannot see unless your eye is perfectly placed) does not move with the frame lines. As the frame lines move when you focus due to the parallax correction, the rf patch is only centered at about 5 ft.
Also you cannot see the frame lines and the exposure readout at the same time. And the exposure readout becomes invisible in bright daylight.
It's nutty to me that this cheaply made thing now costs the same as a Leica....Show more →
Ups, my bad, didn't realize that it was a revived Zombie-thread !
I just became aware of this camera a couple weeks ago when seeing some YouTubers reviewing it. Of course there the camera was all hyped up. The points you mention were of course nowhere mentioned.
All the rangefinder prices have risen up significantly - even the Bessa cameras made of plastic mostly!
I had the Bessa R3A a while back - again out of curiosity. At the time (maybe 4 years ago?) it 'only' cost me about $400. They now are at the $1K mark. Hated it. Just felt so crappy and poorly designed and built, so I sold it on as I couldn't see why I'd ever use it if I could use one of my Leica Ms.
The Zeiss Ikon ZM is better than the Bessa, but still it is a very cheap feeling camera compared to a Leica M, and that feeling is not skin deep. The construction is all plastic inside which is why my one had film transport issues. It's just poorly made. My original Bessa L (which cost $90 new) had pretty much the same film transport mechanism and that one failed too. You can read about film spacing issues etc online about the ZM etc, as well as stuff falling off them like the shutter speed dial just literally flying off.
For less than the price of a ZM now, you can get a gen-you-whine Leica M2/3/4. Which is a no brainer unless you cannot figure out setting your own exposure.
I'd even (not meant as a backhanded compliment) recommend a Nikon S2 over the ZM. It is way better built, has a 100% vf, super reliable, and costs about $500 for a perfect one.
It's amazing how much all the premium film cameras have appreciated in price.
It's been an upward trend for a while, but it really took off again recently.
Really crazy seeing M6/M7 prices converge on M240 prices.
Obviously not apples to apples, people who want film vs people who want digital.
I shoot digital only for the last 2 years, and was thinking of dabbling in film again.
I stumbling upon my cache hiding in the freezer, and tend to go through cycles shooting color film in summer when the light is good.
Given camera pricing, having no local film developer currently, and the time&price for mail-in development, a summertime M240 may be in my future instead.
Or a non-hyped compact to burn through some rolls.
Nikon F3HP+50/1.4 kind of scratches an itch too..
Stephen G wrote:
It's amazing how much all the premium film cameras have appreciated in price.
It's been an upward trend for a while, but it really took off again recently.
Really crazy seeing M6/M7 prices converge on M240 prices.
Obviously not apples to apples, people who want film vs people who want digital.
I shoot digital only for the last 2 years, and was thinking of dabbling in film again.
I stumbling upon my cache hiding in the freezer, and tend to go through cycles shooting color film in summer when the light is good.
Given camera pricing, having no local film developer currently, and the time&price for mail-in development, a summertime M240 may be in my future instead.
Or a non-hyped compact to burn through some rolls.
Nikon F3HP+50/1.4 kind of scratches an itch too.. ...Show more →
Cinestill DF96 Monobath is a reusable premixed solution that is the developer and stop/fixer. Super easy to use - you can develop about 16 rolls with it B&W.
I've been doing all my B&W film with it since Covid.
Stephen G wrote:
It's amazing how much all the premium film cameras have appreciated in price.
It's been an upward trend for a while, but it really took off again recently.
Really crazy seeing M6/M7 prices converge on M240 prices.
Obviously not apples to apples, people who want film vs people who want digital.
I shoot digital only for the last 2 years, and was thinking of dabbling in film again.
I stumbling upon my cache hiding in the freezer, and tend to go through cycles shooting color film in summer when the light is good.
Given camera pricing, having no local film developer currently, and the time&price for mail-in development, a summertime M240 may be in my future instead.
Or a non-hyped compact to burn through some rolls.
Nikon F3HP+50/1.4 kind of scratches an itch too.. ...Show more →
I recently picked up an F100 to burn through some old frozen stock (mostly Portra 400) with my AF-D lenses, and found myself hooked again. Now I've bought some Ektachrome E100 in anticipation of some summer fun. I can't remember the last time I shot color reversal, and am very much looking forward to it.
freaklikeme wrote:
I recently picked up an F100 to burn through some old frozen stock (mostly Portra 400) with my AF-D lenses, and found myself hooked again. Now I've bought some Ektachrome E100 in anticipation of some summer fun. I can't remember the last time I shot color reversal, and am very much looking forward to it.
That's the thing. Nikon F100, Nikon F4 etc are truly amazing film cameras but because they are not 'cool' we can buy them for about $200 for a really nice one. A fantastic way to use film!
waterden wrote:
If you want a 35mm rangefinder get an M6 or M7 - there are plenty around and prices are reasonable (by current inflated Leica standards). I had an M6, an MP and an M8. Both the film cameras were great but not that different to justify the gap in the prices people ask now - better to get a good M6 if you want to shoot film or an M8 if you prefer digital. My experience with an M8 was much better than its reputation might imply.
Why would you say its better to own a m6 or m7? The zeiss ikon is as good as an m7 and costs much less, also not many buy m7s given that they need a battery to operate as the zeiss ikon. Yes m6 prices have sky rocketed... but that also makes it quite expensive they go for around 3k or more euros, is crazy, i payed for mine 700 euros a few years ago
I have now a zeiss ikon limited edition, would i rather have the leica? Yes, but only because is a leica and i been brain washed... But the zeiss is a geat camera that offers you a lot for much less... of course thats assuming you find one for a good price.
- uses a battery, which might be an issue....
- if you are not looking at the rangefinder from the center it kind of disappears. To me the viewfinder is much brighter then the one in the m6, but sadly it dissapears if you dont look from the center.
Sadly i havent been able to shoot much film recently, but do enjoy using the zeiss ikon..
Images below the zeiss ikon and a 35mm lux preasph v2
Malabito wrote:
Why would you say its better to own a m6 or m7? The zeiss ikon is as good as an m7 and costs much less, also not many buy m7s given that they need a battery to operate as the zeiss ikon. Yes m6 prices have sky rocketed... but that also makes it quite expensive they go for around 3k or more euros, is crazy, i payed for mine 700 euros a few years ago
I have now a zeiss ikon limited edition, would i rather have the leica? Yes, but only because is a leica and i been brain washed... But the zeiss is a geat camera that offers you a lot for much less... of course thats assuming you find one for a good price.
Desmolicious wrote:
M7 can operate at 1/60 and 1/125 without a battery.
The Zeiss is no where near as good. I've had both...
Your pictures however are wonderful. But I have a feeling that the camera had nothing to do with that!
Thanks! I used the m7 and still think the zeiss is as good or even better than the m7, even with the fact that m7 has the possibility to operate manually at those speeds. Now if we were talking about an ma or mp there is no discussion about it.... sadly I dont shoot as much film to justify the costs, i rarely shoot film now a days But some day i will own an mp even if its only to look at it
Malabito wrote:
Why would you say its better to own a m6 or m7? The zeiss ikon is as good as an m7 and costs much less, also not many buy m7s given that they need a battery to operate as the zeiss ikon. Yes m6 prices have sky rocketed... but that also makes it quite expensive they go for around 3k or more euros, is crazy, i payed for mine 700 euros a few years ago
I have now a zeiss ikon limited edition, would i rather have the leica? Yes, but only because is a leica and i been brain washed... But the zeiss is a geat camera that offers you a lot for much less... of course thats assuming you find one for a good price.
A bit off-topic, but what is this hype/thing with those red buttons on the side of the camera? I see those very often now on YouTube videos, too. Are those click-on buttons to attach to a neck strap? What is the advantage here other that you might be able to use the same strap on different cameras easily by detaching/attaching? What do I miss?
retrofocus wrote:
A bit off-topic, but what is this hype/thing with those red buttons on the side of the camera? I see those very often now on YouTube videos, too. Are those click-on buttons to attach to a neck strap? What is the advantage here other that you might be able to use the same strap on different cameras easily by detaching/attaching? What do I miss?
those are peak design quick connectors. It lets you connect and disconnect a strap, https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/straps, i have them in all my cameras, that way i can use a full strap when needed or only my wrist strap.
Malabito wrote:
those are peak design quick connectors. It lets you connect and disconnect a strap, https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/straps, i have them in all my cameras, that way i can use a full strap when needed or only my wrist strap.
Thanks, makes sense now! I am not a fan of wrist straps, but when you change often between wrist and neck strap, I can see the advantage here of this system!
retrofocus wrote:
Thanks, makes sense now! I am not a fan of wrist straps, but when you change often between wrist and neck strap, I can see the advantage here of this system!
You can also use one strap on multiple cameras. I buy the connectors (not the PD straps, not a fan) and have one strap for all my lesser-used cameras.
The other nice thing is if you only want to use straps occasionally, you can just leave them off easily.
I'm not a heavy strap user, the Peak system lets me keep a wrist and neck strap in my kit and only pull it out on the rare occasions I want to use them.
And I don't use the Peak neckstraps, I have an old Crumpler strap that I love. But I do use the Peak Wriststrap.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
The capaciousness of it were overwhelmed by the fade out RF patch, the exposure read out that became invisible in daylight, not being able to see the frame lines and the exposure read outs at the same time - or the rf patch and the exposure readouts, and the rf patch that did not move with the frame lines.
These things may not bother some, which is fine as we all like different things.
But they bothered me, umm, 'somewhat'...
Desmolicious wrote: nehemiahphoto wrote:
It’s not a perfect product. Perhaps you can tell me, but most the rangefinders (limited) I’ve used struggle in the same context. The Mamiya 7 offered lower clarity, did not feel is large and was often hard to see the read out as well. The M6 I handled briefly had a much smaller viewfinder and I would expect have a similar difficulty in extremely bright situations or if the light hit the right angle of the optical viewfinder.
I’ve never used a photography product they didn’t have some faults. The Ikon included.
!
But some day i will own an mp even if its only to look at it 
