The funky thing about the Zeiss Ikon ZM

Huss · Mar 22, 2021

Just received a perfect silver ZM from Dan - thanks Dan!

I've never handled let alone used one before, so was very curious being a Leica M shooter.
The silver finish in person looks much nicer than in pics. In pics it looks plasticky.

The one bit of weirdness I noticed is the RF patch does not move with the frame lines (auo adjusting for parallax) as the lens is focussed. At infinity it is significantly lopsided, which I find very strange. Leica Ms always stay centered, no matter where the lens is focussed.

Playing around, the patch on the Zeiss is centered at 5 feet, and is off to the left at min distance.

Here it is at infinity:

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Donald Qualls · Mar 22, 2021

Seems obvious this way is easier to build...

ic-racer · Mar 22, 2021

I think it would be annoying if the rangefinder patch moved around while trying to focus.

Huss · Mar 22, 2021

ic-racer said:
I think it would be annoying if the rangefinder patch moved around while trying to focus.

It's just, well, disappointing as this was/is meant to match up to the M7.
This is such a basic and glaring difference and indication of penny pinching.

I will get used to it, but it is second nature for a Leica shooter to know how to compose the image due to the central and fixed rf patch.

With the Zeiss vf, as the position of the rf patch is variable, you have to keep referring to the frame edges to determine composition as you cannot use the rf patch as a point of reference.
With a Leica M, you can use both the rf patch and the frame lines as they work in unison.

mshchem · Mar 22, 2021

I have the Zeiss ZM 35 f2.8 light as a feather and tiny. The multi coating is incredible. Enjoy your new treasure.

Huss · Mar 22, 2021

mshchem said:
I have the Zeiss ZM 35 f2.8 light as a feather and tiny. The multi coating is incredible. Enjoy your new treasure.

Yes I heard that lens is spectacular.

Pioneer · Mar 22, 2021

I am glad you are enjoying your new (to you) Zeiss Ikon Huss.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that people respond differently to their cameras. I am sure I probably noticed the rangefinder patch when I first started using my ZM rangefinder but it never really made that big of a difference for me. What I did notice that made a huge difference is how large, bright and beautiful that viewfinder was when compared against my Leica M6 (which I was using at the time.) In fact,, when I look at the amount of film I have put through my Zeiss Ikon over the years it is clear that this is far and away my favorite rangefinder. I have put more film through that camera than any other camera I own with the possible exception of my K1000, which of course provides yet another illustration of what people like or dislike in the equipment they use.

Likewise, I used my 1954 Leica M3 (which I recently sold) for quite a few years and never noticed that it did not have the lever that allows you to preview the framelines for different focal lengths. In fact, until it was pointed out during the sale, I quite literally was blind to the fact that the preview lever was missing. However I did love the fact that the framelines for each focal length was shown with no framelines appearing in the viewfinder for other focal lengths that were not on the camera at the time, such as was found on my M6.

Obviously none of this is really "good" or "bad" in any way, it just shows how differently we all work with and respond to our equipment. It also demonstrates why one size cannot possibly fit all and why there are so many different brands of the same thing out there.

Huss · Mar 23, 2021

Thanks for that Dan. I've already shot about 1/2 a roll of 36 through it during work breaks/dog walks today.
I am looking forward to getting serious with it so that I have more than first impressions to deal with!

Huss · Mar 23, 2021

Interestingly the finish on the silver ZM lenses - that Zeiss made specifically for this camera - does not match up. It is much brighter and shinier than the camera.
The 7Artisans 50 1.1 - which I love - matches perfectly. And does not get in the way of the 50mm frame lines in the VF (as long as you don't use a lens hood) unlike Leica Ms.

matthewm · Mar 31, 2021

Man, that's a pretty camera. I love the way the Ikon looks. I'm really, really tempted to pick up one of these 50/1.1 lenses for my M6.

Huss · Apr 1, 2021

matthewm said:
Man, that's a pretty camera. I love the way the Ikon looks. I'm really, really tempted to pick up one of these 50/1.1 lenses for my M6.

FYI the 50 1.1 has a clickless aperture ring. I'd prefer if it clicked.

matthewm · Apr 2, 2021

Huss said:
FYI the 50 1.1 has a clickless aperture ring. I'd prefer if it clicked.

Ugh... I hate that. I'm not a video guy and this is a really video-centric thing to do. It's basically proof that they're not creating these for film users, but mirrorless digital users. Kinda sucks, honestly, that nobody is out there creating lenses like these with clicked apertures. I shot a wedding a while back with a Fuji XT3 and the Mistaken 35/0.95 and I found myself constantly checking the aperture ring because it wouldn't stay in place.

So for instance... we were shooting in a greenhouse type structure and the lighting was pretty well fixed, but between shots or between locations around the structure, in the act of picking up my camera and putting it down and stuff, the aperture ring would get bumped and I'd bring the camera up only to see I was over or under exposed. It was annoying. I much prefer detents.

Huss · Apr 2, 2021

matthewm said:
Ugh... I hate that. I'm not a video guy and this is a really video-centric thing to do. It's basically proof that they're not creating these for film users, but mirrorless digital users. Kinda sucks, honestly, that nobody is out there creating lenses like these with clicked apertures. I shot a wedding a while back with a Fuji XT3 and the Mistaken 35/0.95 and I found myself constantly checking the aperture ring because it wouldn't stay in place.

So for instance... we were shooting in a greenhouse type structure and the lighting was pretty well fixed, but between shots or between locations around the structure, in the act of picking up my camera and putting it down and stuff, the aperture ring would get bumped and I'd bring the camera up only to see I was over or under exposed. It was annoying. I much prefer detents.

I agree I would prefer detents too. But using it on the Zeiss Ikon or my M7 is not a big deal as those are aperture priority auto exposure cameras.

matthewm · Apr 3, 2021

Huss said:
I agree I would prefer detents too. But using it on the Zeiss Ikon or my M7 is not a big deal as those are aperture priority auto exposure cameras.

Fair... In AV mode, it's not an issue at all. Unless you're just trying to maintain consistency in DOF across your photos. Although I'd argue that nobody could actually tell the difference between a photo shot at 1.1 and 1.4 unless you told them to look for the difference. My issue was that the aperture on the Mitakon would often go from 0.95 to somewhere between 8 and 11 or some such thing. And even in AV mode, that's a pretty significant difference and would require an adjustment (you'd see in the VF that your shutter was significantly slower) and could mean missing a decisive moment.

How stiff is the aperture ring on the 7A 50/1.1?

Huss · Apr 3, 2021

matthewm said:
Fair... In AV mode, it's not an issue at all. Unless you're just trying to maintain consistency in DOF across your photos. Although I'd argue that nobody could actually tell the difference between a photo shot at 1.1 and 1.4 unless you told them to look for the difference. My issue was that the aperture on the Mitakon would often go from 0.95 to somewhere between 8 and 11 or some such thing. And even in AV mode, that's a pretty significant difference and would require an adjustment (you'd see in the VF that your shutter was significantly slower) and could mean missing a decisive moment.

How stiff is the aperture ring on the 7A 50/1.1?

First off, I totally agree with you. I much prefer clicks. The aperture ring is nicely damped, smooth, and adequately heavy so it doesn't wander off its setting unless you turn it intentionally.
But...I love this lens. There is some serious criticism about it on the web... it seems to me that is from pixel peeping digi shooters as I find it wonderful on film.
At 1.1 it has that vintage movie flattering glow with a background that just melts away. 1.4 the difference is surprising as it really sharpens, by f2 it is very sharp and anything that you would need on film.

Shot @ f2 on TriX

Ko.Fe. · Apr 3, 2021

Did RF patch moves at another Cosina made cameras? I can't remember from R and R2M. Nice camera to have...

The funky thing about the Zeiss Ikon ZM

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