ASA 32
Well-known
Count me in: black ZI with 35, 50 and 85mm ZM lenses.
It appears I did not contribute yet to this thread. I got my black ZI in Sept 2006 from PopFlash, along with the 2/35mm Biogon ZM. At the time, I recall there were various package deals being offered with combinations of body+lens, mine being one such. Also, at that time there was a change in marketing and distribution, with Zeiss taking over from Hasselblad and weeding out the grey-market dealers. I last used my ZI in June 2007, with just 7 rolls of film through it.
kshapero
South Florida Man
Has it been just sitting on the shelf since 07? Why oh why?
kshapero
South Florida Man
Never heard of this. What is different about a "Special Edition"?
Yep, sorry to say sitting unused. Less than a year later I got two M8's and quit shooting film.
FelixKH
Member
Update:
All the photos came out blurry even as I aligned the frame to the correct lines in the yellow box.
will send back to the shop. Pretty disappointed though.
Latest update:
This will be a first. Both body as well as lens are out of alignment. Sent both in for service.
robbyrocks
Newbie
My silver zeiss ikon ZM has a dent in the shutter. About to dev my rolls to see if it caused a lightleak. Is my only option to send it into zeiss kentucky, and they send it to germany? i called zeiss and they said it will take a couple months. Tried filling out the online repair form, and the website keeps crashing. anyone know of USA Based CLA/shutter repair for the ZM? at this point I may just sell it as-is and get a M7 or CLE.
VoodooXT
Newbie
Huh, I've been a member on here since July 2008 and I bought my ZM back in December 2008 but never posted in here. Anyway, ZM owner still.
sojournerphoto
Mentor
Don’t know about the USA, but as far as I know in Europe it’s either generic repairers, who can probably do some stuff perfectly well, or Zeiss.
How did that happen to the shutter? The shutter itself was based on a pretty standard Copal unit iirc, albeit electrically timed using specific components. Also, there is a ‘light control curtain’ - the front curtain with the metering pattern. If Zeiss can’t repair then someone may be able to rebuild using the blades from a donor shutter.
This is a very old thread - just before the camera’s release.
Pre launch Zeiss Ikon speculation
And here’s an extract
“
I e-mailed Andre's original question - the one that started this thread - to www.zeissikon.com & received the following reply from Dr. Hubert Nasse of Carl Zeiss AG:
"In fact, the shutter of the Zeiss Ikon, which was developed by Cosina, is a mixture of both (unique & stock components). They buy the parts from Copal - like the blades, the linking levers, & the blade guiding structure. These parts are then combined with a Cosina-made electromagnetic control system. Thus, the Zeiss Ikon shutter shares parts with the Bessa shutters, namely the visible ones; some other parts are specially made for the Zeiss Ikon, namely those that are not externally visible, and they are more sophisticated than in the less expensive Bessa bodies.
"The timing control system of both shutters is different. This is also reflected by the fact that only the Zeiss Ikon shutter control allows a permanent exposure lock. You'll find another difference in the auxiliary shutter, i.e. the light integrity blades; this is the grey front surface which you see when you remove the lens. It has been modified to improve the metering sensitivity pattern.
"There are also aditional measures for noise reduction. The Zeiss Ikon shutter is more quiet than the Bessa shutter. Of course the low level of the Leica cloth shutter is not fully matched with the blade shutter. But to make such a similar cloth shutter in low production volumes at an affordable price is economically impossible and a risk in terms of reliability and lifetime. Thus we decided to use proven and reliable parts from Copal and tune them a little bit - the same basic concept that is used in some fine cars.
"We expect that series production of the Zeiss Ikon will start in October."”
Pioneer
Mentor
Finally sold all my Leica M bodies a few months ago. I like my little black ZI and my Contax II so well that the other rangefinders weren't getting much use anymore so I sold them. The ZI is my last M-Mount body and I have no plans right now to buy any more.
The ZI is a great camera that just keeps ticking along. I recently sent it in to Zeiss USA to be cleaned up and have the rangefinder calibrated. My little MS Optic Sonnetar 50 has been pretty much permanently attached since it came back.
The ZI is a great camera that just keeps ticking along. I recently sent it in to Zeiss USA to be cleaned up and have the rangefinder calibrated. My little MS Optic Sonnetar 50 has been pretty much permanently attached since it came back.
shawn
Mentor
kshapero
South Florida Man
Oh sweet
Retro-Grouch
Well-known
I think it's just a special logo and fancier packaging, with, of course, a higher price! It's rare that a "special edition" of anything gives you improved performance or more features.
If you buy a camera to shoot with, a "special edition" is probably a poor investment, as their collectible value declines as they show signs of use. But the marketing wonks do know how to make us salivate on cue!
Now, you kids get off my lawn!
sojournerphoto
Mentor
The first 2,000 made were the special edition. The price was the same and the bodies were numbered. They came with a flat leather slip case for the body only and were silver.
My first Ikon was a silver limited edition and was one the fairly early ones that had an rf patch that sometimes ‘jumped’. That was a know fault, quickly rectified during production.
My current Ikon is actually my third
I made the mistake of selling the pair I used for a long time silver (chrome) for colour and black for black and white and later regretted it. I also regretted selling my original C-Sonnar and would up buying another. My wife was right is all I can say!
Not so sure about the one above. There may also have been the odd ‘special’ boxes with a lens like that one.
Mike
Edited to correct the number and colour. Here’s a link to one for sale. I don’t think there is really any price difference for these and the leather case isn’t useful if you actually leave a lens on the camera.
Zeiss Ikon
My first Ikon was a silver limited edition and was one the fairly early ones that had an rf patch that sometimes ‘jumped’. That was a know fault, quickly rectified during production.
My current Ikon is actually my third
I made the mistake of selling the pair I used for a long time silver (chrome) for colour and black for black and white and later regretted it. I also regretted selling my original C-Sonnar and would up buying another. My wife was right is all I can say!Not so sure about the one above. There may also have been the odd ‘special’ boxes with a lens like that one.
Mike
Edited to correct the number and colour. Here’s a link to one for sale. I don’t think there is really any price difference for these and the leather case isn’t useful if you actually leave a lens on the camera.
Zeiss Ikon
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Out to Lunch
Menteur
I bought my Zeiss-Ikons in 2009, at a discount when Zeiss offered various bundles (body & lens combinations), and some of these came in boxes. Cheers, OtL
Archiver
Mentor
Not sure if I've already replied to this thread, but I bought my black version in Hong Kong in 2008 with the screw-on grip, along with a silver Zeiss Biogon 28mm f2.8. It was my first rangefinder, very thrilling stuff. I chose it over the Bessa because of the long rangefinder baseline, the huge viewfinder, and the purportedly better build quality and shutter.
I used it for about twenty rolls or so, then used it much less after getting the Sigma DP1. The last time I used it in earnest was 2010. In the mid 2010s, I turned it on to discover that it had completely bricked. No shutter speed lights in the viewfinder, nothing. New batteries proved that it was dead. I just haven't got around to sending it somewhere for repair, but I ought to, because it's a superb camera.
I used it for about twenty rolls or so, then used it much less after getting the Sigma DP1. The last time I used it in earnest was 2010. In the mid 2010s, I turned it on to discover that it had completely bricked. No shutter speed lights in the viewfinder, nothing. New batteries proved that it was dead. I just haven't got around to sending it somewhere for repair, but I ought to, because it's a superb camera.