Zeiss Viewfinder ZI for Zeiss Ikon Camera When Used with 25mm ZM Lens

Comments about Zeiss Viewfinder ZI for 25mm ZM Lens:

I use this finder on my leicas, both m and screwmount,
for travel, outdoor, and night pics. The clear, bright, optical veiw lets you see the entire composition front to back quickly and without distraction, unlike an slr focusing screen. The multicoated optics are by far the brightest, contrastiest viewfinder image you can get. At night, if there is enough light to see a subject, you will be able to see it in this finder. The finder is useful on slr cameras also.

Comments about Zeiss Viewfinder ZI for 25mm ZM Lens:

The disadvantage of large or long wideangle lenses on 35mm format rangefinder cameras is that the lenses tend to block the bottom right corner of the cameras built in viewfinder window. To compensate for this blockage it is often helpful to use an accessory finder like this one by Zeiss. The photographer focuses using the rangefinder in the camera then composes using the accessory finder. While this is slower, it does allow the photographer to avoid surprises in the composition if the image. I have been using this Zeiss finder on a Leica M9 with the Zeiss 25mm/2.8 Biogon ZM and Leica 28mm/2.0 ASPH lenses. It seems to have decent framing accuracy, even though its horizontal offset is designed for the Zeiss Ikon ZM camera. The finder has framelines for both focal lengths and also a parallax compensation marks inside the upper part of the frames the top to help with closeup framing. This seems to work well, but don't expect SLR level accuracy in framing! You will be disappointed if you think that is possible with a rangefinder. It's just not. The Zeiss finder is better in terms of distortion and brightness compared to the Voigtlander plastic 25mm and 28mm finders, and seems incredibly well made.

Another Zeiss advantage over the plastic Voigtlander ones is that you can replace the standard eyepiece on the back with a diopter to compensate for near or farsightedness. While the diopters have the same thread as Nikon diopters, don't use a Nikon one on the Zeiss. I tried this on a Zeiss 21mm finder and the Nikon eyepiece cracked when screwed in all the way. It apparently pressed up against the rear element of the finder and broke from the middle out. Fortunately, the finder itself didn't get scratched.

Comments about Zeiss Viewfinder ZI for 25mm ZM Lens:

Everything about the Zeiss Ikon rangefinder system compares favorably with the Leica M film system and this viewfinder is no exception. The clarity of view is amazing. I just wish it had a shoe-mount lock - I'm always worried about it coming loose while carrying it. So far it has not worked loose but it is something you have to keep in mind. I also wish it had some way of choosing which frameline you wanted to see rather than having both visible all the time - They are close together, the 25mm is a complete frameline and the 28mm is a partial frameline just marking the corners. Both are easy to see (without glasses) and use.

Comments about Zeiss Viewfinder ZI for 25mm ZM Lens:

I use this with my M9. It has very low distortion and is bright and contrasty. It also has very good flare resistance when the camera is pointed into a light source.

I use this with a 24mm Elmarit. The viewfinder will still show less than the total image captured with the lens - this is typical of external finders.

I found this product to be the best tradeoff between the voightlander and Leitz comparable models.