Originally posted by nickthetasmaniac I've often wondered about this. Does the ZM actually share anything with the Bessa line? Other than being made by Cosina obviously...
Shutter button and lock lever, meter, viewfinder characteristics, rangefinder patch, shutter, dumb low position strap lugs, lens mount, magnesium-clad die-cast construction, and shutter box are shared. Not shared are rangefinder baseline, viewfinder, meter display, viewfinder magnification, frameline implementation, body casting, film chamber, film door, film transport/rewind*, Bessa support of trigger winder, grips, tripod mount centered on Bessa vs. offset to right edge on ZM, etc.
In short, there are sufficient clues of family resemblance and some obvious sharing of the features that make the Bessa models competitive**, but the ZM is definitely not a dressed up Bessa. Would I trade my R3M plus a few hundred dollars for a similar condition ZM...maybe, but maybe not. I bought manual metering for a reason. If someone offered me an M4-P for same, I would jump at it.
Steve
* I would have to have both cameras at hand to confirm. Reviewer's descriptions lead me to believe they may be the same.
** Viewfinder and rangefinder patch in general and 1x viewfinder on my R3M. No...not interested in arguing the comparisons...
Last edited by stevebrot; 03-25-2021 at 12:23 PM.