W
Way
Guest
Just a mini review of my Leica CL/Rokkor 40 which arrived from Sherry Krauter late last week. Maybe this might useful to someone looking into buying one. Sherry's price was a little high but I figured that I KNOW it was CLA'd by the best and has a 6 month warranty, so it was OK. She did give me a deal on the lens, which I'm grateful for.
Opened the box and the first thing I noticed was how small the body is. Big difference compared to my MP. There is also a noticable weight difference. But all this comes at a cost as the materials and build quality is not up to the level of a typical Leica. It's not bad and I'm not complaining, just making an observation. The body is in great condition, no scratches or dings. Viewfinder/patch is nice, bright and clear. The shutter dial takes a bit of effort to turn but I'd rather have it like that than being too loose. The Rokkor is very nice and small, the focus is very smooth and the aperture ring has solid click stops and no play. In short, mechanically and cosmetically the outfit is really nice. I now need to find a nice strap for the cool vertical strap lugs!
The camera size is great for my hands and balances well with the smaller lenses. My 90 cron really feels heavy on the CL and a bit out of place on the camera. Maybe I'll try the CV 75 or 90. Shutter is a bit loud for my taste - more metalic with more volume than the MP. But I'm starting to like its sound. I'm running a roll of XP2 just to see some quick pictures and to get used to the camera. I've read that in low light the meter or shutter may not be reliable so I did do some slow shutter speed shots (1/8, 1/ 15) to test it out. Getting them processed today.
Overall the flow of using the camera is simple and fluid but two things are a bit annoying and needs getting used to:
1. Neat idea of having the meter turn on by slightly cocking the shutter advance lever. But being left-eyed, I find that the lever gets in the way if I press by face close to the camera. It's nice to see the shutter speed in the finder.
2.The meter readout is, as Mr. Gandy mentioned, "backwards". Located on the right side in the VF, the meter needle moves up and down according to the exposure. If the needle is UP (at the top right corner of the VF) the exposure is UNDER exposed. If the needle is DOWN (bottom right of VF) it is OVER exposed. Needle in the center is properly exposed.
Overall, I really like the CL and lens. The proof is in the pictures so I'm still waiting on the final verdict.
Way
Opened the box and the first thing I noticed was how small the body is. Big difference compared to my MP. There is also a noticable weight difference. But all this comes at a cost as the materials and build quality is not up to the level of a typical Leica. It's not bad and I'm not complaining, just making an observation. The body is in great condition, no scratches or dings. Viewfinder/patch is nice, bright and clear. The shutter dial takes a bit of effort to turn but I'd rather have it like that than being too loose. The Rokkor is very nice and small, the focus is very smooth and the aperture ring has solid click stops and no play. In short, mechanically and cosmetically the outfit is really nice. I now need to find a nice strap for the cool vertical strap lugs!
The camera size is great for my hands and balances well with the smaller lenses. My 90 cron really feels heavy on the CL and a bit out of place on the camera. Maybe I'll try the CV 75 or 90. Shutter is a bit loud for my taste - more metalic with more volume than the MP. But I'm starting to like its sound. I'm running a roll of XP2 just to see some quick pictures and to get used to the camera. I've read that in low light the meter or shutter may not be reliable so I did do some slow shutter speed shots (1/8, 1/ 15) to test it out. Getting them processed today.
Overall the flow of using the camera is simple and fluid but two things are a bit annoying and needs getting used to:
1. Neat idea of having the meter turn on by slightly cocking the shutter advance lever. But being left-eyed, I find that the lever gets in the way if I press by face close to the camera. It's nice to see the shutter speed in the finder.
2.The meter readout is, as Mr. Gandy mentioned, "backwards". Located on the right side in the VF, the meter needle moves up and down according to the exposure. If the needle is UP (at the top right corner of the VF) the exposure is UNDER exposed. If the needle is DOWN (bottom right of VF) it is OVER exposed. Needle in the center is properly exposed.
Overall, I really like the CL and lens. The proof is in the pictures so I'm still waiting on the final verdict.
Way
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