Should I buy a Leica CL? Or not?

T

tedwhite

Guest
Should I buy a Leica CL? Or not?

What's good about them? What's not? Are they a bit smaller than the M series, or is it merely that I'm not seeing the pictures of the CL correctly.

The CL seems somewhat less expensive than the M's, but apparently uses the same lenses.

Reason I'm asking is that I'm looking at a couple on ebay.

Ted
 
I had one recently that I sold to a RFFr. I found it well built but so small that the Kiev/Contax cameras felt better in my hand. I had it long enough to properly test it and it reconfirmed that I'm a Zeiss kind of guy.

Boiled down - if you like them, you'll like the CL. It's the ultimate embodyment of the system in a small place.

Hope this helps.

William
 
Splort ...

Damn, dude, that was good beer that just splashed my monitor via my nose...

:D

Doesn't mean that its any less _true_ ... :D :D :D

William
 
The CL is tiny, but buy an R2 or R2a instead. Same camera on paper (well, just a little louder) and with electronics that are not 25 years old.
 
The CL is a real killer, I usually carry it in my left hand (the strap lugs are placed there) with the strap around my hand. Then preset focus and exposure or bring it to my eyes and adjust settings quickly. If you need a compact, light and inconspicuous cam for fast street shooting with either the 40/2 or a compact 35mm it's hard to beat as a carry around.

The meter on mine works correctly but reading some reviews seems to be a weak point, if it ever fails you can always send it to Sherry Krauter or other reputated repair person. And in the event it couldn't be repaired, it would still be a great compact meterless camera taking lots of excellent lenses. My experience is that it's also pretty quiet.

Now don't tell this to my Canons or they will refuse to work in my hands :)

Here's my last roll with it, click on the image to see a larger version.

hem... failed to put an image inside a link, so here's the link :)

http://www.pbase.com/image/39661164/large/
 
Last edited:
I owned a CL for some time and thought it was brilliant. It had a great feel and was quieter than most of my cams. But even though I like cams on the small side, the CL felt just a tad too small for my hands so I moved to a Bessa R2 which is still smallish, but fit my hands better.

Gene
 
I bought the CL here, from William. It is a well made, very compact camera. I wanted a sub-compact camera to "grab-and-go" for when i wanted something lighter than an M2 or M3, or to drop a second body into the camera bag. It is about the same size as a Canonet, but uses M-Mount lenses. It is best used with its 40mm F2, 50mm F2, or 90mm F4 due to its small baselength RF. The full-size Leica's and Canon's are much easier to focus with longer and faster lenses. The build quality is first class.

So the question is: "what are you going to use it for?" An inconspicuous camera used with wider lenses, a grab-and-go camera, backup (probably not), etc, Worth considering. Portraits with a longer lens, existing light photography used wide-open with faster lenses, probably not.

BTW: They are a lot smaller than the M-Series. But then again, the M cameras are not going to cause any backaches either.
 
Just keep in mind that not all M-lenses will fit on the CL. For instance the 35 summilux will, but the 35 summicron won't. I think it's a great second body, but I would want to have something a bit more accurate as my first choice. Maybe an R2 or an older M. The Minolta CLE is also a good choice and I prefer it over the CL. Just beware of worn out light meters, it seems that the cells are failing, but since it is a mechanical camera you don't really need the built in meter anyway.
 
rover said:
The CL is tiny, but buy an R2 or R2a instead. Same camera on paper (well, just a little louder) and with electronics that are not 25 years old.
Click to expand...

Sounds like solid advice to me. The new R3a with 1:1 rf should be a honey for candid snap and grab photography. $600 is +/-$50 of a nice used CL. But then it doesn't say Leica on it. (Decals are available...)
 
Thanks everyone.

Your points about the metering system being 25 years old are well-taken. I've got a Gossen, but then that's just one more piece of equipment to schlep around.

And Tom, I appreciate your point about the price of a used CL vs a new R3A or 2A. Be kind of nice to have a new camera. All of mine are long in the tooth: Maxxum 7000 (1985), Electro 35 GSN (1974), Oly XA (1978), Pentax Spotmatic (1969), Yashica T4 Super (1996) and the recent loan of a Kiev 4A.

The current CL (w/40mm Summicron) is already up to $500 and the auction still has 5 days to go. For $50 more I can get a Bessa. Of course it won't have a lens...
 
The Bessa's are just as light as the CL (from memory) if you're worried about weight.
M.
 
I think their handling (CL vs Bessa/M) is so different that probably the best advice is to try to hold them all at a store if you can and extract your own opinions. When I started handling the CL just in the same way as my other RFs I DIDN'T like the feel, but that changed radically when I swapped it to my left hand...
 
Last edited:
Yes, I know that either will be considerably lighter than my Pentax Spotmatic, or the Maxxum 7000, which has 4 AA batteries. I'd like to handle both, however down here on the Mexican border there is a paucity of camera stores. Perhaps a trip to Tucson is in order.
 
I had a CL for awhile. While they are very compact, I found it a very delicate camera. Easy to scratch, dent, and knock the rangefinder out of adjustment. Not that I am rough on my equipment, but I didn't think this camera could take the slings and arrows of everyday street use. I traded it in for my first M series Leica and never looked back. I have a Minolta CLE as well and I think it is a much better made camera and a better choice.

Cheers.
 
Last edited:
The CL seems like a nice little camera, but I'd like to add another voice for the CLE which is a nicer little camera. :) I've had my CLE for 20+years, since new. It quickly became my favorite, and has remained so. I've read the warnings about failed electronics, but have seen no evidence that it's actually happening. Mine got a little strange a few years ago with the shutter speed diodes flickering up and down randomly, and it turned out that a multi-contact switch needed cleaning. There do seem to be a lot of Pentax ES cameras with dead electronics, using earlier technology, but despite speculation to the contrary I expect my CLE to continue working perfectly into the foreseeable future!

Man, talk about a stealth camera! At quick glance it looks like any innocent leaf-shutter compact RF, not arousing any professional-look alarms. People just don't take notice of it. AND, that's not all; it has parallax-corrected framelines for 28mm lenses! :D Maybe you can sense my enthusiasm? There really isn't anything else quite like it.
 
My CL is my main, everyday camera (Just received an R3a though....) It IS small- 4.75x3x1.25 inches, and weighs 13oz. (My CL brochure happens to be nearby) Very easy to carry around. I even sneaked it into a U.S. football stadium post-9/11. They didn't allow any camera that takes interchangeable lenses. The 20 yr old security guard had no idea I was lying when I told him it wasn't one of those. He had no idea what it was, kinda looked at it funny. I told him it was almost 30 years old... Had the 40mm mounted on the body, and the 90mm in my pants cargo pocket. Even went through a pat-down upon entry and they missed the lens! I've never had any focusing problems, but I mostly use the 40/2 and 90/4 lenses, or a 28 or the CV 25/4. No meter issues either in 20 years.
 
I remember that before the Bessa 2A and 3A models were officially announced, there was speculation that Cosina was going to release a CL-style ultracompact Bessa. I still think that could be a sweet addition to their lineup, though the manufacturing setup costs might be prohibitive.

Gene
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top