Anyone using Leica CL ?

C

cnguyen

Established
Local time
6:45 AM
Joined
Aug 6, 2005
Messages
79
View My Gallery
I was thinking about getting a Leica CL with 40mm and 90mm to play with. Any owner of Leica CL in this forum ? Your recommendations ? Should I or should I not ?
I'm a long time Leica owner but never own a CL I guess it's time for me to try...
Thanks !
 
I have three, they are good little cameras, but do realize they are not as tough as the full brass and iron M series. But they are metal, small and most of the time they have a working meter built right inside of the camera!
If you get one and hate it, you can always sell it, but with the cameras you have listed in your sig, the CL rig would make a good film body to complement your M8, if you wanted to see what film would be like with a certain lens, or wanted slides for example.
It's silly, but the thing I might like best about the CL body is the strap lugs- both on one side..
 
I have two CLs and I am looking for buyers not because I dislike them but because I can't afford to keep them. They're very compact, smaller than my Canonet in some dimensions, if I recall correctly. Great for backup bodies, as long as you keep within the limitations of its short baselength. The CV 40/1.4 worked like a dream on it.

Clarence
 
I've got one. It's my travel and pocket camera. Love its size and the fact that it's compatible with my other M mount lenses (and ltm lenses with adapters). And yeah, the 40 and 90 combination makes a great travel rig that takes up little space.

-Randy
 
Finest travelling film camera IMO. Before I got my R-D1, the CL + Rokkor 40 was my favourite combo. Add a J8 and a CV25 and you're set for street photography everywhere. 🙂
 
CL and 40mm Summicron are all I use, really. The camera and lens together are tiny, lightweight (easy to hand-carry all day), and quite unobtrusive.

Had the 90mm; sold it. Very good lens, but the absurdly small 90mm frame in the viewfinder made it less than instinctive to use on that body. I don't miss it.

I'm a moron at exposure evaluation, so the in-camera meter is a huge selling point for me. I use it all the time. If I ever decided to go to an M, I'd have to start at M6.

Very fragile camera, though. I'm willing to live with that, because of its extremely carriable properties. I'm actively looking for a spare.

*cough*

I'M ACTIVELY LOOKING for a spare.
 
Thoughts about the CL

Thoughts about the CL

Hello, I´v had a CL with the cron 40 and Elmar 90 as a travelling camera for years and am very pleased with the results and the handy size. The quality and feel of the CL however is by far not up to Leica M standard. The leight weight of course has its prize. The meter, which uses the hard to find PX625, was prone to get stuck after long periods of no use as did the film advance lever. Unfortunately the rangefinder lost its accuracy some time ago and after consulting a dealer about the repair costs I decided to sell the outfit to a collector.
My advice therefore is to ask a qualified technican, which may be hard to find, to do a CLE before you buy a camera that may be 25 years old. I also find the CL:s found on i.e. EBAY far to highly prized.

Good luck!
🙄
 
I had a CL which I just sold to another RFFer. I didn't get it. I didn't like the side lugs at all - I felt like I was choking myself every time I brought it up to my eye. I also don't at all understand pulling back the winding lever to activate the light meter. I'm "left-eyed" at the viewfinder, so it would jab me in my right eye. On the other hand, I think the Minolta CLE is a beautiful compact camera. I prefer shooting with a M4, but for an all-around, grab it for anything camera, I much prefer the CLE.
The lenses for both are great.
 
The CL (I have 2) has a great advantage over the Minolta CLE and (I think) the Bessas: it has a definite spot meter that is quite accurate. So if you want to expose for a particular part of the picture--i.e., expose B&W for the shadows or K64 for the highlights--you can do it.

The only shortcoming is the short RF base length, but I've gotten by with a 135mm f/4 on a CL and with wide angles it's a breeze. I've had 2 for about 7 years; had them both CLA'd by Leica when I bought them, and they hold up fine under my amateur use. I do have an M5 for really fast lenses.
--Santafecino
 
I understand the complaint/issue with the two side lugs. They do, however allow easy carry tucked under an arm with the strap over a shoulder. As for me, I found the Luigi half case and M Classic wrist strap to be the perfect combination for the Leica CL. The camera is small enough to tuck into a jacket pocket and the Luigi case makes the camera feel so much more rich and substantial. That combined with the M Classics wrist strap just fit my use (primarily travel) perfectly. I enjoy it so much that I'm about to send my CL off to Sherry Krauter to get a CLA and meter update to make sure all continues to work well in the future. Will probably spend a healthy percentage of what the camera is worth, but I find the CL to be so nice as a travel rig that it's well worth it to me. And I'm glad that there are folks like Sherry out there who can make a 30 year old camera work as good as new again.

-Randy
 
I'd highly recommend the CL. I've had one for 15 years. At last the shutter jammed and I had it fixed by Sherry Krauter, who is probably the world's most experienced CL repairperson. I then carried it with me everywhere on a wonderful trip to Vietnam and Japan this summer and I appreciated its light weight, simplicity, and built-in metering every day. (I used the 40mm lens and a Cosina-Voigtlander 21mm lens for most pictures, though I also carried a 90mm f2.8 Tele-Elmarit.)

-- Michael
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom