S
StuartR
Guest
Should a 40mm summicron C bring up both the 40 and 50mm framelines on a CL? I was looking at a CL at the camera store and with the 40mm attached both the 50mm and the 40mm framelines showed up. Is this normal?
CL and 40mm frameline question
- Thread starter StuartR
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 12
- Views 1K
kbg32
neo-romanticist
Yes, it's normal.
S
StuartR
Guest
ok, just checking. It seemed a little odd to me, but I guess it is normal.
back alley
IMAGES
researching your new purchase stuart?
S
StuartR
Guest
I am considering it. My local shop has a CL with 40/2 in fantastic shape. It is marked at 799, but one of the guys that works there always gives me good deals, and he said he could sell it to me for 500. I reserved one on photo.net for 450, but I passed on it because the one in the shop was in better shape, only 50 dollars more, and in the US (the other one would come from Belgium). I may get the one at the store and sell the G1 and 45/2 I got awhile back. I just don't trust the autofocus, and the results it has given me have not been great....
back alley
IMAGES
i saw that one on pnet and that you were after it...didn't realize the deal was dead.
i am supposed to get a leica cl in a couple of months and look forward to the small size for a daily shooter.
joe
i am supposed to get a leica cl in a couple of months and look forward to the small size for a daily shooter.
joe
S
StuartR
Guest
Yeah, I just emailed the guy to let him know I decided to pass. I may buy this one in the store, and I may just hold off. I have a lot of stuff already, so it is hard to really justify buying more. Then again, I can honestly say that I use all my cameras. The ones that I don't I wind up selling again. The CL really appeals to me because of the tiny size and the fact that I already have an existing lens base to use it with. It just seems like a good fit for a daily shooter as you say.
S
StuartR
Guest
4 CLA's??? Was it in a pickle jar or something? I should be able to get this one for a few days to check out. I am going to go over there now to see if the meter is working right...
hoot
green behind the ears
Stu--
the reason the 40mm lens is bringing up 50mm framelines in additional to the 40mm ones is pretty simple. The M bayonet mount is "coded" to bring up sets of framelines, originally on Leica M bodies. Three different "codes" were introduced for three different pairs of framelines: 28/90, 50/75, and 35/135. Unless I'm missing something, all lenses developed for Leica M bodies correspond to one of these focal lengths. I assume the reason they will also bring up framelines for a different focal length (assuming the viewfinder is equipped with those framelines) is that it would have been too complicated to program six different "codes" into the bayonet mount.
When the Leica CL and its 40mm lens were introduced, rather than reinventing the wheel (read: M mount), I gather that the engineers at Wetzlar were faced with the choice of coding the 40mm lens mount for 35/135 or 50/75. (The corresponding 40mm framelines are permanently visible in the CL's viewfinder.) For some reason, they opted for the 50/75 mount, which is why you also see 50mm framelines when mounting your 40mm lens. (Since the CL viewfinder is not equipped with 75mm framelines, those are not shown.) Had they opted for the 35/135 mount, you would only be seeing the appropriate 40mm framelines in your viewfinder, since the CL viewfinder is not equipped with either 35mm or 135mm framelines, either.
If you are bugged by this, you can effectively turn your lens's 50/75 mount into a 35/135 mount by filing away a bit of the mount. I know someone who has successfully done this, but please don't attempt it without precise instructions on where to file away. Googling for this might produce some results. Good luck.
the reason the 40mm lens is bringing up 50mm framelines in additional to the 40mm ones is pretty simple. The M bayonet mount is "coded" to bring up sets of framelines, originally on Leica M bodies. Three different "codes" were introduced for three different pairs of framelines: 28/90, 50/75, and 35/135. Unless I'm missing something, all lenses developed for Leica M bodies correspond to one of these focal lengths. I assume the reason they will also bring up framelines for a different focal length (assuming the viewfinder is equipped with those framelines) is that it would have been too complicated to program six different "codes" into the bayonet mount.
When the Leica CL and its 40mm lens were introduced, rather than reinventing the wheel (read: M mount), I gather that the engineers at Wetzlar were faced with the choice of coding the 40mm lens mount for 35/135 or 50/75. (The corresponding 40mm framelines are permanently visible in the CL's viewfinder.) For some reason, they opted for the 50/75 mount, which is why you also see 50mm framelines when mounting your 40mm lens. (Since the CL viewfinder is not equipped with 75mm framelines, those are not shown.) Had they opted for the 35/135 mount, you would only be seeing the appropriate 40mm framelines in your viewfinder, since the CL viewfinder is not equipped with either 35mm or 135mm framelines, either.
If you are bugged by this, you can effectively turn your lens's 50/75 mount into a 35/135 mount by filing away a bit of the mount. I know someone who has successfully done this, but please don't attempt it without precise instructions on where to file away. Googling for this might produce some results. Good luck.
Biggles
My cup runneth amok.
I have a CL- it's the only operable rangefinder I own. The size and meter drew me to it, and the size & meter ensure it goes out when I do. Excellent little urban beater camera, especially with the Leitz 40 on it. For hiking and places where I'm likely to fall, though (and I fall a lot), I'd want something far more robust.
For what it's worth, all the black & white pictures in my gallery were taken through either a 40mm or 50mm Summicron on the CL. They prove it's all-weather capable, if nothing else. Finder does fog up in heavy rain, though, if you're careless.
For what it's worth, all the black & white pictures in my gallery were taken through either a 40mm or 50mm Summicron on the CL. They prove it's all-weather capable, if nothing else. Finder does fog up in heavy rain, though, if you're careless.
Palaeoboy
Joel Matherson
"For some reason, they opted for the 50/75 mount, which is why you also see 50mm framelines when mounting your 40mm lens. (Since the CL viewfinder is not equipped with 75mm framelines, those are not shown.) Had they opted for the 35/135 mount, you would only be seeing the appropriate 40mm framelines in your viewfinder, since the CL viewfinder is not equipped with either 35mm or 135mm framelines, either"
Sorry Hoot but your incorrect on some of your points. Yes its true that the 40mm framelines are visible all the time but the 50mm framelines will stay visible only until a 28/90 lens is engaged. The 50mm framlines are there with no lens, and they are also there with 35/135 mount lenses so your advice to file to 35/135 specifications is pointless for CL use. Even if the 40mm was given a 35mm mount no difference would be noticed on a CL. I think the reason to give it a 50mm mount was to make it more awkward to use on an M fearing people may buy the cheaper C lens instead of the proper and more expensive 35. To repeat again the ONLY time the 50mm framelines go away is with a 28/90 mount lens.
Sorry Hoot but your incorrect on some of your points. Yes its true that the 40mm framelines are visible all the time but the 50mm framelines will stay visible only until a 28/90 lens is engaged. The 50mm framlines are there with no lens, and they are also there with 35/135 mount lenses so your advice to file to 35/135 specifications is pointless for CL use. Even if the 40mm was given a 35mm mount no difference would be noticed on a CL. I think the reason to give it a 50mm mount was to make it more awkward to use on an M fearing people may buy the cheaper C lens instead of the proper and more expensive 35. To repeat again the ONLY time the 50mm framelines go away is with a 28/90 mount lens.
George S.
How many is enough?
Hoot never said you'll ALWAYS see the 50mm lines, only when a 40mm is mounted.
Don't forget who the CL's target purchase group was- people who wanted a "quick shooter" and women, to take snapshots of their kids. They never targeted us "gearheads" or established Leica-shooters. It was newbies.
So, faced with having to give the 40mm lens a mount of some kind, they could have it bring up 35 or 50 frames on an M body, but I think the 50 was a choice to avoid confusion. After all, better to have it call up a frame (50mm) where you'd certainly get all of that in the 40mm frame, rather than call up 35mm frame and actually get only 40mm of it on film. No room for error, you'd chop off some heads or the edges in every shot you took! That would be too confusing, no?
Don't forget who the CL's target purchase group was- people who wanted a "quick shooter" and women, to take snapshots of their kids. They never targeted us "gearheads" or established Leica-shooters. It was newbies.
So, faced with having to give the 40mm lens a mount of some kind, they could have it bring up 35 or 50 frames on an M body, but I think the 50 was a choice to avoid confusion. After all, better to have it call up a frame (50mm) where you'd certainly get all of that in the 40mm frame, rather than call up 35mm frame and actually get only 40mm of it on film. No room for error, you'd chop off some heads or the edges in every shot you took! That would be too confusing, no?
Last edited:
Palaeoboy
Joel Matherson
Hoot never said you'll ALWAYS see the 50mm lines, only when a 40mm is mounted
I suggest you re-read what I said.
I suggest you re-read what I said.
