Fair Price for Minolta CLE and 40mm Lens?

Joe Vitessa

Joe Vitessa

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Hello,
Wanted to know what fellow RFF's think is a fair price for a fully operational CLE in decent user condition with a clean 40mm Rokkor. Can't find any completed listings on eBay lately. Thanks for any help.

Joe
 
600 to 700 USD seems to be about average for a CLE camera and 40mm lens together in good condition but greater bargains are to be found out there. One thing I have noticed is that the constant criticism of the reliability of its electronics (generally by people who have never owned one) have taken their toll and this reduced prices, fearing that buying the camera is a risk.
 
I bought a dis-assembled (60% together) camera and discovered
that the only real problem was a broken left hand thread from the
advance lever retaining screw.

I put this bag of parts back together after removing the broken screw stub
and now have a very functional CLE ... for $175....

I am really impressed with the robustness of this little camera, that it could
take this much abuse and still be functioning.

What has been a problem was simply getting the information to complete the
repairs and adjustments.
 
back alley said:
body 3 to 4 hundred
lens 250 to 300
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I was watching a KEH listing on eBat that was $599 and is now down to $539. I guess my gut feeling that that's still too high was right. What's the maximum anyone here would pay for one?

(Yeah, I'm having a GAS attack again).
 
Bought mine from Igorcamera.com, must have been OK price as I do not remember the price, he is very conservative on grading, his user is a NYC 9, ebay 10+, ;-), sells a lot overseas. Contact him, he is very approachable.
 
I bought a good user CLE with a Summicron-C 40 recently on ebay for 300 euros (about 470 usd). Another CLE (nearly mint) with Rokkor 40 went for 475 euros (about 750 usd). I think prices went down a bit in the last weeks because more people are offering their cameras for sale to pay their summer vacations.

@DrLeoB:
Congratulations, that's a nice story. How did you manage to get the required information? Out of curiosity I searched the Internet for information about the CLE but the only thing I found was the manual at the Konica Minolta web site.
 
It is not so much the reliability of them, as the fact that they are very difficult to repair if there is a problem since parts must be cannibalized from other CLEs, there are no parts.

Some people are just squeamish about spending $500 on a camera that cannot be repaired. For many this risk is worth it, all depends upon your toleration for risk.
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Sorry but the reliability and parts situation are both one and the same thing, if any camera was 100% reliable and last forever you wouldnt have to worry about any parts availability. In the case of the CLE when you talk about concerns about reliably its because its difficult to fix because its hard to find parts.
 
You are being impractically literal.

Of course all camera's parts fail, sooner or later, but some tend to wear out, or burn out parts far earlier in their life cycle than others. Some never seem to need parts, but only adjustment.

Some cameras are almost 100% reliable as far as broken parts go, the Nikon F is a good example of that. Of course there are limits, while a Nikon F might well go 1 million exposures before it wears out, a Minolta CLE is not likely to do that.

The Minolta CLE has a reputation for parts failure, which from some user's experience is unwarranted, but this reputation may be deserved, it is a choice each buyer must make.

If you buy an almost like new Nikon F (without a meter), it is very likely you will be using it for the next 10+ years with no parts replacements, buy a CLE who knows?
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Im not being impractically literal when you yourself cite a camera that comes close to meeting that very criteria! (The Nikon F) And you have exactly confirmed my point that parts availability and reliablity perceptions of the CLE are so intertwined that they are one and the same thing, which was the point I was trying to make in response to you original post stating otherwise.
 
i love the cle and as i don't gamble with games of chance i take the odd risk with an old electronic camera.
i would use it more if i can more time for shooting.
as it is i think i could sell it all but for the zi and 35/2.8 and be happy these days.

joe
 
1) All 20 year old Japanese electronic cameras can and do break
2) None have parts
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LOL Now who is being impractically literal. You certainly cannot know that no Japanese camera has parts completely unavailable. (Citing the M6 as the only camera) This premise is firstly incorrect purely on the Nikon F3 alone which due to its long sales life and professional life most vital parts are still available to keep them operational. But secondly is that stock piles of parts are never kept just in the factory but rather through many distributors throughout the world. In the case of the CLE I myself have every spare part for that camera new in packets and have seen other batches of such parts go up for sale on the bay. Rare yes I grant that, but none thats an extreme absolute in both encompassing EVERY Japanese camera made and also in operating on the premise that if the factory doesnt have them then there must be none. It depends on how dedicated you are in your search.

So the decision is not based on parts (since no 20 year old Japanese electronic cameras have parts available), but purely on how likely it is that the camera will break.

So I stand on my original premise -- parts are not important in the purchase decision, only reliability. e.g. how long you expect the camera to last before a failure.
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I strongly disagree here and I think you are missing the point being made with respect to the CLE. Parts are very important in the purchase decision, the reliability issue of the CLE does come down to the bottom line about getting parts for it. If parts were readily available then most definitely people would more readily embrace that camera, knowing they can get it fixed if it were to fail. That's the primary reason cited by people on every forum I have been on with respect to the CLE . "Dont buy it cause you cant get parts" is the most common negative mentioned. Your premise is contradictory, you make reference the lack of parts availability then say that doesnt impact on anyones decision in camera selection?

To the point that parts availability and perceived reliability are the same thing in the case of the CLE, this is true. If parts were readily available then when its electronics wore out then they would simply be replaced and be considered due maintainence. When those parts become hard to get with that same electronics problem and may lead to the end of the cameras life, it then becomes in many peoples minds a reliability issue. Thats human nature I guess.
 
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