Help! Should I Buy a mint CLE for $700?

[ryca]

Really need help. Been offered a mint Minolta CLE w/ 40mm F2 M-Rokkor for $US700. Cosmetically & functionally perfect. It’s a steal imo but should I really make the purchase? I’m paranoid about the CLE issues I keep reading about and don’t want to pay for a camera that will in a couple years break down on me and be a paper weight. ANY advice appreciated!!!

 

[David Hughes]

Short answer - NO.

I've had loved cameras fail and spent ages on the phone discovering why no one will touch them. The longest answer went like this "stripping it down and then re-assembling might cost something like UK £200* and at the end it still won't work because the part is unavailable and no one will pay that for nothing".

And there's worse, you abandon the broken camera, buy a good one and find that the film is then discontinued... Thinking of my Conax Tix as I type that.

Buy a CLE for silly money or pocket money and you won't mind so much, they are nice cameras but...

OTOH, it's your money and I'll be as happy if you buy it or not.

Regards, David


* Probably £300 nowadays.

 

[ryca]

Short answer - NO.

I've had loved cameras fail and spent ages on the phone discovering why no one will touch them. The longest answer went like this "stripping it down and then re-assembling might cost something like UK £200* and at the end it still won't work because the part is unavailable and no one will pay that for nothing".

And there's worse, you abandon the broken camera, buy a good on and find that the film is then discontinued... Thinking of my Conax Tix as I type that.

Buy a CLE for silly money or pocket money and you won't mind so much, they are nice cameras but...

OTOH, it's your money and I'll be as happy if you buy it or not.

Regards, David


* Probably £300 nowadays.

thanks for insight @David... as silly as it seems, i'm still on the fence. $US700 mint is cheap compared to the offerings I've seen on feeBay... but it's in no way pocket money for me!! And yes understand exactly what you say about a loved camera fail -- my carry around, Ricoh GR1 (which looks mint and I handled like a baby) shutter just died... and finding someone to fix it down here is posing impossible.

 

[karateisland]

thanks for insight @David... as silly as it seems, i'm still on the fence. $US700 mint is cheap compared to the offerings I've seen on feeBay... but it's in no way pocket money for me!! And yes understand exactly what you say about a loved camera fail -- my carry around, Ricoh GR1 (which looks mint and I handled like a baby) shutter just died... and finding someone to fix it down here is posing impossible.

They’re great cameras, and that seems like a good price, but I tend to think we should approach these purchases the same way we approach gambling (because it is gambling, in a way!). You don’t know how long the camera will work for, so you shouldn’t spend any money you can’t afford to lose.

If it really worries you, and it sounds like it does, I’d say pass on it and get something within your comfort zone. You’re more likely to use it more often, and less likely to leave it at home.

That’s the reasonable answer. The other answer is that the heart wants what it wants, so you might want to get it anyway! If so, maybe save the extra money to get it from a shop like F-Stop Cameras—a good, reliable shop—for a little extra piece of mind.

In the end, it’s up to you whether the risk is worth it. No one else can make that choice for you.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

I'd take his arm off at that price with the lens, on the basis if it did go wrong the majority of the value is in the lens anyway, so your downside is less than you think.

I take much of what I read about camera problems on t'internet with a pinch of salt. The CLE is based on the XD7/11 etc and plenty of parts around for that.

 

[karateisland]

You’d have to find someone willing to repair it, though, I remember Huss had a problem with his and had a fair amount of trouble finding someone who would open it up.

 

[leicapixie]

The 40mm Rokkor lens (or is it Leica ?) is worth something!
See prices and you could use it on real Leica-M.
The reputation of CL appears worse than CLE,
but cold comfort if irreparable..
All older Film cameras MAY break down, repairs uncertain..

I have either bought mostly SLR's or been donated.
Most are "walking wounded" with some features not working.
Yet film can be exposed and beautiful results.
I love look of images from Ricoh but the dead story has given immunity..😀

 

[css9450]

I'll buy it if you don't. Seriously. I'm assuming this is from a private seller, and not an auction site?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

40/2 CLE version price is 400. So, camera price is 300. 150 per year. It craps out after two years and you will sell it for 100 for parts. 100 per year. This is what you afraid of.

 

[ryca]

thanks everybody for the replies... i just bought it. yup indecisive one minute, gung-ho the next. lol

i've always wanted one... this body & lens was A+ condition and i thought, stuff it, i work damn hard so lemme treat myself. what also swayed me was, as a few of you mentioned, the lens is stellar and can be resold easily so not all that bad if any unfortunate circumstance arises (touch wood.. )

thanks again!

 

[css9450]

...a camera that will in a couple years break down.

It craps out after two years...

Call me crazy, but I bet it lasts longer than just two years.

 

[David Hughes]

thanks everybody for the replies... i just bought it. yup indecisive one minute, gung-ho the next. lol

i've always wanted one... this body & lens was A+ condition and i thought, stuff it, i work damn hard so lemme treat myself. what also swayed me was, as a few of you mentioned, the lens is stellar and can be resold easily so not all that bad if any unfortunate circumstance arises (touch wood.. )

thanks again!

Well done, now enjoy it and forget what we said...


Regards, David

 

[DennisM]

CLE experience

CLE experience

Really need help. Been offered a mint Minolta CLE w/ 40mm F2 M-Rokkor for $US700. Cosmetically & functionally perfect. It’s a steal imo but should I really make the purchase? I’m paranoid about the CLE issues I keep reading about and don’t want to pay for a camera that will in a couple years break down on me and be a paper weight. ANY advice appreciated!!!

Congratulations on your purchase. For what it's worth, I have a CLE with the 40mm and 90mm Rokkor lenses, purchased new (body & 40mm) in 1986-87? Used intermittently over the years then not too much for the last decade or so. Had a CLA done in 2001, and was told that "no parts available, etc, etc" so essentially only door seals were replaced. Experienced the jumping diodes in the finder and learned that rotating the shutter speed dial back and forth multiple times would clean oxidation from the contacts; seems to have worked for me. I've been using mine more regularly lately (B&W film) and find it a joy to use. On a similar note, I have a Konica Hexar RF (purchased used) that exhibited erratic performance (rewinding in mid-roll, etc). Had a CLA performed recently prior to which I shared info from RFF posts with repairman that advised disassembling camera to the point where door seal contacts could be cleaned; not an inexpensive CLA, but camera now performs "like new." Bottom line, use it and enjoy it and rotate the shutter dial back and forth regularly.

 

[karateisland]

I love these "talk me out of buying this thing" threads because GAS (almost) always wins in the end. And I'm not being sarcastic--it's a testament to the power of cameras over our imaginations.

 

[olifaunt]

Congrats. I bought a mint CLE+Rokkor a year ago, for significantly more than that. But even so I feel that it has already paid off in great pictures I've been able to make using it. It is a fantastic camera, and very very satisfying to use.

As for GAS, I feel like my CLE has made any other gear completely unnecessary. I don't even want anything else.

 

[Huss]

I had two mint, perfect condition ones which jammed up.
Had bouncing leds etc too.

Bottom line is this.. they can be fixed. Both mine didn't need parts - even though that was the reason given that almost no-one would touch them. What they needed was a strip down and all the electrical connectors cleaned/deoxidized. This is just due to age.
If you can find someone to do that, no problem. Dave Easterwood was the only person I could find who would do that. His work was excellent and the price was very reasonable (under $200 IIRC). But it took forever with a lack of communication which was worrisome.

In other ways this is the world we live in. Very few people actually want to fix things. The majority just want to replace parts.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

As for GAS, I feel like my CLE has made any other gear completely unnecessary. I don't even want anything else.

I really wish you hadn't said that...I have to buy something more to cure me buying more....

 

[Huss]

As for GAS, I feel like my CLE has made any other gear completely unnecessary. I don't even want anything else.

That's why I bought two of them.

Didn't work... I actually find these cameras too small, my finger keeps hitting the lens release button when I use them. And I only have size medium hands (going on my glove sizing)

 

[Axel]

thanks everybody for the replies... i just bought it. ..

Congrats and good luck with the CLE!


Personally I wouldn´t worry too much about disfunctions or defects.
Compared to newer cameras the CLE is a very simple construct.


$700 is a great word and my opinion for CL and CLE is that they are "only" sheet metal cameras like many others in their time...
So my CL has gone, functionally, for less than 100 Euros a few years ago.
Hope it is still working and delivering good photos 🙂

 

[Imagesfromobjects]

Do it.

I've had mine about three months and have put around 20 rolls through it. It's seriolusly the most fun camera I've ever owned, and just a dream to carry and shoot. Even if it craps out, it was a fun ride.

Lenses hold their value very well, and that lens is no slouch. If it's in good shape, and you get a year or two out of the camera.... what's there to lose? Re-sell the lens, cherish the memory and the photos forever.