Leica CL & 35mm lens

[Allen Gilman]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about picking up a CL and I would use a 40 and 50mm lens on it. But I'm also wondering if a 35mm lens would be useable. Has anyone done this and, if so, what are your impressions? From what I understand, the 40mm framelines are always visible. About how far outside the framelines would the coverage be for a 35mm lens? Any advice or comments are much appreciated!

 

[RML]

35mm would be very useable. As framelines are most likely only an approximation of the FoV you could easily use the 40mm framelines as if they were 35mm framelines. I've done so with my Jupiter-12 35/2.8.

I use my CV 25/4 on my CL and simply use the edges of the VF as its framelines. I still often put the accessory VF on top but that's because it is big and bright and helps me see the scene in a much faster way.

 

[Allen Gilman]

Thanks for the input. Do you know about how far outside the 40mm framelines the 35mm lens coverage is?

 

[taffer]

Allen I use that outfit regularly (Gene's CL + a CV 35/2.5 lens). Works perfectly and I usually compose using the whole finder area (I wear glasses) or the 40 lines if I want to be on the safe side. No problems so far but I'm not 100% strict to the framelines when composing with a RF.

You can check my CL shots at:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/pho.../sort/1/perpage/12/what/allfields/name/taffer

 

[Allen Gilman]

Taffer,

Thanks for the response. You've got some great shots there! I've gotta visit your gallery more often.

Do you find the coverage to be somewhere between the whole finder area and 40mm framelines? I tend to crop pretty tight when I shoot and sometimes I'm about a meter away from the subject so I have to be a little fussy about where my edges are. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[RML]

Allen, you might want to sacrifice a roll of cheap consumer film just to see how tight you can crop your shots when using the 40mm framelines or th VF edges. It's really difficult to tell you exact, especially as I hardly take notice of the framelines in general. Often I compose the scene with the 50mm framelines as a reference or cadre to work around. The 40mm lines or the VF edges only come into play when something near those lines or edges is of interest.

ButI'd say the 35 would somehwere inbetween the 40mm framelines and the VF edges. Sorry I can't be more accurate. 🙂

 

[taffer]

Remy is right Allen, for me and my glasses, and comparing with the finder on my Nikon F2, the 35 is somewhere between the 40 lines and the outer edges.

He's right also on that probably the best is run a quick test, we all position our eye in a different manner on the eyepiece, and that has a big effect on how much field of view we get.

And thanx ! I'm really happy you like my pictures *blush* 🙂

 

[Allen Gilman]

Okay - thanks. I can't really run a test roll through the camera (which is at a camera shop) but talking through it helps. I'm shooting a lot on subways right now and I need a quiiiieeet camera to work with (my R3a just doesn't cut it). The CL seems like a workable solution...maybe.

 

[taffer]

Allen if you're after a quiet shooter you should maybe consider trying one of the fantastic leaf shutter fixed lens RF cameras out there, the Canonet is only the tip of the iceberg but it's quiet, compact, has a nice VF and a good lens as well.

The list goes on with the Minolta hi-matic 7sII, Konica Auto S3, Vivitar 35 ES, etc etc.

Sorry to add more variables to the equation 😀

 

[Allen Gilman]

I have a Canonet actually but can't focus that thing for the life of me in the subway. Another good point about the CL is lens interchangeability. I'm shooting 35, 40, and 50. Thanks for the suggestions though!

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Allen,

What problem do you have with focussing the camera on the Subway? Too Dark, Glare, etc? Your Canonet is as good as about 10 of them that have run through my hands. I find the Konica S3, Minolta 7s-II, and other compacts have INFERIOR finders to the Canonet. The older full-size cameras are better as the finder magnification is higher.

The CL finder is brighter, and better defined than the Canonet. But the finder magnification is only 0.6x. It is easy to focus with the 40mm lens. I have shot all of one roll of film with it; even if you just use it with the 40mm lens it is a great camera.

BUT The M3 finder with its bright, well defined RF patch and 0.91x finder is the best viewfinder in my lot. The setup of the beam-splitters makes it much less susceptible to RF Patch Flare than the other Leicas. Before buying a CL at least look through an M3 finder (in good shape) before committing. The price is not much more than the CL. The M3 is not a compact; but it is not a big, heavy camera either.

 

[Allen Gilman]

Hi Brian,

The Canonet is great but it's not useable in the subways - can't even see the patch. The M3 may be an option but I'd like a meter in the camera. I basically need a camera that I can just pick up and shoot with quickly. Now that I think about it, perhaps it would just be easier to use a 40/50mm on a CL and use a Hexar AF for 35mm.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I just posted some shots of the CL in the camera and Coffee page. You can see the relative size compared with the S3 and Minolta Hi-Matic E; it is as small as the Canonet and about the same weight. The RF patch is very bright in mine.

 

[Allen Gilman]

Thanks Brian!

 

[taffer]

Well I must say that the CL also works great used as a P&S via hyperfocal distance. With a flat lens the whole set is so small nobody will take you seriously and it's pretty quiet.

Have in mind however that the meter is almost a spot one, I think the user manual gives some hint as for where the meter cells are located in relation to the film plane.

http://www.horizon.bc.ca/~dnr/clbook/cl-page16.htm

 

[Allen Gilman]

Thanks for the info. I just looked on the CameraQuest site for some more info. Gandy suggests that it's easy to imagine the 35mm coverage around the edges of the 40mm framelines. The CLs are quite expensive here in Japan compared to elsewhere. I've gone to three stores and average price w/ the 40mm lens is about 90,000-100,000 yen (about 900-1000 dollars). Wow. Guess I'd better keep an eye on Ebay...

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I would expect that $500 can get a decent /good condition CL with 40mm Summicron.

A couple (including mine) have come up for sale here in the last year. If you are not in a hurry, I am guessing that more people are listing cameras for sale here on RFF with the new year.

 

[Allen Gilman]

Thanks Brian - I'll keep an eye out for it. By the way, happy new year and thanks for the advice.

 

[George S.]

You kind of have to press your eye against the viewfinder glass, but the entire viewfinder area approximates the 28mm coverage. That's how I (and others) use the Minolta M-Rokkor 28mm lens on our CLs. I have better luck that way than even using the 25mm Voigtlander lens with its accessory viewfinder.

 

[taffer]

So Allen did you finally get the CL and the 35?

Just another plus, one thing I love about this outfit is that when you shoot fast and don't pay that much attention to the whole VF area, you always end with a bit 'extra' on images. Sometimes I've been happily surprised to find non-cropped subjects on my pictures when I thought I shot too late to catch them completely into frame or even with unseen things that added to the whole image...

CL with 35/2.5 wide open on Neopan 400. Btw just after taking a second shot of these musicians a huge security guard popped out of nowhere and kindly reminded me that it was not allowed to take photos inside the mall... I wonder if he also checked all the phonecameras around... 😡 Could it be due to me shooting in the jewelry section ? 😛