Leitz CL vs Bessa R2

Leitz CL vs Bessa R2

  • Leitz CL

    Votes: 28 53.8%

  • Bessa R2

    Votes: 24 46.2%
  • Total voters
    52
I'll let you know in a week or so when mine arrives from the seller.
 
For me, Besa R2, no discussion. Sold mine because I used my M6 more, but great viewfinder and frame lines. No battery dependent and service readily available from bartender. Also, it comes in green color :)

Marcelo
 
Deardorff38 said:
Ko Fe.... "They who live in glass houses, should not throw stones".... don't you use a Canon with batteries?....& a Leica 'M digital?.... Don't your phone, computer & car have batteries??
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Apples and oranges.
CL is something very old. And it costs fortune comparing to my Canon SLR.
Digitalis have nothing to do with cameras in this thread.
If I would choose film camera of similar style, like RF,
I would choose one without any battery. If battery is present, for whatever reason, I would choose newer camera and most common battery.
Any Bessa R is using most common, dollar store battery.
CL?
 
Also, lets keep in mind R2 build quality is way better than Bessa R. Can't really find anything wrong with R2, besides being a little bit more noisy. Also, you get 35 framlines.

Regards.
 
Opinions KoFe..... everybody has them. & preferences too which often inform their choices....
I used the CL hard in the high mountains for years in the latter part of the '70s & they never failed me.
The summicron 40 is a gem of a lens....on any body. There are lots of bodies on ebay for $250-350 for a camera with an M mount lens. i have a soft spot for them.
 
Opinions? No.
Electronics age. Electronics from seventies are now well aged to have much more failures comparing to electronics from 2002.

Now to opinions. I had improved from 40 Cron lens. From optics to normal filter. I didn't get it :). It really needs 40mm frames. Without it, it is just odd lens. And nothing really special. IMO.
 
Deardorff38 said:
The summicron 40 is a gem of a lens....on any body.
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I agree, mine (actually a M-rokkor) has been modified for 35mm frame and is my main shooter.. 40mm is very easy to guesstimate using 35mm frame lines, the CL 40mm lines are actually much smaller than actual 40mm coverage.. 40mm coverage is nearly identical to 35mm lines in M6 style viewfinders...

...maybe i should sell both of these cameras and get another M2, that would solve the problem of "which".

Another reason that the pros of the Bessa finder arent incredibly important, i have another rangefinder with the worlds best viewfinder- my M2 :)
 
Ko.Fe. said:
CL?
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The battery for the CL using a mr-9 adapter is common enough to find at any drug store, similar to the battery for the Bessa. Also, while talking of batteries, the same single battery has been in my CL for well over a year and is still giving accurate meter readings.

Bessa takes 2 batteries
CL takes 1

Bessa batteries die around 6mo of use
CL battery still going after over a year.

However I understand your standpoint, old electronics fail, that is the reason i refuse to spend any large sum of money on a fully electronic camera of any vintage
 
The Bessa is more robust, simpler, and easier to repair. Better viewfinder. Intuitive handling. Meter always works, no gambling there, no expensive fixes. Price is on the rise, so now or never...
 
Ko.Fe. said:
I had improved from 40 Cron lens. From optics to normal filter. I didn't get it :).
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I can't figure out what you mean by this. I think language is interfering. Could you explain it a different way?

Ko.Fe. said:
It really needs 40mm frames. Without it, it is just odd lens. And nothing really special. IMO.
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The 35mm framelines in an M2, M3, and M5 will include more in the viewfinder than we will get in the picture, when using a 40mm lens. I'm sure that's what you meant here.

But the framelines in the M6, M7, and MP are smaller than in those in the earlier cameras. A 40mm lens comes closer to showing what you actually get on the negative, with those cameras, unless you are shooting at minimum focus.

On my M9, I get a little more in the picture than I see in the finder. So the 35mm frameline of the M9 is not so undersized as on M6/M7/MP.
 
In my experience the CL! is more robust and build up to higher standards than any Bessa.
Think of the CL as of a meterless camera and its the best compact m mount camera ever made.
 
Rob-F said:
I can't figure out what you mean by this. I think language is interfering. Could you explain it a different way?
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I think he is saying the lens has no special rendering and that it’s weird filter size is also annoying.
 
santino said:
In my experience the CL! is more robust and build up to higher standards than any Bessa.
Think of the CL as of a meterless camera and its the best compact m mount camera ever made.
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I've just got my CL back from the repair shop with meter 'fixed'. Inverted commas because it's out of calibration by 2 stops. At least it's consistent so eminently usable.

Regards the OPs query my use of a Bessa has been very limited. If I had another M camera I'd keep the CL for its tiny size and handling. If I didn't have another I'd probably keep the Bessa as it's better RF patch would win out over the CL's smaller size. The VF in my CL is beautifully bright but the contrast I never the RF patch leaves something to be desired. I bought the CL for £100 a couple of years ago over a similarly priced Canon P. All aspects of the CL's finder are way better than the P or Canon 7 for that matter.
 
I find Canon 7's finder even more superior than some of the full-size M bodies. Heck, it even has slightly longer eye-point than M4's finder. It is very helpful for using the 35mm frameline.

The only downside of Canon 7's finder I experienced is that the RF patch is blur-edged.

I find the light meter needle bar on the right side of CL's finder rather ugly and distracting.

Neither of them can compete with Bessa's finder though.
 
Just to harken back to the OPs original statement... he has both, both black, both meters work..... he's selling one.
 
Leica CL

Leica CL

d.dulin said:
The CL’s uniqueness makes it something worth keeping, for sure.
I’m wondering from other users how dim the viewfinder is on yours, mine is by and far significantly dimmer than my M2, it’s also fairly dirty.
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A 50 anniversary CL arrived yesterday morning, super clean and bright viewfinder. Don Goldberg will have the meter working in no time.
50th CL by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/156629749@N02/
 
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