HoodedOne
Well-known
Paul T.
Veteran
I'm waiting for a new scanner but...
My first Leica was a CL; I later bought an M4 and M3. They were more pleasurable to use in a tactile sense. But I ultimately sold them and kept the CL.
One strong argument is that Leica lenses are now ridiculously overpriced (a V3 Summicron for $1000 plus). But the 40mm Summicron, just as good as the V3 35mm, is still reasonable in price, and is the perfect match to the CL. My main problem with the CL was the vertical hanging position, which tended to get the camera dinged, but I recently bought a Zhou case, which hugely improves this. Secondly, I've seen a hike in M3 prices, over $1000 for the M3 on this forum, which makes the CL seem even better value to me.
Thirdly, the CL has an excellent meter built in - I became familiar with it and this alone, I believe, gave me better results than my M4 plus 35mm, a package that today would cost twice as much as the CL and lens.
A key virtue of Leicas is portability, after all, and in that respect the CL is indisputably the best!
My first Leica was a CL; I later bought an M4 and M3. They were more pleasurable to use in a tactile sense. But I ultimately sold them and kept the CL.
One strong argument is that Leica lenses are now ridiculously overpriced (a V3 Summicron for $1000 plus). But the 40mm Summicron, just as good as the V3 35mm, is still reasonable in price, and is the perfect match to the CL. My main problem with the CL was the vertical hanging position, which tended to get the camera dinged, but I recently bought a Zhou case, which hugely improves this. Secondly, I've seen a hike in M3 prices, over $1000 for the M3 on this forum, which makes the CL seem even better value to me.
Thirdly, the CL has an excellent meter built in - I became familiar with it and this alone, I believe, gave me better results than my M4 plus 35mm, a package that today would cost twice as much as the CL and lens.
A key virtue of Leicas is portability, after all, and in that respect the CL is indisputably the best!
jippiejee
Well-known
Cl
Cl
I bought my Leica Cl as small travel camera, and I still love it a lot with its summicron 40mm f/2 lens, which is much better than its price suggests. (I bought the Leica CL with working lightmeter plus 40mm and 90mm lenses for about €400 all together). It's more compact and lighter than the M cameras, which I think a big bonus. Example shot of the summicron 40mm lens:
Cl
I bought my Leica Cl as small travel camera, and I still love it a lot with its summicron 40mm f/2 lens, which is much better than its price suggests. (I bought the Leica CL with working lightmeter plus 40mm and 90mm lenses for about €400 all together). It's more compact and lighter than the M cameras, which I think a big bonus. Example shot of the summicron 40mm lens:
Steve M.
Veteran
Its a fine little camera. Every bit a real Leica. Meters are often buggy or not working at all (this is a real old camera we're talking about here), so figure on paying a premium for one that's in exc working condition, budget in a meter repair, or just use a hand held meter. Don't see why you would want photos from them though, as all that tells you about are the lenses.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
I've got a CL that Sherry Krauter had for months while she worked on it and figured out what had happened to it over the years. It was missing a lot of parts inside. It is now 100% and I love this little camera. Quite tiny, yet feels good in the hand- and is light enough that my arthritic hand can use it even without a grip.
Vics
Veteran
I think the 90 Elmar-C was made for the CL. Lovely lens, I hear.
Vics
Veteran
I don't have a CL, but NOW I want one!
FrankS
Registered User
I think of a CL with dead meter, as a screw mount Leica with a better finder and an M mount as a bonus.
Rui Resende
Member
just to add to the CL samples:
i do love the camera, and the 40mm rokkor (cl) which is the glass that shot all the above. I may be alone here in thinking that the cl IS suitable to shoot in very low light conditions. I've done it and think it works fine once you make the camera a part of you. hope you'll enjoy
i do love the camera, and the 40mm rokkor (cl) which is the glass that shot all the above. I may be alone here in thinking that the cl IS suitable to shoot in very low light conditions. I've done it and think it works fine once you make the camera a part of you. hope you'll enjoy
