Minolta CLE on the 'bay

[Doug]

Woohoo! A bit hyped after making a fast decision on eBay tonight and getting a Minolta CLE body-only through BIN with 15 minutes remaining. I had done my once-in-a-while search for CLE and spotted this one with 30 minutes to go on a one-day auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270110094031&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=017

It includes the hard-to-find Minolta side-grip. I got one of those last October on eBay for $154 for the CLE I bought new in 1982, and like the grip a lot. Plus, like the Voigtlander trigger winder, it has its own strap lug at the base so the camera can hang vertically from its right side. I like that.

Why a second CLE? Well, it’s my favorite 35mm RF, and the only one with both 40mm frames and roomy 28mm frames too. Two favorite focal lengths. A bit insecure to think this convenience is dependent on that one vintage camera body. And I’ve always appreciated that the CLE looks so unassuming, discreet, so small and easy to carry.

Besides, don’t things go better in pairs? 😀

 

[ferider]

Congrats, Doug. Also on the grip, a real rare accessory.

Love the CLE that I got 2 months ago. I carry it with 40/1.4 and 28/3.5, a great combo .... the CLE is really the perfect 28mm machine !

Plus, I realized that when you look "around the corners", you can even frame
a 21 decently (the 21 invisible frames are about as far from the 28 framelines
as the 40, just on the other side).

Cheers,

Roland.

 

[back alley]

very nice.

i will eventually have another cle and this time i wont sell it!

joe

 

[Doug]

Thanks, Roland... Good to hear you're enjoying your CLE too. I have the original 40 Rokkor, and the 40 Nokton, plus the LTM 43mm Pentax Limited, so you can tell I'm a fan of 40's! I used to have the 28 Skopar (what a jewel) but in a passion for speed I sold it and got a 28 Summicron. My, what a happy combination that has seen a lot of use. I'll have to peer around and compare to a 21mm finder... I've used a 25 on my CLE, as that seems a reasonable full-window match.

Joe, I recall your mentioning nostalgically you used to have a pair of CLE's... Would seem to make a nice match-up with a black Zeiss-Ikon, visually. 🙂

 

[back alley]

sold the black one, kept the silver, got a r4m with a brace of cv wides coming.
i just bought a 40 rokkor so i must be getting closer to the cle.

 

[ferider]

Don't modify the Rokkor if you plan on using it on a CLE, Joe.

 

[back alley]

Don't modify the Rokkor if you plan on using it on a CLE, Joe.

unless i get another 40...nah!

i plan on using the 50 fl for now unless it completely drives me the rest of the way into crazy!

 

[ferider]

.... plus the LTM 43mm Pentax Limited ...

You lucky man, Doug. How do you like it ?

Roland.

 

[Doug]

Congrats Joe, the Rokkor is definitely a CLE-ward step! Seems to me the R4 is a bit surprising, but shouldn't be, in its best compatibility with small (therefore slow) wide angles. Its VF is much closer to the lens centerline than on the CLE or ZI, so is more occluded by any lens that's mounted. And its hood! The unique wideness of the VF just makes this so much more acute. Gotta learn to love it.... but the 21mm f2.8 doesn't interefere nearly as much in the CLE viewfinder.

 

[Doug]

Got the 43mm 3 years ago from a Canadian RFF member, Roland... It's very contrasty, saturated, sharp, but OOF areas are nicely smooth. I was surprised and a little disappointed to see a small amount of barrel distortion. These days I'd think that would be fairly easy to eliminate, but it's not at all uncommon in other recent Pentax lenses. I respect that Zeiss seems to be making the rectilinear effort. Anyway, other than that, it's a truly great lens I think. Here it is on my CLE, with Kodak Portra 400UC...

 

[amateriat]

Doug: impressive images. (Surprised to hear about barrel distortion in that lens, though.)

I'm making what seems like my 16th attempt at snagging a CLE for hopefully less-than-wild money, but you know how the 'Bay is. At the same time, my Konica Auto S3 is going in to get tweaked and sealed. It'll find a new home if I somehow get lucky.


- Barrett

 

[Krosya]

43mm lens

43mm lens

Congrats on a new camera - good for you as it seems that you like those CLE's. Was that a good deal? I never know what is a good price to pay for one(I kinda wanted to get one too for a while).
Also, once again I'm drawn to your Pentax LTM lens. I keep asking myself if I should get one. A while back I asked about this lens and you gave your opinion with ......exact same images. I wonder - do you not use it much? I would like to see more photos with that lens, yet only ones I find - are these same ones(and I do like them). Do you have newer/others? As its a rare lens it's hard to find many photos taken with it.

 

[Doug]

You have a good memory, Krosya! Yes, I've displayed these in threads before as they seem good examples of this lens. I have not used it too very much, really, as I got carried away with medium format RFs, and other 35mm lenses too. The 40 Nokton has been getting more use as I get familiar with it, and my new 28.

I think this CLE was a pretty good deal, but it's hard to pin down pricing on a 27 year old camera, as condition plays a big part. I did check KEH and completed eBay auctions before bidding. But considering I paid $154 for the same side grip, that leaves $435 for this body alone, it looks in excellent condition and seller says it functions well, so it seems reasonable.

Here are a couple more pics from the 43 Pentax, the one of the gas station door primarily to test for barrel distortion. Yep, see it?

 

[Doug]

Ok, a couple of black & white shots from the 43mm Pentax-L on the Minolta CLE, with Ilford XP2 Super. And an orange filter, even indoors where I forgot it was on. 🙂 But it darkened the bluish shadows on the brick train station corner.

 

[Lotari]

Also, once again I'm drawn to your Pentax LTM lens. I keep asking myself if I should get one. A while back I asked about this lens and you gave your opinion with ......exact same images. I wonder - do you not use it much? I would like to see more photos with that lens, yet only ones I find - are these same ones(and I do like them). Do you have newer/others? As its a rare lens it's hard to find many photos taken with it.

Well, AFAIK, the ltm version of this lens has same optics as the Pentax K-mount version, and it's not really that hard to find images taken with either Pentax film or digitals slr.

Some links to flickr pages containing 43/1.9 photographs:

a basic search with "43/1.9"
someone's (iveslin's) photos tagged with "43/1.9 LE"
here's a photo showing the "3d-like bokeh" many Pentax users talk about: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cavaliere/295465041/

Hope these help a bit.

Edit: oh, now I found 137 photos taken with.. ltm 43/1.9! http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/pentaxl4319specialc2000/

 

[Doug]

And here's a link to an eBay auction for a Pentax LTM lens, having a BIN price that is IMHO completely ludicrous. Has the value risen so much or is the seller having an opium dream? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=280108325031&rd=1&rd=1