Minolta CLE questions

[dslater]

Hi There,
I am interested in a Minolta CLE, but I had a question. When the camera is in AE mode, does it indicate what shutter speed it's going to use as you change aperture?


Thanks,

Dan

 

[RayPA]

IIRC, yes it does.

.

 

[davidbivins]

Yes, definitely.
It also indicates if you're above or below the available shutter speeds, and it will let you take the photo anyway at the highest or lowest shutter speed, depending on what end you're at. It's very clear, with bright red LEDs, so it makes choosing intelligently very easy.

 

[dslater]

So are the shutter speeds displayed in the viewfinder with some kind of pointer similar to the Minolta XG viewfinder? If so, then can't I use it in AE mode to get a meter reading and then just set my shutter manually to adjust exposure? This is what I currently do with my Canonet when I don't trust the AE exposure.

Dan

IIRC, yes it does.

.

 

[dreilly]

Dan,
You sure can. You can also fake a kind of exposure lock with the EV adjustment around the A mark on the shutter speed wheel. Meter off your target, reframe, use the EV adjust to reach the first shutter speed. It's a little cumbersome since you have to push a button to get the wheel off of A.
cheers
doug

 

[dslater]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the info. Another question, how does the CLE viewfinder/rangefinder compare to a Voigtlander Bessa R3A? Is the rangefinder accuracy it really limited to a 90mm f/4? The reason I ask is that the same limitation applies to the CL, with an 18.9mm EBL while the CLE has a 28.76 EBL. Surely the extra 10mm must make it's rangefinder more accurate?

Dan

 

[RayPA]

So are the shutter speeds displayed in the viewfinder with some kind of pointer similar to the Minolta XG viewfinder? If so, then can't I use it in AE mode to get a meter reading and then just set my shutter manually to adjust exposure? This is what I currently do with my Canonet when I don't trust the AE exposure.

Dan

I've not used the XG, but I believe it is the same. The CLE uses these elegant little LEDs (that were popular at the time) to indicate the shutter speeds. You'd have to switch out of AE to adjust the settings manually. You then lose the meter. I use the camera like this sometimes, although I find I rely more on an external meter or a gray-matter meter. I'll take an averaging read in AE and switch out to set the camera.