Need Help With the CL

D

DeeCee3

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I recently became the proud owner of a super-clean used CL. It came without a manual but since I had shot an M2 for years, I assumed the CL would be straightforward enough to load up and start shooting right away. Not so.

I need to know something about the metering. How do I do it? When do I do it? Is it "match-needle" style? What battery is recommended now that the 625/675 is unavailable? In other words, I need the basics.

All help/suggestions appreciated.

dc3
 
You need to get a Wein MRB625 battery. Your local camera shop should carry this. As for the metering, when the needle is BELOW the middle, it indicates overexposure and ABOVE the middle, it is underexposure. (Opposite of what I expected.) The needle should be located in the right hand site of your viewfinder.
The button on the front of your camera should help you test to see if the battery/meter work properly.

Congratulations on your CL. You'll really enjoy it.

The link below has a good overview of the camera. This page helped me when I bought my CL.
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?LeicaCL.html~mainFrame

EDIT: Additional information for clarity.
 
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yes, the meter is the 'match needle' variety.. it's actually a really nice setup in that it works pretty effectively as a spot meter.. use the RF patch as the metering location.. point it at something neutral gray in your frame and set your meter.. then recompose and you're good to go

and to further allay any confusion.. the film has to be advanced, and then you pull back the advance lever slightly to activate the meter
 
Yes -- don't inadvertently push the wind lever back all the way or you'll shut the meter off.

Also, because of the meter, you can't use certain lenses that protrude far back into the camera body. But if you stick with a 40, 50 or 90, I don't think there are any lenses out there that would have this problem.
 
Much Obliged to All

Much Obliged to All

I'm quite grateful to all who replied to my query about the CL. The comments were very helpful and I'm sure will get me up and running in no time. I couldn't help but be amused at the comment one of you made that my local camera shop would have the battery I need. My "local camera shop" is about 65 miles away so I don't get there very often!

Thanks again for the help.

dc3
 
No Offense Taken...But Chuckled A Bit

No Offense Taken...But Chuckled A Bit

You surely had no way of knowing I live deep in the heart of the Blue Ridge mountains! It's 10 miles to the nearest town but 60 more to the nearest camera store (and it's a Ritz).

Thanks for the tip on the B&H battery, too.

dc3
 
KoNickon said:
...because of the meter, you can't use certain lenses that protrude far back into the camera body. But if you stick with a 40, 50 or 90, I don't think there are any lenses out there that would have this problem.
Click to expand...

But do be careful not to collapse a collapsible lens into the camera! The collapsible Leitz 50's, for example, will clobber the meter stalk. Stephen Gandy (the "bartender" here) points out on his wonderful CL page that the collapsible Cosina-Voigtlander 50mm Heliar will collapse safely, however.

Unfortunately, the rear element of the Leica thread-mount Jupiter 12 (a copy of the pre-war Zeiss Biogon) protrudes too far as well.

The meter, by the way, can be recalibrated to take 1.5 volt alkaline cells, which will last longer than zinc-air cells such as the Wein cell.

Enjoy the CL. I've used mine for many years with pleasure. It's versatile but uncomplicated. It's a great travel camera too, as it's so small and unobtrusive.
 
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