New Leica CL owner with a question

kutitta said:
Just realised that I didn't answer that part of your post k_43!

Yes the shutter release button is also stuck!
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my guess is, the shutter is like 99% cocked but the release is not freed quite yet. there is only a small push on the lever necessary but it seems something broke there (an actuator between the lever and the shutter mechanism or something).
try to pull the lever with a tiny little more force towards the end position (not too much tho). when that thing is broken already you can't break it more.
or you can try a cable release .. maybe only the release button itself is stuck and everything else is fine!

the meter still works? This is great news! Makes the defect body
more valuable.
Actually $125 sounds great! My guess is there is a high chance the defect is minor and he will find the problem when disassembling that thing.
 
k__43 said:
my guess is, the shutter is like 99% cocked but the release is not freed quite yet. there is only a small push on the lever necessary but it seems something broke there (an actuator between the lever and the shutter mechanism or something).
try to pull the lever with a tiny little more force towards the end position (not too much tho). when that thing is broken already you can't break it more.
or you can try a cable release .. maybe only the release button itself is stuck and everything else is fine!

the meter still works? This is great news! Makes the defect body
more valuable.
Actually $125 sounds great! My guess is there is a high chance the defect is minor and he will find the problem when disassembling that thing.
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Hi again,

I tried both, but unfortunately they didn't work. I am still trying to find a local solution to avoid overseas postage, but $125 is so tempting.
 
David Hughes said:
Hi,

At the price you paid you should (or, politely, I would) get it repaired.

They are stunning cameras with a brilliant lens and a good repair will make it as good as new and with a guarantee. There's lots of specialist repair people for Leica, all over the world.

You won't regret it and you could even sell it on at a profit with the invoice for the repair.

Regards, David
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Thanks David for your comment and your politeness 🙂 - much appreciated..

I will definitely get it repaired, and actually no intention of selling it if the problem gets fixed.

I am actually now selling my Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F with three prime Takumar lenses including 50mm f/1.4 to raise some money for the repair. The set is on ebay now, and let's see how it goes.

Unfortunately I am a poor PhD student finishing his thesis- like many postgrads I survive with a very limited budget.. I just hope that almost two decades of tertiary studying will be of use one day!
 
Keep us posted about your CL. It's a great story so far and I'm looking forward to the photographs you eventually get with it and the 40 'Cron.
 
Geordiepete said:
Keep us posted about your CL. It's a great story so far and I'm looking forward to the photographs you eventually get with it and the 40 'Cron.
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Thank you for your comment and sharing my excitement!

So the latest update is that I have just sent the camera to Youxin Ye (http://www.yyecamera.com/).

I've read quite positive comments about him on this forum and elsewhere. He will charge $80 for unjamming the camera, but he doesn't make any promises. He says he doesn't do much work on CL as it is a stand alone model. But he also says that he did unjam few CLs in the past, and he would try to do his best.

The good thing is that he will not charge anything if he can't fix it. I will then only pay for the return postage. The official Leica service in Australia asked $50 for the inspection, and said they will not do service if the cost of repair is below $150.

So I will keep my fingers crossed until I hear back from Youxin Ye.

And of course I will definitely post the updates!
 
kutitta said:
Thanks David for your comment and your politeness 🙂 - much appreciated..

I will definitely get it repaired, and actually no intention of selling it if the problem gets fixed.

I am actually now selling my Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F with three prime Takumar lenses including 50mm f/1.4 to raise some money for the repair. The set is on ebay now, and let's see how it goes.

Unfortunately I am a poor PhD student finishing his thesis- like many postgrads I survive with a very limited budget.. I just hope that almost two decades of tertiary studying will be of use one day!
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Hi,

Well, if your luck with CL's is an example, then you shouldn't have any problems. Even so I'll wish you luck selling the other stuff on ebay.

The CL is a lovely camera it's one of only two I've had from new: although there are several I've bought again in that wonderful period when everyone was throwing out film cameras and going over to digital, poor things.

Regards, David
 
Just a quick update...

Unfortunately Youxin Ye was not able to unjam the camera, but the good thing is that he offered a working Leica CL with a good price and I grabbed it. Both bodies are now on their way to Australia.

I will sell the defect body on ebay, but if there is anyone interested I can consider offers from RF members as well...

Hopefully I will share some photographs from my first roll pretty soon...
 
Sherry Krauter is an expert on this camera if you decide to fix it after all. But don't ask for a CLA, you need a repair, not just clean, lube & adjust. May not be worth the price, though.
 
Pablito said:
Sherry Krauter is an expert on this camera if you decide to fix it after all. But don't ask for a CLA, you need a repair, not just clean, lube & adjust. May not be worth the price, though.
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Thank you Pablito. I had Sherry in mind, but now that I have a working CL on the way, I just can't justify the repair cost. I have already paid for the working body to Ye, so the defect body will be on sale.

I also appreciate if anyone can let me know about the fair price of nonworking Leica CL...
 
denizg7 said:
that is not a leica. shoulda bought the advanced minolta version, it's more advance than a real leica
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Leica CL is not a Leica, but advanced Minolta is a real Leica...

sorry, but that just sounds a bit strange. If you are trying to say that Minolta CLE is a more advanced camera than Leica CL, I can understand that. But I find it difficult to understand you saying that Leica CL is not a Leica, sorry...
 
kutitta said:
Leica CL is not a Leica, but advanced Minolta is a real Leica...

sorry, but that just sounds a bit strange. If you are trying to say that Minolta CLE is a more advanced camera than Leica CL, I can understand that. But I find it difficult to understand you saying that Leica CL is not a Leica, sorry...
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hmm let me try to explain it as simply as I can.

It is not made by Leica
and I am talking about the CLE
 
Well, it was designed as a Leica by Leica with Minolta's co-operation and help. Nothing unusual there; other M's and R's had design and component input from outside the firm. And vice versa, some Minoltas had Leica's input; so can they be called Minoltas?

Finding something completely and totally made in house by any firm is unusual. Some would say impossible as the plastics, alloys and glass would stop it being 100% pure.

And I have my doubts about Leica owning a farm, abattoir, tannery etc for the leather used to cover the bodies and make the cases but I'm happy to call them Leica made. Even though the clickers, skivers and machinists worked for a sub-contractor.

Equally the Minolta CLE had the 90mm lens made by Leitz so I guess you can't call it a Minolta camera...

Regards, David
 
Well, it was designed as a Leica by Leica with Minolta's co-operation and help. Nothing unusual there; other M's and R's had design and component input from outside the firm. And vice versa, some Minoltas had Leica's input; so can they be called Minoltas?

Finding something completely and totally made in house by any firm is unusual. Some would say impossible as the plastics, alloys and glass would stop it being 100% pure.
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Absolutely Im always surprised when purists claim the CL is not a Leica. Its too quirky to be designed by Minolta. Look at that meter arm similar to no other camera but the M5 it just screams LEICA!

Equally the Minolta CLE had the 90mm lens made by Leitz so I guess you can't call it a Minolta camera
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Actually this part of your post isnt quite true only the Leitz Minolta CLs 90nn lens was made by Leitz. The Minolta CLE lenses were Made In Japan by Minolta. The 90mm in fact shares a similar 4 element design to the Leitz version but Minolta changed it slightly and differs in performance.
 
denizg7 said:
hmm let me try to explain it as simply as I can.

It is not made by Leica
and I am talking about the CLE
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Thank you very much for David and Joel for the clarification. Upon reading denizg7's first comment, and of course as a new member of the Leica world, I had the feeling that there was something deep going on. Your comments were really helpful for me to see that the core issue was the Japanese input.

BTW, the Minolta input would only make me happy, as I am a dedicated Minolta user. My DSLR is (still) Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D and have no intention of buying another one until it dies. I also shoot with Minolta Maxxum 700si - a joyful camera. Minolta X570 was my primary camera for quite a while until it passed away around last Xmas....

I also see the point in denizg7's comment about Minolta CLE. It might well be better or more advanced camera than Leica CL, but the life is not a ceteris paribus game. It just happens that you see a Leica CL plus Summicron 40mm f/2 with $10 price tag, and you just buy it. You simply don't compare the camera with anything else at that spot. And also what Ye asked for his CL was a good price that would be hard to get on ebay or elsewhere, so I accepted it.
 
Hi,

It's very difficult to get to the truth about the Leica CL etc. I've a nice fat file of cuttings (started in 1973) and so on about them and there's all the internet comments. The more you see the more versions of the story you accumulate.

I doubt if we'll get anywhere without a couple of groups of us raiding Leica in Germany and Minolta in Japan and going through their archives. Somehow I can't see that happening: well, not this week.

My worry is that it will end up like the FED/Leica story and all the confusion about which side the USSR was on in WW2 and Contax etc. Now that's a real mess...

Regards, David
 
First of all, I would like to thank you all again for your comments...

I have finally received my CL from Youxin Ye last week, and will post some examples from the first roll. There were few out of focus shots, which were entirely my fault obviously. The metering works and seems to be very accurate.

The only question I have is that the photos look reversed on the prints. For example in the first shot below, I was om the left side of the tunnel, so in the viewfinder the wall is on my left, but in the print it is reversed as you can see. I don't know I did something wrong when loading the film, or it was the print lab! I appreciate any advise on this!

I used Ilford XP2 Super 400 in this first roll!

Any comments, advise are welcomed and much appreciated!

I would like to add another lens to the kit, and obviously I have Elmar-C 90mm f/4 in mind, but what about Jupiter 9 85mm f/2? Do you think it would be a good idea to get that lens? I have a Russian friend living in Sydney, and her husband still live in Russia, and I can get that lens much cheaper (with a FED or Zorki body probably) than its ebay price from there, but is it worth it? (especially considering that Elmar-C is not so much expensive)

Anyway, here are some examples - they are not great photographs, but just to bring a happy end to this thread...

By the way I have sold the defect body for $120, so that was another piece of update... 🙂

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What a wonderful story!

There is always some ... who tries to rain on any given parade don't worry.

About the reversed scan, did you scan it or the lab? When being scanned the film was placed the wrong way up. No drama's, you just reverse it back, any software like Iphoto etc. can do that.

Cheers,
Wim
 
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