Minolta CLE how does it compare?

[GregY]

Yes, the Hexar AF has a top speed of 1/250, which is a bit of a bummer. An ND filter can make that less painful. The P/A mode are pretty cool, the AE worked well for me. Oh, if it wasn't for that darn shutter button problem...

I only have the CLE so I can't compare and I mainly shoot medium format these days so it doesn't get a lot of exercise, mine does still work and I did enjoy using it, mostly using the AE with the 40mm, good rangefinder patch, pretty quiet, small! I bought mine at a good price with all the 'standard' lenses, maybe 5 years ago, I am afraid to look at current prices!
I follow pppcameras, a camera repair business in England (London?), on instagram and the CLE shows some times so some repairs are possible, although the electronics are not mentioned so far.

Doesn't the Leica CL also have auto-exposure? I believe it is not as expensive as M7 or the other ones.

The CL has no auto-exposure. It has a moveable meter cell on an arm, like the M5. Other than that it's manual camera

 

[brbo]

As suggested before, think about your need/wish for AE in a rangefinder camera. Without that requirement options for good rangefinder M mount cameras get wider.

If you don't need a meter, options get wider, better and cheaper.

 

[jtk]

Doesnt the Hexar AF have a top shutter speed of 1/250?

Huss, shutter speed was too low at top end to use in daylight with 800ei (my normal B&W). And of course there was the problem at the other end with slow film. Great indoors with fast film, nfg outdoors with fast film, nfg indoors with slow film etc etc For someone who's willing to accommodate film selection to this goofy reality I'm sure it'd have been a wonderful tool.

 

[Huss]

Huss, shutter speed was too low at top end to use in daylight with 800ei (my normal B&W). And of course there was the problem at the other end with slow film. Great indoors with fast film, nfg outdoors with fast film, nfg indoors with slow film etc etc For someone who's willing to accommodate film selection to this goofy reality I'm sure it'd have been a wonderful tool.

So strange that Konica would make something like that, given it was meant to be a top spec/luxury camera. Even the lowly Konica C35 EF3 that I use has a top speed of 1/500!
I will not even mention my Rollei Qz35 which shoots from 16 secs to 1/8000. Nope, not gonna mention that.

 

[Paul Howell]

I agree that the Hextar's shutter speed was too low, but it was designed to be top end point and shoot, most had low top shutter speeds, the Rollei was a exception.

 

[Finn lyle]

In the search for an M mount camera I had the opportunity to get an M3 with a summicron 50mm DR for a very reasonable price, so of course I went for it. Wow, what a camera! Blows the SP out of the water in every regard, most notably with having a usable RF patch. It wound up coming with an MC meter too, which shockingly has been dead-on in every situation against a Pentax spotmeter.

 

[madNbad]

In the search for an M mount camera I had the opportunity to get an M3 with a summicron 50mm DR for a very reasonable price, so of course I went for it. Wow, what a camera! Blows the SP out of the water in every regard, most notably with having a usable RF patch. It wound up coming with an MC meter too, which shockingly has been dead-on in every situation against a Pentax spotmeter.

Have fun with it! If a selenium cell has been stored properly and protected from light they can last a long time. I have a Gossen Pilot my bother bought in the early 1960's and it still works great.

 

[Huss]

In the search for an M mount camera I had the opportunity to get an M3 with a summicron 50mm DR for a very reasonable price, so of course I went for it. Wow, what a camera! Blows the SP out of the water in every regard, most notably with having a usable RF patch. It wound up coming with an MC meter too, which shockingly has been dead-on in every situation against a Pentax spotmeter.

Exactly. It's funny how some people try to re-write history and claim the SP was the best 35mm rf camera. All you gotta do is use an M3 and reality hits.

I use an M3 alongside an MP, M-A etc and the only place it lags is that it takes longer to load film. If that is a concern. But using the camera? Awesome. Congrats.

 

[JamesEsq]

I have several Leica RF's and a CLE. Although the Leicas are certainly better built, prettier to look at, etc., I reach for the CLE more often because of the great metering and ease of use.

 

[kiss-o-matic]

Owner of the Zeiss Ikon ZM (2 actually) as well as the Minolta CLE.

Ikon ZM:
My first "real" film camera, in 2011 I believe, being a convert from digital (which I had only been serious about after becoming a father about 4 years earlier). Works great, but I dropped it and had to send it in (twice actually). Cosina (of Japan) was amazing, and fixed it for a very reasonable price both times. After moving to the states, I did not get the same vibes from Zeiss in the US. They would have had to ship it to Germany, and the cost was more than what a used body would have cost at the time ($700 or so). That body would from time to time "jam up" and the only way to fix was to take the lens off and fidget with one of the things inside. I put in a cheeky bid on a used body on Ebay and "accidentally" won it for about $625. Whoops. I put the broken one away and have not had any issues with the new one. Now that the price is so ridiculous I should get the goofy one fixed.

Minolta CLE:
Not the coolest thing in the world, but I bought this to have a similar experience to my Ikon at Burning Man. For those that don't know, this is NOT a nice environment for anything - especially fragile electronics. Yet, millions of dollars worth of crap makes it there every year. It served me quite well to say the least, although one year the meter broke (and I'm pretty sure it was b/c it cracked). Kinda noticed it was wonky but instead of using Sunny 16 that year I wound up screwing up quite a few shots. Send it in to Dave Easterwood who gave it an overhaul for $200. Meter works great. It's been back to Burning Man twice since then and gives me great results.

Thoughts on the two:
Main one would be if you want to use 35mm or not. CLE's lack of 35mm is the most notable difference for me. The ZM having both 28 and 35 lines gives it a huge advantage. Ikon goes up to a faster shutter speed I think but I would never need 1/2000 so that's kind of a moot point.

 

[Huss]

Dave Easterwood is pretty much the only dood who will work on CLEs. He fixed mine that no-one else would touch with the usual "no spare parts" excuse.