RE: [Leica] leica CL

[srlondon@ibm.net]

I recently purchased a CL w/40mm Rokkor.  After two weeks with the camera, I really like it.  I see a few major benefits to the camera which justify it in as an addition to an M camera collection.  Most important is the compact size and suprising low weight of the camera.  The camera with the 40mm f/2 Rokkor will fit with room to spare into the pocket of khaki pants I wear with minimal bulging.  It makes the CL truly a go-everywhere camera, and a highly inconspicuous one at that.  The metering system of the camera is highly accurate, being something along the line of 7.5% of the frame.  That is selective enough for the camera to pick out a smaller detail in a scene to focus on, so the consideration of having to compensate for bright sky or backgrounds as is the case in the M is less of an issue.  The viewfinder window is good, as the shutter speed currently selected shows up in a scale on the top.  The rangefinder patch is very good in high contrast situations, such as outdoor!
s, but inside in low light, its lower-contrast makes focusing a bit more difficult than what you might be accustomed to with an M camera.  The camera is thus useful in low light (more than automatic point and shoot, as you retain more control), but less than an M camera, as you are confined to slower lenses (40 f/2, 90 f/4) by virtue of the CL's lower focusing accuracy (inherent in the smaller rangefinder base length due to the CL's amazingly compact dimensons).  The loading on the camera is easy, as the entire back slips off like in a Rollei 35.  I have not had a misload yet, and the back is impossible to lose (unlike the bottom of an M6) if you are using a strap, as one end connects to the body, and the other to the back, thus keeping them tethered together.

The 40mm f/2 Rokkor seems to be in the same ballpark as my 35mm Summicron (last pre-asph version) at middling apertures (which is to say, excellent), but loses a bit of its edge wide open.  It is certainly great performance from such an amazingly compact and inexpensive lens.

In short, if you're looking for a light and compact camera to bring places you don't want to risk your M or want to travel super-light, the CL is for you.  It is especially suited to scenics and travel photography because you can 
shoot using hyperfocal lens settings and have an interchangeable lens manual exposure camera at a great price in a point and shoot-sized package.  It is not a replacement for the M, which thoroughly dominates low-light photography with its brighter, contrastier viewfinder and rangefinder patch, as well as rangefinder accuracy to accomodate superspeed lenses like the Noctilux.

Best of luck.

- ----Original Message-----
   >From:    	"Tom Wyse" <tmwyse@centuryinter.net>
   >could someone please discuss the merits or lack thereof of the CL, and 
   >the question of lens interchangeability with the M

   >TIA
   >Tom