Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>>Hexar RF has an aluminium diecast body, with titanium covering, >>with black, crinkle paint. > >How does this compare to CL/CLE construction? Is the Hexar a CLE >clone? I've never actually seen either camera in the flesh but The CL/CLE are also a diecast aluminum chassis but are a very different camera from the Hexar RF, based upon the pictures. The Hexar RF has a longer physical rangefinder baseline, for one thing. The CL had fully mechanical shutter, moving arm TTL CdS metering sensor and a fully removable back with flip down pressure plate. The CLE has an electronically timed shutter, aperture priority AE, TTL flash and metering, and a more conventional swing-open back. Both the CL and CLE are manual film advance only. The Hexar adds the full complement of Leica M framelines, longer RF physical baseline and motorized film transport. The body is longer, closer to the M cameras than the CL/CLE cameras, and has an extended range of shutter speeds. This is all judging from the data sheet and the pictures, of course. Overall, the functional specifications are quite similar to the CLE even though the camera is rather larger and has the motorized film transport. Godfrey