Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/06/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Back in the mid-70s, Leica had an RF camera that no one would buy because it was huge, weird, and "definitely not an M Leica." They also had a very expensive (compared to Nikon etc) SLR camera (SL-2) that no one would buy because of its high price, lack of interchangeable bits and pieces, and the fact that you had to buy an even-more-expensive MOT body plus motor if you wanted a motorized camera. Plus it didn't have AE. So...Leica's camera division was in serious trouble. They'd already collaborated with Minolta on several SLR lenses, plus Minolta already had lots of experience with electronically-controlled cameras, so the R3 and affordable "Compact Leica" were almost natural occurances. The R3, essentially an XE-7 with Leica-designed electronics, was quickly updated to take an autowinder, while otoh no one bought the CL simply because "it wasn't a Leica." The CL was available in several versions; CL w/Leitz Summicron, Leitz-Minolta CL w/Rokkor, and Minolta CL w/Rokkor. The Minolta CLE was a later electronic version. Leitz Canada did the right thing; they cobbled together an autowinder M4, calling it the M4-2, and Leica began recovering from the M5 fiasco. John Hicks jbh@magicnet.net