I just came across a CLE Minolta in good shape but without lens. Since it is in good shape and the size is good to me and therefore want to take it to back up my M6 ttl if the CLE also accept the M lenses. Heard that service of the CLE is not supported by Minolta and therefore parts might not be easily available, is that true? Does the CLE also accepts the M lenses without the use of adaptors? Anything else should I take care when checking this camera such as fraulty shutter or light meter? Many thanks for sharing your valuable experience. Best Regards,

-- tom tong (tom.tong@ckh.com.hk), January 16, 2002

Answers

And also, what is the approx. price for a user CLE in good shape. I have not played with this camera yet, assuming everything is in order. Many Thanks

-- tom tong (tom.tong@ckh.com.hk), January 16, 2002.

Tom, I bought my CLE body in Hong Kong for around HK$ 6,500 (if I remember it correctly) at Tin Cheung about two years ago. Since the CLE's shutter is electronic, there's really nothing much to check except to make sure that it operates when the camera's switched on. Look into the viewfinder to see if the LED indicator for the shutter speed move up and down as you point the camera (with a lens on it) towards different light sources. Check also the shutter curtain to ensure that it opens and closes smoothly. The light-seal foam may have turned gooey after all these years, and, if that's the case, you'll have to have it replaced (can be done quite cheaply at Minolta, and have a thorough CLA while you at it). I think the most important thing to do for buying used cameras in Hong Kogn (I assume that's where you are) is to buy it from a place where you can trust.

I have had the camera serviced twice at the local Minolta Service Centre; the first was adding a rubber-knob thingy that rotates around the metal tab on the film rewind crank (the part that you hold with your fingers to rewind the film). It came missing on my camera, and Minolta had no problem replacing it as it was a common part with some of its other SLR cameras (it was done in 15 minutes. Later, I found that the exposure meter was under-exposing for about a stop, which is expected given that it's a camera of almost 20 years old. So I had it sent in for a complete CLA, and it's working wonderfully now. Besides Minolta Service Centre (the main one is in the IFC Mall in Central, and the other is in Quarry Bay), another place where you can have your CLE serviced, if required, is Panda Camera-Repair Service in the penthouse of Double Building on Stanley Street (next to Luk Yu Teahouse).

Other than the two relatively minor problems, the camera has been a joy to use with the lenses I have--Elmarit-M 20/2.8 ASPH; Voigtlander Color-Skopar 20/4 (with adapter ring); Voigtlander Snapshot-Skopar 24/4 (again, with adapter ring); M-Hexanon 28/2.8; Summicron-C 40/2; Elmar 90/4. For more info on lens compatibility, you're find a lot of good information here: http://www.cameraquest.com/c le.htm (it's Stephen Gandy's site).

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), January 16, 2002.

The main problems with the CLE are that it has no exposure lock in auto and no meter in manual. Pretty serious defects IMHO. Here is a website with lens compatiblty info:

http://www.mygale.org/cesarigd/photoe2cleo.htm

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), January 16, 2002.

The exposure lock would have been nice, but I have learned to switch it off "A" to whatever manual speed I need very quickly for the times where odd lighting would confuse the camera. Its not as inconvenient as you might think to do this. The CLE is a great camera with a bright and contrasty uncluttered finder, a super smooth shutter release, TTL flash, and is very compacyt and easy to load/unload. Works well with most short Leica M lenses (up to 90mm). I even use my 50mm Summicron and just crop in a bit on the 40 lines. I have used my 135mm Tele-Elmar with a shoe mount finder and it had no problem focusing the lens.

You can easily find a superb 40 Rokkor or Summicron for $200 to $300, and that's my favorite lens to use with the CLE.

Bodies seem to go for about $650.00 US.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), January 16, 2002.

Hi Tom, I am using a CLE myself and like it very much, it is actually more reliabel than my M6 (that has just been sent in to fix a broken curtain roller....), AE is very nice though you have to be carefull when there is a lot of bright area in the picture area. But you'l get used to it. I actually cannot use the 35 mm Summicron (preaspherical) on the camera, that is the only one I know that does not fit mechanically. Apparently reapiring the camera can be difficult or impossible, so I would consider also a Hexar RF instead of a CLE, but I cannot comment on the quality of that camera. Hope that helps.

-- Johannes Fleischhauer (j.fleischhauer@vsao.ch), January 16, 2002.

Tom, Just be aware that focusing cams on M lenses don't match up too well with CLE system.. It's not going to afford the flexibility of lenses that an m will. Also, I had one years ago and got rid of it...too many problems.

-- George L. Doolittle (geodoolitt@aol.com), January 16, 2002.

The CLE is a great camera, esp. if you mainly use 28/40/90. The 40 mm CLE Rokkor is a very sharp lens. When you test the camera you are considering please be sure to fire it with a flash a few times as well as firing it in A mode set at all the different apertures a bunch of times. My CLE had a faulty flash/AE circuit and would intermittently throw in an extremely long shutterspeed, or fail to fire the flash. I had it repaired through Stephen Gandy at www.cameraquest.com (which incidentally has a very complete review of the camera) and they were able to find the replacement circuit. Now it works great.

-- Steve Rosenblum (stevierose@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002.

May I ask if the TTL metering is still working when in manual mode? My problem is: the flash won't fire if there is enough light. So how to take a 'fill-flash' picture? Thanks a lot.

-- John (doi3@hotmail.com), January 17, 2002.

The metering on the CLE works only in the A mode. If you switch it to a selected shutter speed, it's the same as an M3 or an M2; you set the shutter speed and aperture you want and bang away. On the rare occasions there isn't film in mine and it's set to A, the shutter speeds seem slower when just messing around, so be aware of this when 'testing' one in a shop with your calibrated ear. Probably a byproduct of metering off the film plane. Mine had been little used before I bought it and the meter was jumpy before it was carefully cleaned. And if the lens is worth $300, I got a better deal on the body than I thought.

-- Josef Brugger (jbrugger@pcez.com), January 17, 2002.

I have a CLE and like it very much despite the some of the problems mentioned such as no AE lock or metering in manual mode. I normal get around the problem the same way as a previous poster by going to manual mode. Note the meter information first before taking into manual mode and make your adjustments accordingly. A lot of cameras from that period seem to have this issue with AE versus manual mode. It is a old camera and parts are only going to get harder to get.

The camera with the most problems with metering was the CL not the CLE.

-- (garylhuie@netscape.net), January 17, 2002.

I have 2 CLE's and, frankly, think they are better than the Hexar RF in terms of faster shutter release, general build quality, portability and overall handling. Both have add on grips, which are rare.

The first body was bought in Nagoya, used, in 1985 for about 50,000 yen. Had a shutter release problem which Minolta fixed for 6000 yen. Have used and abused this camera extensively. Only problem now (perpetual) is that occationally the meter diode goes haywire and dances all over the play. A light but firm slap on the body with the palm brings it back. Really! I thought this camera would have died years ago but it keeps going.

Second one bought in excellent condition in Kobe in 1999 for 100,000 yen. (My wife gave me a choice: either the CLE or presenting a paper at the Utopian Studies conference in San Antonio. Getting a reward for not doing my academic work could generate bad habits!) Small problem with the top plate on hot shoe. With some bending and wiggling got in good and proper and it has stayed put. No electro / mechanical problems.

I've heard about Leica / Minolta misfit for years and think it is b.s. See Stephan Gandy on this. There might be some grounds for saying this about the CL which uses a different cam. But even there I don't think so. My photos say there is no problem anyway--for what that is worth.

Use Leica lenses on your CLE and enjoy yourself.

Here in Japan the camera magazines occationally engage in "CLE II" fantasies. The CLE has become a cult classic here--too bad it didn't sell well back in the 80's.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4-u.or.jp), January 18, 2002.

No one addressed the question of fill-flash capability on the Minolta CLE. Try reading http://www.cameraquest.com/cle The information is a couple pages into the article. There is an exposure compensation dial, but I've never had a flash on mine.

The Minolta CLE manual (or maybe a photocopy) is available from www.craigcamera.com

-- Joe Brugger (joebrugger@news.oregonian.com), January 23, 2002.