On Aug 5, 2005, at 8:21 PM, frank theriault wrote:
probably little chance you're going to get started with a good
Leica system
for $200.00, or the price of a pre-owned plastic Pentax, but for
the price
of an istDs and a 77mm you'll be well on your way and have a few
dollars
left over for film and processing. <snip>
$500US will get a Leica CL with 40mm Summicron C, in pretty good
condition. It's a pretty good body (made in Japan by Minolta), and an
outstanding lens. With M-mount, it will accept pretty much every
Leica lens, except very wide ones (due to the light meter contacting
the rear lens element). Certainly as wide as 24mm is no problem.
Don't judge by my photos how good this camera is for the money <g>.
It's not cheap, but it's an inexpensive way to start a Leica system,
IMHO.
My first Leica RF camera was actually two: a IIc and a IIf, one with
a pre-WW2 3.5cm and the other with an early '50s 5.0cm lens, that I
bought at Olden Camera in NY for $99, complete. That was in 1969. :-)
I made many many photographs with those two cameras. One needed new
shutter curtains at one point or another.
I had a CL plus Summicron-C 40/2 and Heliar ASPH 15/4.5 in 2000-2001.
Always liked the CL but found it to be a bit fragile and mine was a
fussy little bastid when it came to film loading. $500 for a CL with
40/2 in "pretty good condition"? I doubt that very very much, even
today. I bought mine for $750, body only, and sold it for the same
thing. KEH has a CL body and 40/2 lens at about $790 for the pair,
and they're prices are generally quite reasonable.
The CL and 40/2 is a very good camera, but not a substantially better
picture taker than the Rollei 35S and its Sonnar 40/2.8. And the
latter is about 1/3 the size. You can buy a mint- Rollei 35S for
around $300.
Godfrey
