Minolta CLE
As age old questions go, the importance of camera versus lens isn't quite on the same scale as the chicken and egg question, but it's not far off. While some people avoid the question altogether by using a fixed lens camera, others look for a camera and lens set that are made for each other. Case in point is the Minolta CLE.
Hitting the market in 1973, the Minolta CLE was part of the joint venture between Minolta and Leica that also produced the Leica CL. While the two cameras have a very similar appearance, and each was designed to use the Leica M-Mount lenses, internally the CLE was built on the frame of the Minolta XG series of cameras and has an electronically controlled shutter while the CL has a mechanical shutter. With its electrically-controlled shutter, the CLE will allow the photographer to use the camera in aperture priority mode.
What makes the CLE special, however, it the set of lenses that are designed for it. Minolta's in-house lens company Rokkor rolled out three lenses for the CLE with a 28mm f/2.8, a 40mm f/2, and a 90mm f/4. The CLE has framelines built-in to the viewfinder for each of these. Rokkor used the designation "Rokkor-M" to differentiate these lenses as Leica M-Mount.
The result of all of this technology, design, and execution is a camera body and set of lenses that work perfectly well together and allow for photography at its easiest and finest. Search out one of these little overlooked gems and see what others may have been missing.
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