Leica CL
Picture a Leica camera in your head. Got it? Did you go with an older style Barnack Leica with a screw-mount M39 lens? Or maybe you pictured an M-series Leica in the vein of an M2, M3, or even (gasp) the M5? All of these are the kinds of cameras you'd be expected to have pop into your head. The Leica that very few people picture is the Leica CL.
First sent to market in 1973, the Leica CL was a substantial departure from from its Leica predecessors. The body of the Leica CL is not at all what the M2, M3, or M4 looked like. The proportions of those bodies are unmistakably Leica, whereas the CL is much smaller. The shutter speed dial was moved from the top of the camera to the front and it incorporated the film speed setting for the internal light meter. The rewind crank for the CL was moved to the bottom of the camera body. All of this allowed the CL's body to be reduced to a size that easily fits in a pocket or handbag.
So is a camera that is that different really still a "Leica"? Sure is! Break out some of your favorite M-Mount lenses and put them on. Like the M5, the collapsible lenses aren't a good fit as they can damage the light meter, but your standard, non-collapsible 50mm or 90mm? The Lecia CL can use them perfectly well. But perhaps the best lens to put on the CL is a 40mm f/2 Summicron. This is the lens the CL was made for. The framelines for the 40mm lens are bright and the whole camera and lens kit are still nice and compact. It's as close to a perfect combination as you're likely to see.
So next time you think of a Leica, let the CL pop into your mind. Better yet, pick one up and wonder why more people aren't thinking of it!
ar/js
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