Anyone use a 75mm with a Leica CL?

[s.giannuzzi]

Hi,
I've just bought a Leica CL with 40mm summicron-c on Ebay, and I wonder if I can use also my 75 summicron. I can't find on Internet the phisical dimension of 90 elmar-c, but i think that is similar to the 75 summicron.

Anyone use a 75mm lens with Leica CL? How can I use with the 90 frame?

Anyone could me suggest a wide lens for a small travel three lens kit?

Thank You very much!

Stefano

[JNewell]

Ideal small kit: 40mm f/2, 90mm f/4 and 21mm f/4 VC + finder

75/1.4 may block the rangefinder. I can't use my 50/1.4 with the vented hood attached.

[BillBingham2]

The CL RF EBL I think is too short for a 75/1.4. The CV 75 should be OK, but I doubt anything faster.

B2 (;->

[JNewell]

I agree on the effective base length of the rangefinder being too short, but I'm pretty sure in this case it won't matter!

To answer the question that hasn't been answered, no, I don't think you're going to get particularly satisfactory results using the 90mm frame. Any Leica 75mm will bring up the 40/50 pair, anyway. If you try the CV, which I believe is an LTM mount, you could use a 28/90 adapter to bring up the 90mm frame...but again, it's going to be very tight so you'll lose a fair % of the negative (assuming you framed what you wanted in the 90mm frames).

[Vincenzo Maielli]

The effective rangefinder baselenght of the Leica CL don't support the ultra fast lenses over f/ 2.
Ciao.
Vincenzo

[rxmd]

Originally Posted by nikonhswebmaster

Without going into a long-winded explanation, the CL is not a standard Leica, and likes to use its own special lenses.

Er, but without a long-winded explanation to illustrate your point this is simply not true in this generality. Any M-mount lens will work on the Leica CL, except those protruding too far into the rear just like on the M5. Baselength is a problem, but this doesn't limit the CL to "its own special lenses", just to slower telephotos in general.

Philipp

[Andy Aitken]

Use a CV75mm shoe finder and try not to use wide open at closer distances and you should be fine.

Nice compact wides on the CL IMHO: CV21 f4, CV25 f4, Kobalux or CV 28mm f3.5.

[vrgard]

To further Andy's comment above, another nice 28 for the CL is a Canon 28/3.5 (ltm with adapter). Very compact kit and the viewfinder of the CL is a decent approximation of the 28 framelines.

-Randy

[Santafecino]

Before you buy any lens for the CL, check it without the lens shade and make sure the lens itself doesn't block the rangefinder window when fully extended--closest distance. Then try it for the same purpose with the lens shade. If the lens doesn't work, you probably shouldn't buy it. But if one shade doesn't work, you can probably rig a different one. I have been able to use a Jupiter-9 (85mm f:2) on my CLs with the right (cylindrical) shade.
--Lindsay

[s.giannuzzi]

Hi,
I've just discovered a trick for use my 75 summicron on Leica cl (works also with my M3)!
When you are mounting the lens on camera, if you turn on the left the lens 2 millimeters over the normal position, will appear the 90 frame!!!
Seems a dirty trick, but works... so now I can estimate the 75 using the outer 90 frame.


Thank you very much for your previous responses
Stefano

[Paul T.]

You will have NO problem fitting the 75mm. Despite the bluster above, the cam should fit fine. It won't damage the meter, and the CL should be able to focus a 75mm lens at 2.8 easily, and perhaps ever at 2.0 with practice.

However, speaking as someone who persevered with attempting to use the VC 75mm with the CL, it's simply not worth the hassle. With a portrait lens, you need accurate framelines, and guesstimating 75mm coverage using the 90mm lines is too much of a PITA.

Use the excellent 90mm Elmar C, or any of the available 90/2.8 lenses, all of which the CL should be able to focus correctly.

[oscroft]

I use my CV 75/2.5 on my CL, using a 28/90 M-mount adapter. That gives the 90 framelines which I just use as a rough guide - I don't find it too hard to estimate the extra field of view for the 75.

[JNewell]

I'd love to hear a report from someone with a 75mm Summilux and a CL. I doubt that framelines are the problem - I bet the lens blocks the rangefinder and a generous % of the viewfinder as well.

[JNewell]

Out of curiosity, I tried a 90mm AA on my CL last night (no longer have a 75mm Summilux). With some variation depending on whether the hood was extended or not and how far the lens was racked out, the rangefinder obstruction was somewhere in the 1/3 to 2/3 range. The good news, I guess, is that there was still a useful-sized portion remaining even with the hood extended and the lens racked all the way out. I didn't try to figure out whether the 75mm 'Lux would obstruct more or less of the RF window.

And, obviously, just so no one misunderstands, as discussed above, the EBL of the CL's rangefinder won't support consistently accurate focus of a 90mm at f/2 or a 75mm at f/1.4. I was just interested in whether focusing was possible at *any* aperture, and it seems that (with some limitations) it would be.