CL for $379 very clean no shipping

The CL is one of my favourite cameras. I have 2. A working meter is a bonus. I wish someone would make a full frame digital version of this camera.
 
AlwaysOnAuto said:
Found this on Craigslist last night.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/pho/3699683784.html
Is the meter a genetic problem with these cameras?
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Good deal. The lens alone is worth $350-400. Broken meter is very common on CL's. Just use a small handheld or clip on meter if you are not good at guessing exposure. Think of the CL as a screw mount Leica with a better viewfinder, or as a smaller meter-less M camera like your M3.
 
The CL meters are notorious -- more of them not working than working now. I always assumed they were the same meter as in the M5 but one never hears of this problem -- or, I have never heard of this as a chronic problem -- with the M5s. I love my M2 and IIIf and Nikon F and Nikon F2 meterless cameras, and 500 C/M Hasselblad, but if a camera is supposed to have a meter and it doesn't work, it drives me nuts. It shouldn't but it does.
 
FrankS said:
Good deal. The lens alone is worth $350-400. Broken meter is very common on CL's. Just use a small handheld or clip on meter if you are not good at guessing exposure. Think of the CL as a screw mount Leica with a better viewfinder, or as a smaller meter-less M camera like your M3.
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This is correct, so the CL costs you about $250.
 
sparrow6224 said:
if a camera is supposed to have a meter and it doesn't work, it drives me nuts.
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Agree completely. It's like wearing pants with the pockets sewn shut.

I've had Sherry fix a few CLs for me, including at least two that needed meter work. She once told me that the circuit board that's connected to the meter is often the problem. Corrosion, joints unsoldering with time and vibration, and I guess simple electronic fatigue.

And yes, she's replaced at least two meter cells for me, too. The last time I had it done, she told me that Leitz were out of them and she'd found an equivalent part, and made a point of saying that it wasn't going to an exact match for the original, sensitivity-wise. Not as good in low light, I think she said.

Great cameras, but as finicky as 1970s Italian sports cars, and desperately fragile in my hands. I've broken every CL I've owned, and I've probably paid the price of a used MP in repair bills. Love/Hate.
 
The CL's analog meter is outstanding. Far better than the diodes in my M6. And the location of the shutter speed dial is perfect. It's a great camera.
 
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