MINOLTA CLE

Review and Photo example of the MINOLTA CLE.

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Gallery

The photo example was taken with a Fuji Film Tiara 28mm F3.5 lens and a Fuji 100C film.

Review

The Minolta CLE is a Leica M-mount rangefinder camera equipped with automatic exposure control and an electronically controlled shutter, and is the successor to the CL released jointly by Minolta and LEICA.
I won’t discuss the specifications and reviews for MINOLTA CLE here because many of my predecessors have talked about them.

I have used this camera twice, the first time was for about 3 months in 2007, and the second time was on the 1st of 2024.The aircraft I purchased in 2007 was well maintained and in good condition. . Some parts were changed to gold color, and the leather was changed to lizard leather (lizard specification).

The main reason I gave it up after 3 months was that the viewfinder frame display was different from the Leica for general use, and since I mainly used 35mm lenses, I was disappointed that it didn’t have a 35mm viewfinder frame.
In any case, the viewfinder frame is a little sketchy, so if that’s all you have, you’ll probably be able to put it to practical use by shooting while keeping in mind a little bit within the 40mm frame. At the time, I was also using a Konica Hexer RF, so I found that to be a more convenient camera for taking pictures.

So, why did I buy it? It was an individual with a rare exterior that was being sold at a fairly low price. I have a record in my diary that I bought 3 Kodachrome (KR64) and 1 monochrome film on impulse.

In 2024, I purchased a junk camera and lens set. The lens was in good condition, but the camera was in very poor condition, the viewfinder was full of dust, the double image was weak, and the top cover was broken, so it wasn’t in good condition as a camera.
By passing a single roll of film through, I was able to check the mechanical parts and confirm that there were no exposure leaks. I asked my father at a used camera store how much it would be worth if I exchanged this CLE for a Hexar RF. He looked at the camera and said, “That specimen is worthless to us. If we keep it on consignment, we might sell it someday.” Since it wasn’t in good condition, I took a photo of the exterior and put it up on an auction site as a junk item at a buy-it-now price, but it sold within minutes and I had to leave the house. There are probably people looking for cheap CLEs for parts.

The viewfinder frame of the CLE is automatically displayed based on the length of the claw on the lens side, and the photographer cannot manually adjust the viewfinder frame.
The settings for automatically displaying the viewfinder frame are as shown in the table below. CEL assigns the 28mm viewfinder frame display to the 35/135mm viewfinder frame display setting, which CLE does not use, to separate the 28mm and 90mm displays.

Finder frame	Tooth length	MINOLTA CLE	LEICA M / HEXAR RF
28/90	long	90	28/90
50/75	middle	40/50	50/75
35/135	short	28	35/135

As stated on the M Rokkor 28mm page, the M mount claw position for displaying the CLE’s 28mm frame is the same as the lens claw position for displaying the 35/135mm frame on M-type Leica cameras. If you install the second generation Elmarito M 28mm or later on the CLE, the 28mm frame will not be displayed and the 90mm frame will be displayed.
What is interesting is that the original Elmarito M 28mm also has a claw length of 35/135, and when attached to a Leica M type camera that can display a 28mm viewfinder frame, the 28mm viewfinder frame will not be displayed. I love the first-generation Elmarito, so when I use the first-generation Elmarito, I equip it with an external funder.
The 28mm viewfinder frame of the CLE is displayed on the first-generation Elmarito 28mm, but because the rear lens of the first-generation Elmarito largely intrudes into the lens, the CLE’s automatic exposure may not work properly.

The CLE’s viewfinder frame can be considered to be approximately 28mm from the outside of the viewfinder, so if you don’t care about the frame display, it may not be a problem.
However, when using the M Rokkor 28mm with a Leica M type camera, a 35mm frame will be displayed, so I think it would be better to use an external viewfinder.

Specification

Camera name	LEITZ MINOLTA CL	MINOLTA CLE	HEXAR RF
Finder	Real image rangefinder/reverse Galileo perspective finder	←	←
Finder inside	Frequent use of half mirrors	Frequent use ofprisms	←
finder magnification	0.6	0.58	0.6
finder frame	40/50、40/90	28、40、90	28/90、35/135、50/75
Baseline length (mm)	31.5	49.5	69.2
Effective baseline length (mm)	18.9	28.8	41.5
Minimum shooting distance	0.8m	0.8m	0.7m
Shutter	Vertical travel/cloth curtain focal plane shutter	Electronically controlled, horizontal travel, cloth curtain focal plane shutter	Electronically controlled, vertical travel, metal focal plane shutter
Shutter speed	1/1000-1/2sec・B	1/1000-1sec・B	1/4000〜16sec（オート） 1/4000〜1sec（マニュアル）
Shooting method	Manual	Aperture priority automatic exposure Manual (no light meter response)	Aperture priority automatic exposure Manual (with exposure meter response)
Photometry method	Arm type, center weighted, TTL direct metering	Shutter curtain, center-focused average, TTL direct metering	Shutter curtain/average/TTL direct metering
PHOTO-DETECTOR	CdS	SPD (silicon photodiode)	←
Battery	MR-9	SR44(G13) x2 LR44(A76) x2	CR2-3V 2本
ISO/ASA	25〜1600	25〜1600	6〜6400・DX
Size(mm) W x H x D	121 x 76 32	124.5 x 77.5 x 32	139.5 × 80 × 35
Weight(g)	440	375	560
Release date	1973	1998.2	Normal(1999.1) Limited(2001)