chelsea_mosher Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 Hello. I received my Leica CL on Friday. I bought it on ebay and so it was not thoroughly checked out by an expert before I purchased it. This is my first Leica camera. I am very excited about this upgrade, as I have always used a Nikon FM2 SLR. I could not afford an M6 so I am starting with the CL and I love the size, weight, straps position and overall feel of the camera. My CL came with the Summicron-C Leitz Wetzlar and the lens came with the wrong rubber hood and I cannot figure out how to remove it. I obviously want to avoid damaging my lens. The hood that I received is I believe for the 90MM Elmar, the rubber inscription reads: "Leitz Wetzlar Germany 12517 C4/90-5.5". Also, I ran 4 rolls of film yesterday was saddened to discover that the meter is way off. Can anyone explain how I can remove this rubber hood? It doesn't seem to unscrew or want to come off. Also, would a quality local camera shop be able to assist me with my meter problems or will I need to send it off to Sherry Kraute in New York? I am eager to get shooting and need help overcoming these hurdles. Any help would be much appreciated. Kind Regards, Chelsea Mosher Portland, OR<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 Someone forced the threads together as they are not the same thread. The lens is 39x.75 and the 90 TE thread is 39x.50. The pitch is different and that is why it is so tight. Also the TE shade divides to accept the 5.5 series filters. It looks as if you may only have the large half and not the ring. Who knows what that thread size is. Let Sherry deal with it as she can put a filter wrench on it. Pray it is not cemented on. She will need to deal with the meter issue anyway. She can also remove the rubber and cut the solid part to where is can be broken easily. If the shade is not cutting off the pic corners, leave it alone. 50mm lenses can usually use a longer / deeper shade than what is furnished. The camera is old and cells deteriorate with age and it probably needs a cleaning and relube anyway. Maybe the shutter is running slow and it is not a meter issue. Maybe it is battery issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea_mosher Posted December 9, 2007 Author Share Posted December 9, 2007 Thanks Ronald for both the information and quick response. The shade is cutting the photo corners; that is how I figured out that something was very wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shambrick007 Posted December 9, 2007 Share Posted December 9, 2007 Were the issues disclosed in the auction? If not, why not send it back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea_mosher Posted December 9, 2007 Author Share Posted December 9, 2007 Thank you everyone for your help. The ebay seller has agreed to accept the return! Lucky me. If anyone has a good lead on a quality CL let me know. Thanks! Chelsea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_gleason1 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 "If anyone has a good lead on a quality CL let me know" Bear in mind that, as Ronald pointed out, the CL is a vintage camera and is apt to need a CLA (at least), if none has been performed somewhat recently. The meter on the CL is also known to be prone to fail in various ways. (The needle often slips off its pivots, for example.) Also, the CL meter was designed to use the no-longer-available 625 mercury battery. (If you substituted a current production alkaline or silver oxide cell in the camera you're returning, that could explain, in part, why your exposures were off.) The mercury battery problem can be fixed, in a couple of ways. The point is that identifying "a quality CL" can be a bit tricky. If you find one in the wild (including that auction place), you'd best plan to spend some more money to send it to Sherry. But that's fine, if you get it at the right price in the first place. And there are even folks who happily use their CL w/o having the meter repaired; count me in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_wright1 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 DAG has new 40mm rubber lens shades... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopher_a._junker1 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Sherry Krauter replaced the meter and did a complete CLA on my CL. She also recalibrated the meter for Wein batteries and the camera is now fully functional. As I wear glasses, the 40MM framing is not fully visible so I use the CL with a 50 Summicron. A nice snapshot camera not much larger than a digital. The mount will not support a heavy lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea_mosher Posted December 12, 2007 Author Share Posted December 12, 2007 Any guess on what it will it cost to have Sherry do an overhaul? Also does that take a few weeks or a few months? I paid $650 for the camera in question, however and I just sent it back to the very kind ebay seller who is accepting my return. I am going to start looking for another CL, maybe one that has already been overhauled. I really love the CL and I am quite fond of learning to use it w/o the meter but until I get to that point a meter is nice. I love this forum. I can't believe how helpful and prompt everybody is. Thanks! Chelsea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now