Minolta CLE & new 28 Elmarit

[zapp]

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I am looking for a small M type camera for traveling and hiking and was wondering if anyone has used the latest Elmarit 28 mm Asph on his/her CLE. Camera and lens combined would be less than 600g which sounds extremely tempting. 28mm viewfinder frame lines, exposure metering, ...

Any objection against the CLE or the mentioned combo? How about other wide angle lenses on the CLE like the 12mm Voigtländer. I still need to find a CLE in decent shape though.

[topoxforddoc]

I haven't used the 28 elmarit, but do use the tri-elmar on my cle. No problems except the 28 setting on the 3E has a small amount of barrel distortion

 

Charlie

[Nick De Marco]

Hi Zapp. I think the Minolta CLE is an ideal travel camera. I recently went to Cambodia and took a big clunky DSLR (Canon 5D), two Leica Ms and the CLE. I managed to have them all plus lenses in one bag. The CLE was obviously the lightest and the one I took around with me at night time. I experienced no problems at all with it. Photos from it are just as good with those taken with the two Leicas. The main lens I used on it was the Voigtlander 40mm f1.4 single coated - which is a good econmy lens and very fast, but I also used the Zeiss 25mm biogen f2.8 (no frmelines or viewfinder, just use the edge of the viewfinder as your imaginary frameline) and the Summicron 35mm f2, using the Minolta 40mm viewfinder. No problem with any of those.

 

Here are a couple of examples:

 

CLE with Summicron 35mm f2 and infrared film:

 

 

 

CLE with Zeiss 25mm and 1600 ISO film

 

 

Nick De Marco's Photo Galleries at pbase.com

[polarapfel]

I recently went to Cambodia and took a big clunky DSLR (Canon 5D), two Leica Ms and the CLE. I managed to have them all plus lenses in one bag.

 

How's your back?

 

I had a similar kind of weight on my shoulder in one bag on my last trip. For anything mostly urban photography related, I won't bother bringing my DSLR anymore. I have the CLE and Micro Four Thirds gear. That is a good combination in one bag: a lightweight digital camera with good output and a lightweight analog camera with good output. Ideally, I would see myself traveling with only a Thinktank Retrospective 5 bag and the gear that fits inside comfortably. That would be the perfect amount of gear when just looking at size and weight.

[ezc203]

My current "go-to" set-up is the CLE and 21mm Elmarit. Admittedly the Elmarit is pretty hefty and the 21mm is not for everybody.

 

If you like the 28mm view then the new Elmarit will be excellent on the CLE. I've only tried a friends for about a week to 10 days. But not complaints. Small, compact, easily hidden, un-intrusive. You can get a lot of great pictures with that combination.

[fotohuis]

If you want to travel light and good quality it's certainly a good combo. BTW I am using the older Elmarit 2,8/28mm IV. I prefer the 28mm over a 35mm WA lens, but that's really personal.

[digbyhp]

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Zapp, I have a CLE which I use with both the 28 Elmarit ASPH or 40 Summicron-C (The 40 is even smaller and an even better compromise on focal length IMO), but if you want the 28 view, it is an excellent combination for light weight and compactness, perfect for travel.