Released in 1966 The Minolta Hi-Matic 7s was an update of the 1963 released Hi-Matic 7. Don't be fooled this is a big camera. Photos make this look like it could be part of the compact rangefinder club. Sorry Minolta 7s, you are not in the club. The 7s is bigger and almost as heavy as a Lieca M3.
Read MoreIntroduced in 1973 and produced for 3 years. The CL came in two variants: Leica CL and Leitz minolta CL. Both seem to be identical in function and design. Both were made by Minolta in Japan. It was design for use with specifically marketed 40mm and 90 mm lens but will work with most (some debate here, specifically don't use collapsible lens or you will damage the meter) M mount lens. The 40mm frame lines are always displayed. 50mm and 90 mm frame lines display dependent on the lens used.
Read MoreAfter shooting the CLE with the 40mm and struggling with the 28mm frame lines, I found a 28mm lens. It was reasonably priced because, well it is not a Leica. It is supposedly fully compatible with other M mount lens but there seems to be some debate. Best I can tell is they are comparable and most Leica lens will work on the CLE and CL. The exception seems to be the collapsible lens that may hit the light meter. One surprise was that the 28mm is noticeably larger than the 40mm. (I know the lens geeks are rolling their eyes because they know why, but I would expected the opposite.)
Read MoreThe CLE is a Leica M mount camera that Minolta built after building the CL for Leica. It was introduced in 1980. After shooting the M4, the CLE felt like a compact pocket camera. In fact it is only slightly smaller than the M4 but much lighter. That comes at the price of not feeling as much like a precision instrument. But as a camera, it adds some nice features.
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