MINOLTA CL

The Leica CL is a 35mm compact rangefinder camera with interchangeable M-mount lenses, developed in collaboration with Minolta, who also manufactured it. It was first released in April 1973, with a Japanese market version, the Leitz Minolta CL, appearing in November 1973. Both versions were produced in a Minolta factory in Osaka. The camera features a vertical-running focal plane shutter with cloth curtains, offering speeds from ½ to 1/1000 second. It includes a through-the-lens CdS exposure meter mounted on a pivoting arm, similar to the Leica M5, and provides manual exposure with a mechanical shutter. Shutter speeds are visible in the viewfinder, which has framelines for 40mm, 50mm, and 90mm lenses. The CL was sold with specially designed Leitz Summicron-C 40mm f:2 and Leitz Elmar-C 90mm f:4 lenses, which were also branded as Minolta M-Rokkor lenses for the Leitz Minolta CL. It is known for its compact size and affordability as a platform for M-mount lenses, though its rangefinder is less precise than those of Leica M bodies.