I've been carrying a Ricoh R1 around as a pocket camera, but am considering using one of my Leicas. The choice basically boils down to a IIIa with 5cm/3.5 Elmar versus a CL with 3.5cm/3.5 Elmar (the 40 Summicron is just too thick (35mm extending beyond flange vs. 16mm for the Elmar, both with caps) for comfort. The Elmar is a noce clear coated postwar version. Of course changing aperture is a pain. Using fast chromogenic film will ease the pain.

I favor the CL, it's a bit smaller, lighter and I see better at 35mm. Any comments?

-- Marco Grande (hektor73@yahoo.com), April 19, 2002

Answers

An even smaller lens would be a 25mm/f4 Nikkor-C, but you would need a separate finder and it has become an expensive lens! Why wouldnt you consider the 5cm ELmar on the CL?

-- adam g. lang (aglang@hotmail.com), April 19, 2002.

Cannot fully collapse the 5cm Elmar without hitting the meter.

-- Marco Grande (Hektor73@yahoo.com), April 19, 2002.

Think 35@ 1.4 or 2 pre asph.on your CL don"t get ant better.

-- Al Henrt (J henry@provide.net), April 19, 2002.

get bigger pockets - like Cargo pants - and use the M you already own... with an old leice you will alos need to carry a light meter (at least most people would), and then the size of the light meter with the old body wouldn't be much smaller then new M with a 50 elmarit.

-- Matthew Geddert (geddert@yahoo.com), April 19, 2002.

The CL has a meter.

Can't wear cargo pants at the office. The various pre-Aspheric 35 Crons, and 40 Cron-C are just too tall, makes an embarassing lump!

I know the 35 Elmar is slow, but I've got a frozen stash of PJM Ektapress Multispeed which is quite nice and fast.

Has anyone out there actually USED the old 3.5/3.5 Elmar?

-- Marco Grande (hektor73@yahoo.com), April 19, 2002.

Go find yourself a little Olympus pen E poor mans Leica.

-- Al Henry (J Henry@provide .net), April 19, 2002.

cle with voigtlander 35mm pancake lens.

-- roger michel (michel@tcn.org), April 19, 2002.

How far does the Voigtlander pancake extend beyond the flange?

-- Marco Grande (hektor73@yahoo.com), April 19, 2002.

Rollei 35 SE = mini Leica 40mm 2.8 Zeiss glass..brilliant!....and here we go again folks! ;)

-- Tim Gee (twg@optushome.com.au), April 19, 2002.

When I pocket a Leica, it's an M3 with a 50mm f/1.9 Canon Serenar collapsible on it. Decent lens. If I'm feeling that I need more speed or quality, its the M3 with a body cap, my Summilux 50 in another pocket, and if I'm indoors, a Gossen Luna Pro in a third. All of these combinations are pocketable, with increasing difficulty of use and pocketability and quality.

"If your camera isn't as fast as a point & shoot, you need more practice"

-- Tom Bryant (boffin@gis.net), April 19, 2002.

Yes I have, and have used a 3.5cm Elmar, a 1956 version. Nice little lens, from f/5.6 very decent performance. Not comparing it to a 35 Cron, but darn good considering its age.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 19, 2002.

Stick with the Ricoh or get a Contax T3. Seriously, a IIIa & lens in your pocket all day? Even the CL is better in a belt pack than in a pocket.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), April 19, 2002.

Well, the smallest Leica is undeniably the Leica mini 3, which nobody takes seriously yet takes good pictures and has an excellent lens - the German Fotomagazin rated it slightly ahead of the Yashica T5, which is another good choice. I have a IIIa too. It's a lovely camera, but I wouldn't want to keep it in a pocket all day eithe - it wouldn't like it! The CL is taller and possibly heavier than the IIIa.

-- Davis Killick (dalex@inet.net.nz), April 19, 2002.

(OK, Engage Flame retardant shield)

All leicas are a bit heavy for trouser pockets, I carry my M6 most everywhere but if I have to be super discrete and quality doesn't matter that much, (parties, etc) I find an ixusII (my wifes') pretty tiny

Just because we are all leica nuts doesn't mean we have to ignore some obvious solutions to problems such as these presented by "other" manufacturers

Mind you , my 14522 belt case takes an M6 and 35 'cron very nicely

Cheers

John

-- John Tobias (johntobias@hotmail.com), April 20, 2002.

Use a body cap and rear lens cap to split your chosen body and lens into two pockets. No unsightly bulges, and you can use 'regular' sized lenses without struggling with collapsible Elmar's.

-- Steve Barnett (barnet@globalnet.co.uk), April 20, 2002.

Why, the Minilux of course. (though your coat pocket might be somewhat strained from the weight.)

-- Andrew (mazurka@rocketmail.com), April 20, 2002.

Minox GT-E with sharp 35mm/f2.8 lens, aperture priority

shutter speed from 1/500 sec to several minutes

Only 7 oz

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), April 20, 2002.

Hi Marco,

The Voigtlander 35/2.5 'pancake' extend 23mm at infinity position.

-- Michael Bohn (michael.bohn@skynet.be), April 20, 2002.

Like Jay, I use the Elmar on a regular basis. It's coupled to a IIIc I've owned for a decade. Great little lens & I've never felt bad about image quality. Negatives? Not multi-coated, so shooting into the sun is not suggested. Use a hood. Otherwise, the combo of an old III & an old Elmar works well. And forget the problem of a meter. Just shoot 400 ISO film at 250 & almost all shots will clock between f8 & f16. No one takes you seriously, which is all great for street work...

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), April 20, 2002.

Also, of interest, see: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/pocket_35.htm for reviews of two pocket cameras!

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), April 20, 2002.

For ultimate pocket camera, nothing beats

Minox TLX or CLX, genuine "Made in Germnay" camera. Shutter to 1/2000, parallex corrected viewfinder, build in UV, ND filters super sharp lens. Only 4 oz.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), April 20, 2002.

Rollei Prego 30. Superb lens. 2.5 inches long.

-- Lux (leica@sumicron.com), April 20, 2002.

Olympus XA.

Jerry

-- Jerome R. Pfile, Jr. (JerryPfile@msn.com), April 20, 2002.

Olympus XA, Rollei 35, Rollei 35E are all good cameras. However, if you may consider buy two of each type instead of one, because parts for these camera are not made any more. If camera fails, service is hard to come by, or rather expensive.

That is why I bought a Rollei35 in addition to Rollei 35S.

The only manual pocket 35mm camera still in production with plenty of spare parts is Minox GT-E.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), April 20, 2002.

What if Leica made an M type body without the rangefinder windows? It would have an aux viewfinder and you'ld use 50mm or wider lenses. Focus would be by estimation, like Rollei 35S. It would be an entry level camera that would make use of all the old lenses sitting around.

-- Frank Horn (owlhoot45@hotmail.com), April 21, 2002.

Of course, the Leica C1, or maybe the Leica 35-70 Vario-Elmar.

-- Steve Brantley (superglidesport@mindspring.com), April 21, 2002.

Leica zoom compacts have slow lenses (C1: 38-105mm f/4-10.5; Minilux Zoom: 35-70mm f/3.5-6.5) and don't allow any control on depth-of- field or shutter speed.

-- Andrew (mazurka@rocketmail.com), April 22, 2002.