Leica C2-Zoom (1990s)
The Leica C2-Zoom is a 35mm point-and-shoot from the 1990s. It is a fully automatic, plastic-bodied compact that doesn't pretend to be anything else. As one reviewer put it, "The C2 Zoom is not a 'Leica' Leica." That's a fair description. The camera began life as one of Minolta's less remarkable ideas, and the Leica version is essentially the same camera with a face-lift, produced in Minolta's factories for Leica. The lens is a 40-90mm zoom, and the camera was designed particularly for color negative film.
Documentation on the C2-Zoom is thin. There are no production years beyond "the 1990s," no original retail price, and no weight or dimensions. Those details simply aren't in the record. What survives are the basics: a 40-90mm zoom lens, an all-auto exposure system, and a body most commonly found in black plastic. The original German manual notes that the viewfinder framing at the 90mm position is only accurate for subjects between 0.9 and about 1.4 meters. That matters if you shoot at the long end. The camera also has an "auto zoom" function, which the manual describes as being for snapshots where quick field-of-view selection matters.
The C2-Zoom has a peculiar feature called "auto zoom," which the manual explains as being for snapshots where a quick selection of the field of view is required. The camera automatically winds and rewinds film. One eBay listing for a non-working unit noted the shutter wouldn't fire, but everything else, including zoom and film transport, worked fine. 35mmc ran a review titled "Leica C2 Zoom Review - A Mind of Its Own," which noted the fill flash works and observed that the camera "doesn't get to wear the Leica dot without any effort."
- Type: 35mm film point-and-shoot, fully automatic
- Lens: Leica 40–90mm zoom
- Aperture: f/4.6–8.6
- Body: Plastic, typically black
- Film: Color negative film recommended; auto wind and rewind
- Viewfinder: 90mm frame accurate only from 0.9m to approx. 1.4m
Prices for used examples vary wildly. One flea market find sold for €15, while a retailer listing asked $299 (marked down to $239.20). A used unit in "excellent" condition appeared at Unique Photo. The instruction manual is available from camera-manual.com.
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