Leica Announces the New Leica CL
From Leica
As Oskar Barnack began the development of the first Leica in the early years of the last century, his goal was the construction of a camera that would unite compact size, easy handling and superior picture quality without any compromises.
Today, the Leica CL is second to none in the realisation of these values. Advance technology with traditional ease of handling.
In every perfect picture, the individual elements complement each other and come together to create a greater whole.
This also applies to the Leica CL: a high-resolution, 24 MP, APS-C format sensor, a Maestro II series processor and fast autofocus with 49 metering points come together to guarantee the image quality that is so distinctive for Leica: the best.
This naturally also applies to video recordings captured with a resolution of up to 4K at 30 frames per second. Whatever your expectations, the Leica fulfils them all with distinction.
To continue reading this review by Andreas Jergensen, click here.
From the Leica Blog
Leica today introduces the Leica CL, a new mirrorless camera with APS-C sensor. Sensor and image processor are indentical to the Leica TL2 but design and user interface remind more of classic Leica values. Another big difference is the electronic EyeRes viewfinder with 2,36 MP resolution.
The Leica CL will be available by end of November in black only, the price is $2,795 / £ 2,250 / 2,490 €.
Leica CL at a glance
24 MP CMOS sensor and Maestro II image processor
Electronic viewfinder (2.36 MP) with 0.74x maginfication
Electronic shutter up to 1/25,000 sec (until 1/8,000 sec mechanical)
Contrast AF with 49 AF sensor elements
Sensitivity ISO 100 – 50,000
Serial speed 10 fps
4k Video at 30 fps, Full HD 60 fps
WiFi / Remote operation via app
UHS II compatible
To continue reading click here.
A Review by Jonathan Slack
The new camera has clearly been designed as a smaller sibling of the SL and the M10. It has characteristics of both, together with some interesting developments in terms of function keys and configurability.
It has a built in EVF (not the same as the Visoflex) and an excellent touch sensitive LCD, all in a package which is very slightly smaller than the Leica X.
With the Vario-Elmar 18-56 f3.5-5.6 Asph fitted, the camera is just about exactly the same dimensions as the much-loved Leica X-Vario with its 18-46 f3.5-f6.4. The CL is however a little heavier, reflecting its solid build quality. If you fit the new 18mm f2.8 pancake lens the camera is eminently pocketable (jacket rather than jeans!).
The CL has a Leica L mount, which means that it is compatible with all the current range of TL and SL lenses without an adapter, and with almost all the Leica R and M lenses with the use of an adapter.
The rear of the body is very reminiscent of the M10, with only 3 buttons and a 4-way switch with a central button. The buttons however have a slightly different function:
Play
Function
Menu
To continue reading Jonathan Slack's review, click here.