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Perhaps we could collect links to reviews: Jonathan Slack Ingo Cordes Andy Westlake Sarah M Lee

sieh da: https://www.fotointern.ch/archiv/2018/01/06/die-leica-cl-im-harten-praxisvergleich-mit-der-sl/

Interested to note that the DNGS available to download from here: http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/leica_cl_review show up as over 43MB files. This compares with the M10 files which show as around 22MB. I also note that the CL files are 6000x4000 and the M10 files are 5976x3922. Given the APS-C camera's smaller sensor, naively I thought that it would produce a smaller file than the M10 despite having the same nominal resolution. Is anyone able to explain? Having looked at the image quality of the RAW I've taken the plunge and managed to buy the last CL body that Manchester Leica Centre had in stock. I look forward to playing with it over the next few weeks and will post back to the forum.

I've had great results with the new Profoto A1, which is an event shooter's dream flash, beautiful light, massive capacity, and instantaneous flash recycling. I realize there are many Profoto haters out there, but for my event shooting, I've been extremely pleased with the A1 on a Canon as well as on a flash bracket using a Profoto Sony trigger. I'm using a Leica CL as a backup (small, light, wonderful quality TL lenses, excellent higher ISO performance) and wanted to see how the Profoto A1 would work (in manual mode, of course) on the CL. According to Profoto, all you need is a flash shoe/foot with a single center pin, which the CL has. But no matter what configuration I try (and, yes, with the manual switch on the A1 turned on), the flash will not fire. Leica's regular SF40 and 60 flashes work just fine, so I know that flash functionality isn't a problem. Any one have any suggestions?

I haven't got my CL yet, but not being technically savvy, I know I will be asking: How do I do this? How do I do that? I don't think I'll be alone. I am sure that fellow CL'ers will chip in with solutions. Ask away. I hope the moderator will pin this thread.

Has anybody used any arca-swiss type L-bracket on the CL? Alain.

I posted this elsewhere last evening, but thought others here might enjoy it and might respond with some interesting comments. As always, there's no intent on my part to push any buttons, but I'm sure we'll disagree on something! — The Leica CL ... my first impressions: Made it up to Leica Store San Francisco on Tuesday and had a good long look at the CL there. I asked and was given the opportunity to reset it, fit my lenses, and make test exposures with my card. My primary desire for this camera is to use it for copy work, table-top plus other niche uses like long telephoto work, etc. I intend it to be my TTL viewing body for the value of that in precision focusing and digitizing negatives. I'm not too concerned with AF or many of the other convenience features of the CL; what motivates me is that Leica supports all my R and M lenses on it, and it will work with all of my existing accessories. That said, I do expect that any camera I own will get used for some general purpose photography as well—I'll just be using my existing manual M and R lenses via the adapters rather than buying new lenses for the camera. Picking up the body for the first time, the CL is light and small yet feels solid. The controls all move with the smoothness I expect from Leica gear, and the sense of precision in their click-settings is there. The camera is nicely spare and lean on number of buttons, etc. It looks like a "mini" Leica M. After resetting the body, then setting the file output types to JPEG+raw, I fitted my Color Skopar 28mm to the M Adapter L, and set the lens profile for the Leica 28mm Summaron-M. This was always one of my favorites when shooting with the Ricoh GXR, although I got it somewhat late in that game, and is that sweet "wide-normal" with an FoV equivalent of about 42mm on the APS-C format. A few moments fussing about to figure how to set the ISO and EV compensation, then brought the camera to my eye. While not the "state of the art" of the SL, the EVF on the CL is very nice. I turned on focus peaking, it worked as expected. I stepped up the magnification and it worked as expected. No problems. One press on the center button on the four way pad and all info is there, another press and it's a clean view. Nice. Down to f/5.6, I had no difficulty seeing the 28mm lens go in and out of focus as I turned the focusing ring. Below that, I found magnification became necessary for precision. I didn't have the time to try to evaluate how accurate the distance scale was on this camera with the mount adapter, but I expect it to be slightly off (allowing one to focus slightly past infinity) if it's like all the other bodies I've tried this adapter on. I tend to forget just how good a lens this little 28mm really is. It's simply terrific, and the Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6 lens profile seems to suit it perfectly on APS-C. Next I fitted the Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 ASPH, the WATE. I took four or five exposures at each of the primary focal length settings, both at 6-8' distance and from a close up position. If the Super-Vario-Elmar-T 11-23mm f/3.5-4.5 ASPH is actually a better performer than this one, it's probably beyond my ability to see the difference: The WATE produces just awesome image quality... And that's hand held, without the benefit of a tripod to really make it sing. It's just an amazing lens, IMO, and I'm very happy I sprang for the big bucks to get it. Of course, the 11-33mm zoom has a wider range, but with the WATE if I want wider still I can always just switch to the M body. I'd lose the framing/focusing precision of the CL, particularly in the extended close-up range, but since I don't normally use an ultrawide for extreme close-up work or copy work where such things matter most, I don't think that's much of a loss for me. Finally I did a series of exposures with the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm and the APO-Macro-Elmarit-TL 60mm: my standard reference shot, a number of close ups, some tests shooting a tape measure to check the magnification indication on the barrel of the R lens, a couple of portraits of the sales person who was helping me. Both of these lenses are a bit bulky, but they both balance beautifully on the camera IMO ... not too large, not too heavy, not too light. The TL lens obviously has AF and focuses very quickly and surely. The R lens also focuses quickly but manually. Neither is any problem to focus with extreme accuracy even at f/8, without so much as either peaking or magnification turned on. Notice I haven't said much about the CL's controls? There's a reason for that: the little beastie was fitted with firmware v2, I'd quickly set up the dials and buttons based on my reading the manual before I got here, and everything about it worked exactly as it was designed to ... and very nicely for me. The only ergonomic niggle, for me, is that like with most small digital cameras, there's not enough space to fit my mitts comfortably on the naked body (of course, that doesn't matter at all for copystand and tripod use). I tried the grip and it made a big "Meh." sound in my head. I tried the half case and that does the job of thickening and making the camera just a hair taller, with a bit more room for my thumbs, etc. So for walking around picture taking, I'll need the half case (or Protector, as Leica likes to call it). I'm pleased that they put a magnetically closed trap door in the bottom so you can access the SD card and swap the battery without taking it off. I thanked the salesperson for her time, told her I'd be in touch, and left for home. Once there, I moved all the DNG + JPEG files into Lightroom v6.14. Everything opened right up and looks great right at the DNG defaults. The 28 and the WATE both shine beautifully on this body; all of the Color Skopar 28's typical color shifting at the edges are outside of the sensor area, it seems, and the Summaron-M 28 lens profile cleans up a tiny bit of barrel distortion in this part of the lens's FoV. The truly interesting comparison, to me, is the Macro-Elmarit-R 60 vs the APO Macro-Elmarit-TL 60: With the R-lens being cropped to APS-C, I imagined that it might look a bit shuttered or confined since Leica has always put a lot of effort into tuning their lenses for the 35mm film format. Well, nothing to fear with this one. It is hard to see any difference whatever between the TL and R lenses, and both are just superb performers on this body. From 1:2 to a half-length portrait, the images couldn't be too much more similar without saying that they're the same optics just in a different lens mount, although I know that's not the case. Of course, I don't touch on AF or many of the cameras' other features yet. They're all niceties that I expect are of value to someone, but my primary notion was to examine the quality of the viewfinder, the control layout, and the imaging performance with my intended lenses. I think I'm going to be well satisfied with the Leica CL as both an adjunct for my niche needs and as a peer sibling to my M-D. — End game: After studying the manual carefully and then evaluating, handling the Leica CL in person, I've decided to obtain one. I should have it by the weekend. ... One more short trip on the Hamster Wheel of Progress.

Three things: 1 The wandering focus point 2. There is no early warning of a near-empty battery, it simply dies unexpectedly. 3. The handgrip has no quick-release or easy access to the battery flap. That makes it a pretty good camera for me.

Almost perfection ....

Hi, As soon as I sell a 2014 Focus, I am planning on buying the CL with the 18-56 and 11-23. I plan on using the camera for a light weight travel camera. My current setup is a Nikon D7100 with the 17-55 f2.8. I love it but it is a beast to lug around all day. I am going to keep the D7100 for Birding. I have read the likes and dislikes threads plus numerous reviews. I believe the CL is a good entry to the Leica world for me. I do have a few questions though: 1 How big of an issue is the wandering focus point? Can it be locked via a menu setting? 2 How well does the Leica app work as a remote release? I like to take photos from a low perspective. I currently use the Nikon right angle viewer attachment to the D7100. 3 What software would people recommend for converting DNG files to JPG? I am currently using Nikon’s software. I have not gone down the Adobe path yet. The CL would not be my first experience with Leica. My brother loaned me one of his M3s with a 35 mm lens i. Mid 70s for a college assignment. I figured it is now time to drink the Kool-aid

Grrrr! I have just finished reading the 96-page English manual (“Instructions”) for the Leica CL … A frustrating exercise to say the least. The text is awkward and hard to follow. I often found myself scratching my head and muttering, “What the heck does this mean?” Clumsiness aside, there are numerous spelling mistakes and, inexplicably, a fair amount of German text that survived translation. At this time, I won’t get into the awkwardness of the text or the plague of minor annoyances throughout, but I will point to untranslated German and misspellings, all of which would have been detected by an English word-processing spellchecker. I hope that Leica corrects the online pdf and adds an addendum regarding the effect of Firmware 2.0 on the initial text. I’d like to know what others think of the manual. Please chip in ... What errors have you found? In particular, let readers know if you have come across processing / technical errors. Be sure to state precise locations. Here's what I spotted on my read-through ... Remember these jottings relate ONLY to spelling errors and German text: Page 2, left side, halfway down: “cahngeable” Page 3, left side, bottom line: German text Page 5, left side, last two bullets: German text Page 14, left side, bottom line: “comptuer” Page 20, left side, next to bottom para contains German Page 20, right side, 8th line from the bottom: “butto” Page 24, right side, middle: “fuctions” Page 28, right side, middle: “selectt” + the German“Erweitert” ... What is TID_3717? Page 29, left side, middle: “Selectt” + bottom line: “GSelect” Page 32, top: “availabe” + “GSelect” + 4thline from bottom: “GSelect” Page 32, right side, middle: “für” Page 32, right side, bottom line: “GSelect” Page 34, left side, bottom: “GSlect” Page 36, middle: “funtion” Page 36, near bottom: “electroninical” Page 36, bottom line: “GSelect” Page 36, right side, 4th bullet: German sentence Page 38, right side, top: “automatical” Page 46, left side, first bullet: “Correpsonding” Page 48, right side, middle: “shower” should be “slower” Page 51, left side, 4thline: “containig” Page 54, right side, second header: German Page 55, left side, 4thblock of text: German (”ist”) Page 56, left side, 2ndand 3rd bullets: German (“wählen) Page 59, right side, in the last para before the “Notes” header: “influende” and “chaged” Page 63, right side, middle: German sentence Page 75, left side, middle: “isettings” Page 81, left side, middle: “differes” Page 82, left side, near bottom: “LLeica” Page 82, right side: first word (“Bei”) Page 82, right side, middle: “smarphone” and German “Passwort” Page 85, right side, bottom: “whifirmware” Page 86, left side near bottom: “exthat” Page 94, left side, near bottom: German (“oder”)

I am personally not there yet but I was wondering whether anyone is using the Leica CL as their only or main camera and what they were shooting before. Also, whether you are missing anything from your previous platform. Or the areas in which you feel the CL is still severely lacking.

I find the rendition of CL DNG images using the standard embedded profile on Lightroom for the CL rather garish and more suitable for a picture postcard. I am using a 2016 (Touchbar) 15" Macbook Pro with a calibrated screen. This is particularly the case if using a polarising filter. They are not quite so bright after conversion to JPEG's but still not quite to my taste. Capture One is somewhat better using the DNG file neutral profile but if for example I use the SL profile, it goes garish again (Phase One in their usual fashion have no CL profile at present for C1 V10 - I don't know about V.11 as I have not bought it). Hopefully this is something Leica might improve on a firmware update. See example below taken in Speightstown pier and fishmarket in Barbados, three weeks ago, I think probably with polarising filter (Hoya Fusion MC 52mm Circular Pola filter). Wilson

I did what I thought was an interesting "shoot out" this past Sunday in my back garden. I compared the following: Leica CL with 18-56 TL zoom set to 22mm, f/4 Leica CL with 21mm Summilux-M, f/4 Leica CL with 21mm Super Elmar M, f/4 Leica CL with 11-23 TL zoom set to 22mm, f/4.4 (wide open at this focal length) Leica M10 with 35mm Summilux M FLE, f/5.6 Leica SL with 24-90mm Vario Elmar set to 34mm, f/5.6 Cameras were tripod mounted. A shutter delay of 2s was used to reduce the chances of blur from camera movement. Image stabilization was turned off with the SL. ISO was set to base value. Same point of focus was used in all cases. The objective was to see whether there were any obvious differences in image quality on a real, three dimensional subject when shooting under optimum conditions. The focal ratios chosen were to provide optimum image quality for the lens and to ensure depth of field differences between formats were minimized. The lighting varied slightly from minute to minute since those was outdoors, but all images were shot at approximately the same time under overcast conditions. I repeated the experiment from a slightly longer subject distance to get essentially the same framing with a different focal length: Leica CL with 18-56 TL zoom set to 35mm, f/4.9 (wide open at this focal length) Leica CL with 35mm Summilux-M FLE, f/4 Leica CL with 35mm Summilux TL, f/4 Leica M10 with 50mm APO Summicron M, f/5.6 Leica SL with 24-90mm Vario Elmar set to 50mm, f/5.6 End result? At optimum aperture and when one's technique is good, I really couldn't find a consistent difference among any of these lenses. Frankly, the biggest challenge was in getting the point of focus the same in all images such that depth of field was distributed evenly in front of and behind the point of focus. In one case in particular, I simply missed focus a bit (despite it being an AF lens--probably wasn't careful enough in my selection point). Some lenses had slightly different field curvature characteristics. There were very slight differences in edge of field sharpness. Very slight differences in color separation on fine details. That's about it. Could I tell the difference in noise characteristics between the two full frame cameras and the APS-C camera? Not at base ISO I couldn't. Maybe if there had been some sky in the field of view or some other really smooth surface I could have. Maybe not. What about dynamic range? Not under overcast conditions where all three cameras were capable of capturing the entire range of tones without any clipping. Were there differences in how out-of-focus areas were rendered? Sure, but it would be nearly impossible to pick "winners" and "losers" with the particular garden scene I was using--no bokeh balls or specular highlights for evaluation. What about color cast or saturation? Well, I've already got my M10 dialed in the way I want it, and the SL and CL were actually closely matched, so the colors came out very nearly identical with the largest factor being the slightly variable lighting conditions. Certainly, I wouldn't be able to pick out a lens/camera combo that had "better" or even "different" colors. Of course, I wasn't pushing any boundaries here. The comparison was at optimum aperture for each lens or very nearly so. The lighting and dynamic range were easy to handle. There was ample light for shooting at base ISO. The tripod minimized or eliminated camera blur. The subject was static. I was taking my time so that focus wouldn't be an issue (and even so, I missed one slightly--just enough to be visible at 100% magnification on my 5K monitor). What does this tell me? Nothing shocking, really. I would choose my lens and camera based on size/weight, field of view needed, control over depth of field needed, available light, need for autofocus, and need for image stabilization. All the combinations above are equally capable if you aren't pushing the edges too much. We all worry more than we probably need to about image quality, lens rendering, sharpness, and similar factors. Frankly, the worst image I created from a technical perspective was using one of the best lenses--the 35mm Summilux TL. Even when I was trying to be careful and really nail the "technique" for any factors that could impact image quality, a small difference in focus point was the single largest factor in sharpness! I'd post the images, but frankly there is no point. At web sizes and with JPG compression, they are identical.

So, I got my new CL. I always buy leather cases for my cameras to protect them. It looks like Leica's case for the CL won't be available until the Spring. That sucks! I wrote to Zhou and he has no plans to make one. Does anybody know if any third party is making, or is planning to make, a case for the camera? Thanks! Marc

Well - it's a long time since a love affair was so brief. I've been interested in working with the CL, but after a month or so of playing I've come to the conclusion it's not for me. I've tried the TL 23 18-55 and 55-135, but in the end didn't really enjoy them. I can see how some will love them, but they just don't meet my needs. Part of the issue is that the camera with lenses mounted ends up being BULKIER than my Ms. OK I know they're mostly zooms so you have many FLs in one lens, but even the 23mm (especially with a hood on) feels huge compared with the M10 + 35 summicron asph. The other issue is that compared with full frame I just wasn't subjectively satisfied with the image results from APS-C. High ISO was no where near what I can get with the M10 and I wasn't happy with the results I was seeing on screen or paper. Good, but not quite good enough. After experimenting, I also didn't feel there was any point in putting M lenses on the CL - it seemed beside the point, and if I need EVF focusing I use either LV or the Visoflex 020. If I want longer I'll use the R 80-200 f4 or I'll use my Canon system. So, current plan is they're all going off to Ffordes and I'm getting a used Canon 70-300 f4-f5.6 (£760!!) to go with the 5D3 for those occasions when I know I'll need reach and IS. Bye-bye CL forum - back to the M10

Perhaps this topic had been addressed beforehand. I would like to know if these batteries can be used for CL: The battery is branded as DiviPower made by iCm Photography (China) - sold as compatible Panasonic DMW-BLC12PP rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery for Panasonic Lumix cameras. They are rated at 7.4V 2500mAh, higher than Leica's battery BP-DC12 rated at 7.2V 1200mAh. They are priced at 20% of the original. But I am not sure if the extra 0.2V will be OK for the CL circuitry? Thanks for your advice and thoughts. Benedict.

Has anyone experimented with mounting the 28PC R lens on the CL with the R adapter? While the crop makes it say 42mm equivalent, would it also have extended shift due to the smaller sensor? I think it shifts some 12mm, and that might be pretty interesting.

Looking at a preowned CL. Anybody know how to bring up the shutter count? Appreciate it.

Hmmm! I have just spent nearly an hour trying to resize each of five photos to fit as close to the .49MB limit as possible. The first two I have posted look terrible compared to the originals. There must be a better way. If there are instructions on the forum on how to do this better, could someone point them to me please? I wont post any more pics until I get this figured out properly.

Remote beach - fishing communities, City and townships, remote rural areas, Tourist spot Victoria Falls, Safari through Botswana - wildlife. The luggage restriction will be down to 15 kg per person on some stretches, including handluggage and cameras. So: Focal lenghts from 24 equ. to 800 equ., at least one fast lens, redundancy, two bodies... Not too heavy and compact. My solution will be Panasonic GX8, 15, 25 DG Summiluxes, 100-40 DG Vario-Elmar, CL, 18-56, 55-135, Summilux-M 24, five spare batteries , two chargers, SF40, odds and ends. All will fit easily into a compact Hadley Presstop and weigh under 8 kg :). It is a kit that I have been waiting for for many years. If there had been a compact TL 100-400 the Panasonic would have been replaced by a second CL body.

There have been many conversations here and elsewhere regarding battery life. I thought I would share my recent experience. I have just spent an interesting, if tiring day pounding the halls at Photokina. I had with me my CL, 11-23 & 18-55 lenses & three batteries. The camera was set to record raw+jpg (small). I used the viewfinder only with minimal chimping & diving into the menu. The first battery lasted all day at Photokina, and even into the following day walking around Cologne. Once the photos were in Lightroom a quick count revealed 462 exposures before the battery symbol started flashing red. To my mind, very impressive.

Etwas untergegangen im photokina Trubel: Es gibt ein Firmware Update für die Leica CL (Version 2.1)! » Version 2.1 für die Leica CL (Download) Informationen und Anleitung zur Installation Die Verbesserungen: NEU: Kompatibilität mit der neuen Leica FOTOS app Verbinden sie ihre Leica Kamera mit der Leica FOTOS app NEU: QR Code für alle Leica Kameras Einfacher Verbindungsaufbau zwischen App und Kamera. NEU: 1-Klick Verbindung über den FN-Knopf Das WLAN wird über den FN-Knopf ohne Untermenüs aktiviert. NEU: Fester WLAN Name und Password Keine zusätzliche Untermenüs für WLAN Name und Passwort. NEU: Keine Untermenüs für die Einstellung des Verbindungsmodus

Didn't get much attention during photokina: The Leica CL has a new firmware update: » Leica CL Version 2.1 (Download) Details and installation instructions The improvements: NEW: Compatible with the new Leica FOTOS app Connect your smartphone to your Leica camera NEW: QR Code for all Leica Cameras Easy pairing of smartphone and Leica cameras. NEW: 1-Click Connection with FN-Button WLAN starts without submenus on FN-button. NEW: Fixed WLAN name and password No submenus for setting name and password. NEW: No submenus for mode settings No submenus for setting a connection mode.

Hi Guys, love the SF40 which you all had suggested. I love the flash, however i shoot in Afperture Priority and it seems that the flash only sincs at 1/60 . I also use Auto ISO, is there a way to get HSS on this flash and my CL ? I could not find a setting in the menu. Thank you in advance as always for your great help. I have just gotten the 35/1.4 which i would hope would give me a larger range on the flash.