Search the Community

CL camera. Best non TL lenses, to give a 35 FOV ? Having had experience of a 23 TL, and using R adapted 50 summ and 90 elm, both of which absolutely wipe the floor with the TL… (good TL copy assumed), without wishing to go down the bulky 11-23 (or TL really given the experience) Could I have some guidance on say Z and CV lenses adapted for 35 FOV. And R and M lenses fir 35 FOV, if suitable. I noted some in the image thread, but because of the file size and capture and upload quality it really is hard to judge. some examples with a second image at say 1:2, not 1:1 would give some idea. And experience of sharpness across the frame etc. I may be asking a lot, but choosing lenses for a new system can cause a lot of time and money wasted. All the better forum wide or not examples seem to come from non TL. I don’t want to splash out on a 24mm or 21mm of any system without reason. Thanks in advance.

Hi, I am about to get a CL. I have some R lenses and it would help to have some general advice using, and which adapters to avoid and use. I am not assuming that a Leica adapter is essential, but would it guarantee better results and a better fit, reliable….(one would hope) I have used adapters before, so address anything specific to Leica R and the CL please that I may not be aware of, thus saving everyone’s time. And samples with data would be of interest and help. R’s 35, 50, 90 are mine. Advance thanks, David

I would like to share my experience with the Leica CL after one year of use. The first idea was to find a replacement for my Canon 6D after 6 years of loyal service. Why change to a Leica CL, you ask? - To gain in size and weight and really take my camera everywhere. - to benefit from EVF technology - to make full use of the lenses of my Leica T, which I love but is not the most efficient camera available. - to use my M lenses much more easily than with the T. - to finally have a single ecosystem The observation is simple: the CL is an excellent daily camera especially with the Zoom 18-56 mm, when the light is there ... - The EVF is of good quality. - The image quality is very good, as is the ISO management. - The weight and size are very nice. - The Thumb support greatly improves ergonomics and allows to limit the movement of the focus slider. - Only the autonomy is a real weak point and 2-3 batteries are essential. - Wifi is very slow and for my part almost unusable, I don't have enough patience ! Concerning the TL lenses, I am more reserved : The Elmarit-18mm was part of the kit, I will discard it because I'm not too comfortable with this focal length, but the image quality is good and I recommend it to anyone who likes to shoot with 28mm. The Zoom 11-23 is very good, the color rendering is excellent, but for specific and occasional use. I only use it very rarely. For my use, the zoom 18-56mm at my preference on the CL, the quality is good, and the weight perfect. It is really the ideal partner of this camera because it is very versatile. I don't need the 55-135mm zoom and haven't tried it. (Same for the Elmarit TL 60mm) The fact remains that, at this stage, a luminous lens is missing, a real all-purpose optic, usable indoors and for street photography : I used the TL-35mm for a few months, but I didn't keep it. The lens is heavy and the 50mm is not my favorite focal length. But clearly the image quality is superb. The Summicron TL- 23mm, which I had with the T, I didn't have a very good experience with it and I sold it. But here it is, 35mm is still my favorite focal length and one year after selling the TL-23mm, I ended up buying one to give it/me another chance. What motivated me besides the very low price at which it is possible to find it in new condition, is the fact that it is possible to use it with the SL, of course with a reduced resolution but what a result! So much so that I don't think I'll go for the Sigma 45mm for the SL. Whether with the CL or the SL, we are very close to the Summicron-M 35mm. This brings us to the use of the CL with the M lenses : The use is simple and efficient, the quality of the images is up to the M. An advantage is also that an M 50mm becomes a 75mm, ideal focal length for portraits. On the other hand, I much prefer the ergonomics provided by the SL for the use of the M optics (the EVF and the joystick really make the difference). To sum up, I will continue to use with pleasure the Leica CL with the 18-56mm zoom and the 23mm to have a light and luminous equipment if needed and hope to have a software improvement of the WIFI.

So I just tried my 28mm Elmarit Asph and it wouldn't click into place. Thus I walked down to my local Leica Store and we tried a bunch of other 6 bit coded lenses, non of them would lock. Whereas no problem with old lenses. Does anybody have that issue, or know what could be causing it. Or is this a one of?

Have any of the technicians in the group done any calculations to work out the EV+ highlight recovery threshold on the CL? If so, may I ask what you concluded?

Hi all, I have recently sold my Leica Q in order to buy something with interchangeable lenses. I am really struggling to chose between buying a new Leica CL, Summicron 23mm (and I will probably down the road buy the adapter and some M-lenses), or a used Leica M 240 along with a used Leica M lens (probably 50 mm Summicron). In the end both options will do the same damage to my wallet For info, I do currently not own any Leica lenses. I am not a professional, merely a happy amateur. My photography is concentrated around portraits (bokeh!!), family, travel, social activities, landscape, architecture. My heart is leaning towards the M, while my brain (and wife, even though she is not negative for the M) towards the CL. I am a bit afraid of the rangefinder, and if I will be able to focus as quick as I want to. The CL have AF on TL-lenses and focus-peaking on M-glass through the EVF (I know the M240 have focus-peaking on the screen and the optional viewfinder, but then the point of the RF is kinda gone?). After all the CL might just be a pit-stop to the M(?). I am not interested in sports- or action photography (even though we do have a eager and young dog), but it would be awful to miss a moment due to lacking focus. My question is; which option would you buy, and why? PS: I have in the process already passed on Sony and Fujifilm due to their overly-complex nature...

Hi all! I have been testing the Commlite CM-EF-L autofocus adapter with several Canon EF lenses on my Leica CL, and I am glad to report that it works. As expected, AF-C and focus tracking is not supported, but the AF-S works reasonably well. Focusing speed and precision with most lenses is at almost native T/TL lenses level. So: -AF-S works (no tracking). Touch AF also works. -IS with Canon stabilized lenses works. -EXIF data is transferred correctly to the files, save for the F/1.2 that is reported as F/1.3 (something I had already seen with other third party AF adapters on Sony cameras). I used A and M modes, on Firmware 4.0. Adapter firmware is upgradeable via an USB port on the adapter itself. There are no new FW listed on Commlite’s site, and it worked right out of the box. The lenses that I tested, and worked, so far are: 14/2.8L-II, 16-35/4L-IS, 24/2.8 IS, 24/1.4L-II, 40/2.8 STM, 50/1.2L, 50/2.5 compact macro (with and without the Lifesize 1:1 converter), 85/1.2L-II and 100/2 USM. The only glitch I have experienced is that Battery level is not correctly reported to the camera, and the first time I mounted the adapter on the CL, I got a warning message about the “Camera possibly not displaying reliable battery charge levels with this lens” that did not repeat. In fact, after a hundred exposures with different lenses, the battery appeared as depleted. The workaround I found was shutting down the camera, taking off the battery, mount a native TL lens, put again the battery in and the charge was there again, correctly reported at about 2 / 3. During next week I will try to test the adapter with more Canon FF lenses, and EF-S APSc lenses. I am very interested to see how the compact EF-S 10/18 zoom and EF-S pancake 24/2.8 perform on the CL. So, after all the let down expectatives we CL users held on the MC-21 adapter by Sigma, I am glad to share that there’s still a light on the path to use many more lenses options!

i have the lumix s-50mm, i use it with the SL with excellent results. By curiosity I mounted it on the CL and the battery does not like this lens at all and drains very quickly. The firmware is 4.0... Mounted on the TL2, it is particularly noisy, the diaphragm works permanently as with the 23 summicron but scratching a bit... I'm interested to have your feedback on these 2 points.

This camera that I already owned two years ago and that I bought again a few weeks ago is a rediscovery. 

I am very curious to know for what use you have this camera. Is it intended for a versatile use or is it restricted to a specific use?
 Is it your main camera or a second body ? 

 Do you use it only with autofocus lenses, M lenses, or simply as a platform for all kind of lenses ? What kind of images do you get from this camera ? and what do you think of their rendering ? Finally, what is your global feeling about this camera after years spent with it ?
 Thanks for sharing

I know this has been covered in a variety of posts, but until Leica fix the issue with a firmware update I’m looking for what different solutions users are deploying, and it might be helpful to keep this issue under a common topic. Today was my first ‘full day’ of street shooting since I acquired my CL and the wandering focus point was particularly annoying as it often defaulted to the bottom left of the screen/viewfinder; why is this? I understand that you can reposition it by tapping the LCD screen, but I prefer to use the EVF and until you view, you don’t know where the focus point is, by the time you’ve recentred it a ‘decisive moment’ can be missed. How do you guys overcome the issue?

Help! I changed the SD card in my CL. It felt a bit solid as I pushed, so tried to take it out again. No luck. It’s stuck. On the plus side, it is working. But that’s not really the point! Has this happened to anyone else? Easy solution possible?

I am looking for an L-Bracket, with Arca Swiss compatibility, for use with my Leica CL camera. Occasionally it will be used with tele-zoom lenses, but mostly with smaller lenses. There are a few threads on this subject in the forum, dealing specifically with bigger cameras, but none that I could find relevant to the CL. Googling brings up a lot of brand-specific solutions; a few claim to be universal. I would welcome any reports from members of this forum, of user experience with such a device, and recommendations. Thank you.

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.

Hi, Maybe the future of the CL and TL2 will be the same sensor of the Sony alpha 7C: compact camera, full frame and 24 MP? There are also rumors of an SL2-S with this specs so it can be the end of the CL and TL lineup? Currently I have a T and I'm worried if upgrade to a TL2 for Black Friday or wait.. I will be happy to uprade for the extra megapixels of the TL2 but there are some cons for the fact that with the same sensor the pixels are smaller? Happy if anyone can help with my decision

Hi, with the delayed CL2 anyone tought to buy a Panasonic S5? Lens are compatible and you get IBIS and even a full frame in a comparable compact package.. More Panasonic seems a "low brand" Leica because they share more than the lens: quality of photos should be high