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Leica TL2 officially announced!


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I use focus peaking on various cameras;a Sony A7, a Panasonic GX8 (excellent OLED EVF) and the M240 EVF.

Of the three the M240 is the most accurate, but extremely subtle, not functional on low contrast lenses and normal focal lengths, the Panasonic is the best compromise and the Sony is horridly overdone and inaccurate.

But all of them need to be "walked" through the plane of focus to get spot-on focus.

 

As I said, the most accurate results are with magnification, focus peaking is effective for somewhat faster styles of photography with less defined planes of focus in my experience.

 

I own a Sony A7 and the focus peaking is very accurate with manual lenses. I use both, peaking and magnification at the same time with 100% sharp focus even in extreme low light.

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@Learner

This is not about the sensor (which is interesting, maybe even high-class.) But about the usability (It is a far cry from the usefulness of a SL or S.)  It feels like going on a expedition with a pickup (Ford 500) and a silver cabriolet (Audi TT)    ;)

Edited by steppenw0lf
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But my susceptibility to Leica's marketing and Jono's review is moderated by the following line in his conclusions, which I have also long believed to be the case:

 

"They have developed a wonderful platform from which they can branch out in the future. I would love to see an APS-C mini SL, and another with analogue controls like the Q."

 

What variants of the TL2 might be down the line, and how soon? Maybe I should just wait - after all, I don't need the TL2, do I?

 

I am also one of those who would love to see additional bodies, and certainly a mini SL.  

 

I am not holding my breath though.  That being said, the fact that Jono also mentions it does give me some hope for the future (although probably not an immediate one)...

Edited by JorisV
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Just got a call from the local dealer - they have a silver and a black TL2 in the shop to play with.

 

That didn't take long!

In your home down, or waaaaaay down south John?

I was discussing the new TL2 with our mutual friend waaaaay down south yesterday. Not to buy mind, just discussing.

Gary

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I just finished reading DPR's review of the new TL2 .. Pretty negative as far as I was concerned. The reviewer talked mostly about how everything was weird and different than his regular mirrorless and dslr cameras. (Golly gee .. here is a quote).

 

" I couldn’t help focusing on the oddities, rather than letting myself fully engage with its material appeal."

 

Basically he didn't have a clue as to how to operate it. I believe the things he complained about will mean little to those of us that have and use the earlier models.

 

The good news is that no one will buy it and Leica will drop the price relatively quickly plus some will buy it and sell them cheap after a few disappointing shots. That is when I will buy mine.

 

Cheers,

 

Rick

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I just finished reading DPR's review of the new TL2 .. Pretty negative as far as I was concerned. The reviewer talked mostly about how everything was weird and different than his regular mirrorless and dslr cameras. (Golly gee .. here is a quote).

 

" I couldn’t help focusing on the oddities, rather than letting myself fully engage with its material appeal."

 

Basically he didn't have a clue as to how to operate it. I believe the things he complained about will mean little to those of us that have and use the earlier models.

 

The good news is that no one will buy it and Leica will drop the price relatively quickly plus some will buy it and sell them cheap after a few disappointing shots. That is when I will buy mine.

 

Cheers,

 

Rick

 

Good point, I will wait for the price to drop like SL. Meanwhile, I will continue to use my T.

 

regards

Wang

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A couple things that I noticed:

 

The USB-C port only charges the battery at 1A or 5W. USB-C can do much better than that 2A is in the spec. However, charging the battery may not need that much. The original T charger is 8.4v @ 0.65A which ends up being only 5.46W. So the battery may charge in the T almost as fast as in the external charger.

 

They included a micro HDMI port which I think is odd because they could have run DisplayPort and HDMI over the USB-C. I don't know if anybody has tried this but it could be possible. You might be able to plug your TL2 into a new USB-C 4K monitor and it will charge and display images there.

 

The removal of the flash should help with weather and dust sealing.

 

I think a couple of nice accessories that Leica should make for the T, TL, TL2, and M10 are:

- A GPS without the EVF that fits in the hot shoe and just geotags your pictures.

- A little shim that you put in the hot shoe between the camera and the EVF which has a port for a flash trigger while accepting the EVF and providing the power and digital signals needed to run the EVF. That way you can use an off camera flash and the EVF at the same time.

 

It looks like a good step forward for the original T concept. Like others, I think that I would like Leica to expand the range of body styles for the TL lenses.

1) A TL2 like camera with a built in EVF and GPS - maybe this is the slightly taller 5370?

2) A camera with an X like body and controls. It could be basically the same camera guts but with a smaller non-touch display a few more buttons and a different UI part of the firmware.

3) Alternatively a mini-SL UI. I have mixed feelings about this. I don't like the viewfinder in the center but I do think that the SL's UI is well designed and probably a better fit than trying to adapt the X or M's UI to the TL for people want a more traditional body style and controls.

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The good news is that no one will buy it and Leica will drop the price relatively quickly plus some will buy it and sell them cheap after a few disappointing shots. That is when I will buy mine.

The bad news is that no one buys it, it will go the way of the X Vario.  Limited firmware updates, no future models, no more lenses.  I dislike the idea of buying into a system with very short potential lifespan.  TL lenses can be used with the SL, but do I want to spend that much money on another body?

 

On the other hand, Leica seems to be pretty committed to creating a cross-compatible system with the TL and SL, and they have ditched the X cameras, so we can hopefully see further development in the TL system as time goes on.

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I don't think that will happen. Leica has hitched its wagon to the L mount. Without it, what's left? The M and the marginal sales of the S aren't enough.

 

Maybe the TL2 won't sell (I think it will), if so, you ca expect Leica to add more versions ...

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I picked up my black TL2 today.

 

It's fast. Very fast. EVF blackout is 90% better than the T. Faster than the XPro2. Close to the SL. Focus in low light is better but I'll need a bit more time to say how much and compare to other cameras I own (most of them....).

 

All it needs is a pop up flash.......

 

Gordon

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I picked up my black TL2 today.

 

It's fast. Very fast. EVF blackout is 90% better than the T. Faster than the XPro2. Close to the SL. Focus in low light is better but I'll need a bit more time to say how much and compare to other cameras I own (most of them....).

 

All it needs is a pop up flash.......

 

Gordon

 

Yes, it is faster. The SW got lots of improvements:

  • Export and import user profiles (to and from SD card).
  • Setting fuctions are grouped in menus, such as Still Image, Exposure, Focus etc ...
  • Programmable function button: Video, Play and toggle EVF/LCD.
  • Self-Timer selectable for single or permanent.
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Bencoyote suggested one addition could be:

 

'- A little shim that you put in the hot shoe between the camera and the EVF which has a port for a flash trigger while accepting the EVF and providing the power and digital signals needed to run the EVF. That way you can use an off camera flash and the EVF at the same time.'

 

I would like that - it is brilliant!  I hope it can be done.

 

Rick
 

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The bad news is that no one buys it, it will go the way of the X Vario.  Limited firmware updates, no future models, no more lenses.  

 

+1.  If the user group grows and the system becomes more profitable to Leica there will be more bodies and more lenses, if it doesn't we won't get any of that.

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