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Video with CL


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  • 2 years later...

It is not awful, it is exactly what it is intended to be: a video notebook on a travel camera. If you want to do serious video work, Leica has the SL2, Panasonic the R series and Canon is doing quite well too.

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Jaap - personal opinion, you think it is exactly what Leica intended and is sufficient, I do not. In the rare occasion I want to shoot video (which is not often at all) I would use my phone as a 'notebook'.

If I were a serious video shooter, sorry, Leica would be far far from my choice of cameras to use professionally. I would however, be delighted to use Leica lenses on my pro rig.

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24 minutes ago, Marac said:

If I were a serious video shooter, sorry, Leica would be far far from my choice of cameras to use professionally. I would however, be delighted to use Leica lenses on my pro rig.

Isn't that exactly what I am saying? It is clear that Leica's ambitions do not go beyond occasional amateur use, except possibly on the SL (let the pros debate that one ;) )
Having said that, some nice professional stuff has emerged from the M240, despite its limitations.

As for lenses, no problem: 

https://www.leitz-cine.com/

Click through to the productions made with Leitz-C lenses.

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I have made several high quality video productions including a feature. These were shot many years ago on a Black Magic camera using a mix of Sigma and Leica R lenses.

I am aware that Leica produce some excellent Video lenses but the price tag is beyond anything that I have ever worked on. would love to take those Leica C lenses and put them on a RED.

Again it all boils down to personal acceptance, if the video function on the Leica cameras fits with what you are doing then go for it.

Some people are so talented they can produce excellent results on any camera or phone even. :)

 

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16 hours ago, Marac said:

Some people are so talented they can produce excellent results on any camera or phone even. :)

Sadly the opposite is more common, people can produce horrid videos no matter how good the equipment available. I think Dante may have mentioned amateur videographers, but I struggle with 14C Italian so I can’t remember to which of the 9 circles they are destined.

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I just think it’s an own goal for Leica not to take video functionally a bit more seriously in these cameras. The lenses are [mostly] so good, and with the expertise and technology of Panasonic - a brand with long pedigree in filmmaking - backing them up, Leica could really offer something compelling to those willing to invest.

It’s a pity.

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  • 1 year later...
On 8/28/2020 at 2:39 PM, jaapv said:

It is not awful, it is exactly what it is intended to be: a video notebook on a travel camera. If you want to do serious video work, Leica has the SL2, Panasonic the R series and Canon is doing quite well too.

No, it awful. Even lesser cameras in Leica's own lineup are better for quicky manual controlled video, albeit they're rebadged Panasonics (D-lux (109)/7, V-Lux (114)/5)

The CL or TL do not need to be full out video hybrids (which might have better for sales with their market), they need some manual control.

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On 6/3/2022 at 1:46 PM, jaapv said:

Simple does not equal awful - using a tool beyond its scope is awful.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with with you jaapv. I don’t think we are asking the camera to do something beyond its capabilities or what it was designed for. Leica included perfectly functioning video hardware. All the camera needs is the ability to have manual exposure while in video mode. Something the camera clearly has been designed to handle… since it can take photos with manual exposure! In my opinion that simple change alone would increase its video capabilities exponentially. Probably as simple as a copy and paste of the firmware code! 😅

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Over the years I have learned that every tool has limitations, determined by the use the maker envisages. The CL is obviously intended as a stills camera with a "video notebook" function included. So it should be used within the limitations of the design.
If you want to have a camera that is suitable for serious video production, you need to look for a tool that is designed that way, like the SL2S, or a number of Panasonic offerings which are clear dual-purpose cameras.

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The problem with "only" adding firmware to enhance the CL's video capability is that you then need to make the body bigger so that it has better sensor cooling. And you need a bigger battery. And then you need to upgrade the video-out/HDMI chips to process 4K for extended periods, and then you need a microphone input, and then you need better built-in microphones and a more powerful sound chip, and then the EVF needs to be bigger, and the card system needs to be faster, and then you need a faster processor to handle it all...

What do you end-up with? A camera that's almost as big as the SL2-S, and as expensive as the SL-2S!

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I’m with @boostisbest and have been saying this for years. All it would have taken for Leica to make the CL significantly more usable for video makers of any level were relatively minor firmware tweaks. Fuller manual control, the choice of PAL or NTSC. That’s pretty much it. Nothing beyond the hardware’s abilities.

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2 hours ago, ruskkyle said:

I’m with @boostisbest and have been saying this for years. All it would have taken for Leica to make the CL significantly more usable for video makers of any level were relatively minor firmware tweaks. Fuller manual control, the choice of PAL or NTSC. That’s pretty much it. Nothing beyond the hardware’s abilities.

Yep! It's possible, and it's silly to think that a camera company would intend to limit their products' potential or classify them as 'designed merely to operate to this particular level of quality and/convenience.' That's making excuses for the camera and the company behind it. If there are hardware hurdles that's one thing, but from what I gather these are software-based constraints.

Certainly Leica would prefer to provide excellent video performance in the CL but establishing proper functionality likely didn't fit into their timeframe or their budget. Given the proper time, and $$, they would, of course.

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7 hours ago, BernardC said:

The problem with "only" adding firmware to enhance the CL's video capability is that you then need to make the body bigger so that it has better sensor cooling. And you need a bigger battery. And then you need to upgrade the video-out/HDMI chips to process 4K for extended periods, and then you need a microphone input, and then you need better built-in microphones and a more powerful sound chip, and then the EVF needs to be bigger, and the card system needs to be faster, and then you need a faster processor to handle it all...

What do you end-up with? A camera that's almost as big as the SL2-S, and as expensive as the SL-2S!

This!

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