Leica CL Bought a CL Kit Today!

[bherman01545]

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I'm taking a 7-night trip to Vancouver, BC and was all ready to take my SL kit with the 24-90, 50 F/1.4 Summilux and 90-280 + accessories - all 20 pounds worth, load it into my Think Tank backpack and travel 3100 miles with it. I mean, I would get phenomenal photos, but I'm not renting a car and will be hiking, biking and taking public transportation.

 

I thought about it, then I thought about it again, and I bit the bullet - I finally broke down. I just bought a CL with the 18-56 Vario Elmar zoom, the 23mm Summicron, and a grip and I get throw it, a few batteries and a small flash and charger into my Billingham Hadley Small Pro and feel like a tourist and not a "pack mule"

 

Yea, I'm probably going to give up a bit in the way of image quality, but I should still be in pretty good shape with this kit, right?

 

-Brad

[HeinzX]

I bought for same reasons this kit on Saturday last week. Of course my SL with the 24/90 and the 90/280 will remain, but when I do not need it and I have no special project in mind I often will just have the CL and the 11- 56 with me. First results look good and sometimes life will be easier for me.

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[scott kirkpatrick]

For my past three trips I have taken my CL with various lenses, with at most an M10 and one additional lens for backup.  Each trip started with 6-16 hours of airline travel, and I can fit everything plus my laptop into a canvas sack that the Sierra Club sent me some years ago for being a loyal member.  The SL is used for things within driving distance.

[albert]

I received mine on Monday. This is a big deal for me. Vancouver, and The Island, are dear to my heart and eyes. Congrats.

[JayBird]

I got mine the weekend of August 4th. It is amazing how good the photos are. I am including a link to my Flickr page from the weekend. Link It is a few shots of our local coffee shop and an old cemetery in Houston.

[ramarren]

Good luck with your new CLs, Brad, JayBird, and Heinz! 

 

It's hard to believe, but I bought my CL body almost a month ago! Time flies when you're having fun.

 

I've been working with it almost daily since, learning and figuring out how to use it for my specific purposes (which were initially mostly for tabletop, macro, negative copy, and copy work). I bought body only: My intent was/is to use it primarily with my Leica R lenses, which have been looking for a suitable digital home since I sold my SL kit. They're probably my favorite lenses, bar none.

 

But working with the CL so much, I'm finding it simply too compelling a camera to restrict use to only what I originally planned. It makes superb photographs, practically no matter what lens I thrown onto it but especially with the Leica R lenses. Even more so than the SL, it is the body I really wanted for those R lenses: Light, compact, 24 Mpixel, easy to carry, simple to learn and use, etc. I don't find the smaller format a negative ... for some of the work I'm doing with it, it's a plus. 

 

I also am about to go traveling: I've booked a six week trip to lots of destinations (Ireland, Isle of Man, Great Britain, Boston, New York, etc). I think I'm going to carry the CL with just the 28mm and 50mm lenses ... kind of the base kit for the original film Leica CL (40 and 90 mm lenses on FF there, vs 43 and 75 equivalents on APS-C). You know what they say: "Constraint makes creativity blossom." But I know I can do an awful lot of photography with just a wide-normal lens like the 28 on APS-C. 

[scott kirkpatrick]

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Good luck with your new CLs, Brad, JayBird, and Heinz! 

 

It's hard to believe, but I bought my CL body almost a month ago! Time flies when you're having fun.

 

I've been working with it almost daily since, learning and figuring out how to use it for my specific purposes (which were initially mostly for tabletop, macro, negative copy, and copy work). I bought body only: My intent was/is to use it primarily with my Leica R lenses, which have been looking for a suitable digital home since I sold my SL kit. They're probably my favorite lenses, bar none.

 

But working with the CL so much, I'm finding it simply too compelling a camera to restrict use to only what I originally planned. It makes superb photographs, practically no matter what lens I thrown onto it but especially with the Leica R lenses. Even more so than the SL, it is the body I really wanted for those R lenses: Light, compact, 24 Mpixel, easy to carry, simple to learn and use, etc. I don't find the smaller format a negative ... for some of the work I'm doing with it, it's a plus. 

 

I also am about to go traveling: I've booked a six week trip to lots of destinations (Ireland, Isle of Man, Great Britain, Boston, New York, etc). I think I'm going to carry the CL with just the 28mm and 50mm lenses ... kind of the base kit for the original film Leica CL (40 and 90 mm lenses on FF there, vs 43 and 75 equivalents on APS-C). You know what they say: "Constraint makes creativity blossom." But I know I can do an awful lot of photography with just a wide-normal lens like the 28 on APS-C. 

Good to hear, but I can't say that I am surprised.  Since you are apparently not traveling on two wheels, consider just one more lens -- the 11-23 CL.  It does the things that can't be done with lenses taken from your FF stock, and is of very high quality.  Cheers.

[darylgo]

My CL is arriving this week.  I sold my T and the three zoom lenses, they were great optics especially the 11-23mm, so I'll start with the small 18mm and use my adapted M lenses.   I held off this purchase waiting for photokina but I find this body a perfect size/shape for many things I am doing now.  On my way to this decision I borrowed my sons Sony a6500, great camera, but I felt like it was a battle to use.  The Leica images are so compelling when testing the CL.  I feel like I am buying a T with the added benefit of the perfectly placed evf.  When shooting landscapes of late, I like using a 50 or 75mm lens and stitch verticals, shot handheld, I see that there is a panorama mode built in, so I'll have to try that.  My wife will also be happy (not about the price) when using af for faster shooting.  

[ramarren]

Good to hear, but I can't say that I am surprised.  Since you are apparently not traveling on two wheels, consider just one more lens -- the 11-23 CL.  It does the things that can't be done with lenses taken from your FF stock, and is of very high quality.  Cheers.

 

 

That would be a useful thought if I owned one, which I don't, and/or if there were any available to buy before I leave in two weeks, which there don't seem to be at the moment, and if I wanted to spend the additional $2000, which I don't.

 

But thank you for the thought!

 

While I've often carried an ultrawide on a long trip, the number of exposures I tend to make with one compared to a wide-normal and the short tele are often ridiculously few and really not worth carrying the lens for. If I really felt that I might want something wider than the R28 lens, I'd take my WATE along and put it to use. It won't give me quite as wide an angle of view as the TL11-23, but heck: I own it already, it is superb quality, and it's not particularly big or heavy to carry. (On my last long trip, I carried the M-D with 35 and 50 mm lenses. I made 238 exposures with the M-D on that trip, and more than 190 of those were with the 50mm. )

[scott kirkpatrick]

In Scotland, I shot approximately 60% 11-23 and 40% CL 35.  But in Ohio last week, It was almost all 18 and 23, working close to people, with the 60 used only for the wrestling shots where I was at the edge of the mats.  There I borrowed a second CL. I could carry both and not have to stop to switch lenses. 

 

I forgot that you have the WATE.

Edited August 7, 2018 by scott kirkpatrick

[JayBird]

I am almost regretting not get the 11-23 instead of the standard kit. But our first real trip with the camera will be better suited to the 18-56. Next year's acquisition will be the the 11-23. As my wife likes the results from the CL better than the Nikon's, the appropriations will be approved with little resistance. 

[Bill W]

I am almost regretting not get the 11-23 instead of the standard kit. But our first real trip with the camera will be better suited to the 18-56. Next year's acquisition will be the the 11-23. As my wife likes the results from the CL better than the Nikon's, the appropriations will be approved with little resistance. 

 

Could you actually get the 11-23. They do not seem to be in stock anywhere in the US. Same with the 55-135.

[ramarren]

Could you actually get the 11-23. They do not seem to be in stock anywhere in the US. Same with the 55-135.

 

 

Best thing to do if you wanted one would be to put an order in with your favorite trusted dealer and just be patient. Leica will fulfill orders as batches of the lenses are produced. 

 

The CL has probably been a bit more popular than they expected so the demand for more lenses has exhausted current supply in the distribution chain. Leica is not a huge volume manufacturer and it makes little sense for them to have oodles of unsold inventory, so they're temporarily out of stock while production works on getting some inventory back into place. 

[grahamhoey]

I just sold my 11-23. I found traveling I rarely used it and primarily used the 18-56 or the 35 1.4 for low light and night shooting. I found the 11-23 large compared to the 18-56 and found 18mm on the CL wide enough. Just my preference.

[JayBird]

I just sold my 11-23. I found traveling I rarely used it and primarily used the 18-56 or the 35 1.4 for low light and night shooting. I found the 11-23 large compared to the 18-56 and found 18mm on the CL wide enough. Just my preference.

I like the 18-56 but I am missing the wide angle of the 11-23. I still have a Nikon D7100 and the 10-24 but I would rather leave the Nikon for when I am doing the wildlife photography. The rest of the time, I want to use the Leica. So the 11-23 is next on the acquisition list.

[jaapv]

What lens do you use for wildlife?