Upgrade from T?

[ReturningToFilm]

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Dear All

Please may I ask for your opinions. I currently have a T with the 23mm Cron. I have an M4 as well but with eyesight changes now find that I can’t really manage well with it.

I am at best an enthusiastic amateur and by and large have been happy with the T in terms of IQ, but the ergonomics of the visioflex or using the screen for composition are, I find, a bit irritating. 

How much of a step up would the CL be in terms of use and IQ? Would you move up? I’m inclined to keep the M4 and the T as both are wonderful pieces of design in my opinion but I don’t see myself using the M again....but my daughter might when she is older!

 thanks in advance for any input

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[wda]

Moving to a CL would make a lot of sense. AF is excellent. You already have a TL mount lens. If convenient,  visit a Leica dealer and try a CL body with your lens and see how well the integrated EVF works for you. Better still, add the standard zoom which is truly excellent. I think you would be very happy, particularly as you already work with that format . If possible, consider one of the promoted kits.

What existing lenses do you have for your M4? M lenses work so well with the adapter on the CL. Despite being manual focusing, you have Focus Assist which makes focusing very much easier than you are finding with the M4 body.

Edited May 28, 2019 by wda
Added new thought

[grahamhoey]

Agree. The EVF on the CL is much better than the Visoflex. The 18-56 zoom is an excellent all around lens and is as good as the 23mm in terms of IQ in my view. 

[ReturningToFilm]

Thank you both- I actually don’t have any M glass at the moment (don’t ask). Would you trade in the prime or keep in addition to the zoom?

[grahamhoey]

To me it would depend on what type of photography you are doing. The zoom is a great travel lens for outdoor but you need to use higher ISO in low light. The CL to me is usable up to 6400 ISO. The TL 23 Summicron is obviously much faster. I had both for a while and rarely used the 23. If you want to add to the TL lenses I would trade the 23mm for the zoom and if you wanted something faster get the TL 35mm f1.4, it is a fabulous lens and in my view is the only prime that exceeds the zoom in IQ. Just my opinions, only you can decide what is best for you. 

[wda]

Much depends on your personal photographic interests. If I had to make a choice, the standard zoom would cover more applications. Keep both if possible, the Summicron for many indoor and low-light travel subjects.

[ReturningToFilm]

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Thanks Graham; your suggestion of the 35mm 1.4 is a good one. Would also consider as M mount so could be used with the M4....should my daughter wish to do so

40 minutes ago, grahamhoey said:

To me it would depend on what type of photography you are doing. The zoom is a great travel lens for outdoor but you need to use higher ISO in low light. The CL to me is usable up to 6400 ISO. The TL 23 Summicron is obviously much faster. I had both for a while and rarely used the 23. If you want to add to the TL lenses I would trade the 23mm for the zoom and if you wanted something faster get the TL 35mm f1.4, it is a fabulous lens and in my view is the only prime that exceeds the zoom in IQ. Just my opinions, only you can decide what is best for you. 

 

[Dave in Wales]

On 5/28/2019 at 4:12 PM, ReturningToFilm said:

Thank you both- I actually don’t have any M glass at the moment (don’t ask). Would you trade in the prime or keep in addition to the zoom?

The 18-56 is a cracking lens and so much more versatile than your prime, although slower...but...who needs speed, not me.

[g2van]

From T to CL: I suppose the 2 biggest upgrades are:

- faster auto focus

- built in EVF

I don't think IQ is much different - both seem to produce beautiful Leica colours.

If you are shooting stationary objects/people/pets and don't need fast AF, keep the T and save money or use the money for other lenses.

[Guest]

Huge upgrade improvement going from the T to CL.

-Stellar EVF, improved low light performance, much faster AF, overall haptics/handling is better with the extra top dials IMHO, Improved cropping resolution with 24MP.  Expensive but worth it.

Regarding lenses, that has a lot to do with personal style.  The AF is reliable enough on the CL that you can go with the native TL lenses and rest assured of their convenience & quick focusing accuracy (even in low light), while also having  a good manual focus over-ride implementation. 

As stated above, the TL zooms are real Leica glass and are very versatile.  With the CL’s higher ISO and dynamic range abilities,  those zooms do better in low light than some people might imagine.  They are sharp and for the most part indistinguishable from the primes. 

The TL primes are all excellent - particularly the 35mm f1.4- it’s a special lens - and even the little 18mm Elmarit makes the CL (or T) a compact, pocketable camera, close focusing camera.  Very versatile system overall.

On the other hand, if you’re keeping the film camera, you’ll need an M lens- which will also work great on the CL and should be easy to focus (with focus peaking that works well with MF).

I waited a while before I upgraded - and have no regrets.  I kept my T, but don’t use it much now.  I am smitten by the CL.   I hope this is helpful.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2019 by Guest

[ReturningToFilm]

Thank you all for taking time to respond. Much food for thought. I think moving from the T to a CL is the right move for me. I now just need to work out the lens conundrum and decide whether to keep the M4 or not....

[Marac]

Judging by your forum name, I'd keep the M4 just incase you have another 'return' to film.

Maybe have the T converted to IR like I did?

[lct]

CL is the way to go but keep the 23 if you like shallow DoF. M4 is another story. I've kept my film Ms with hope they can be of any interest for my progeny but they prefer digital...