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I ordered a CL today.


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Some have said that the Q is the gateway to other Leica's. For me that is true. I love my Q and expect I will never want to sell it, but I wanted something to complement it for when 28mm/35mm isn't enough reach. Many people seem to think it's one or the other when maybe the best answer is get both. I didn't want an SL2. It and the SL lens are too larger for me to want to carry them around. The M-10 is too expensive and many times I want autofocus to get the shot. I do own a number of Fujifilm cameras, but I love the Q so much more. I enjoy the Leica operation better, as well as what I get in IQ. 

I ordered a used CL and a thumbs up from Miami Leica and had the tracking number in minutes. Josh took care of me and my pre-sale questions really well. I ordered a used  Vario-Elmar-T 18-56 from mpb. I've used them for lens in the past always with great luck. I think after playing with the zoom for a while I might pick up a faster prime that matches the size I end up using the most. If history is any indication it will be somewhere between 50-90 in 35mm eq. If I need something wider than 50 I will use the Q.

Next week is going to be a fun week when it gets here...

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I have the 18-56mm and it's my most used lens.  The image quality is on par with the other two TL zooms although the 11-23mm might be a tad bit sharper, but not by much.  I also have a 23mm f/2 Summicron which is okay, but other than being faster and a little smaller it's not really better than the zooms when stopped down.  I shot a car show last weekend with the 18-56mm and an SF40 for some fill flash, and the images were outstanding.  

I rented a 21mm Super-Elmar-M 3.4 ASPH (coming tomorrow) to see how it compares to the TL lenses.  If it's something special I will probably buy it and sell one or two I don't use very much.  

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5 minutes ago, Camaro5 said:

I have the 18-56mm and it's my most used lens.  The image quality is on par with the other two TL zooms although the 11-23mm might be a tad bit sharper, but not by much.  I also have a 23mm f/2 Summicron which is okay, but other than being faster and a little smaller it's not really better than the zooms when stopped down.  I shot a car show last weekend with the 18-56mm and an SF40 for some fill flash, and the images were outstanding.  

I rented a 21mm Super-Elmar-M 3.4 ASPH (coming tomorrow) to see how it compares to the TL lenses.  If it's something special I will probably buy it and sell one or two I don't use very much.  

Good to know. I like how the 18 and 23mm are more pancake like, but it's just too close to the Q's 28mm focal length. I do like the idea of trying out M lenses some day. Renting seems smart.

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Enjoy your new camera, I think the Q and CL are a lovely pairing.. and you get to share batteries and charger so very sensible and easy for travel.  Happily with Sigma and Panasonic in the L mount alliance there are more options for lenses, though as others have said the 18-56 is a great option.  Happy shooting.

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10 hours ago, Driften said:

Good to know. I like how the 18 and 23mm are more pancake like, but it's just too close to the Q's 28mm focal length. I do like the idea of trying out M lenses some day. Renting seems smart.

As many of us have probably done, I've purchased lenses that I ended up not liking (or using) very much.  I wanted to try this 21mm and renting seemed like a good idea.  It was $175 for a week with the M-L adapter, so not too bad.  I'll be shooting the heck out of it and then make a decision on whether or not to buy.  

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8 hours ago, Boojay said:

Enjoy your new camera, I think the Q and CL are a lovely pairing.. and you get to share batteries and charger so very sensible and easy for travel.  Happily with Sigma and Panasonic in the L mount alliance there are more options for lenses, though as others have said the 18-56 is a great option.  Happy shooting.

The Sigma 30,45,60 lens look interesting for the price. Yea... the 45 is a full frame lens but it would work. The 30 and 60 look more attractive than the full frame versions in the same line as the 45. From what I read here these Sigma seem to have their quirks, but size, weight, and price might make it worth a go. After spending time with the zoom I might pick up one of those.

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59 minutes ago, Camaro5 said:

As many of us have probably done, I've purchased lenses that I ended up not liking (or using) very much.  I wanted to try this 21mm and renting seemed like a good idea.  It was $175 for a week with the M-L adapter, so not too bad.  I'll be shooting the heck out of it and then make a decision on whether or not to buy.  

I know I've bought camera gear that didn't get used much. My wife and I have talked about rental for the future lens needs before buying.  The other thing I'm doing more of is buying used. If you decide to sell it's much less of a hit.  One thing for sure is I need to do less camera collecting and more picture taking. That said just after I bought the CL ;) 

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I hope you like it as much as I do my Q2/CL pair.  Since the Q2 is good cropped to 50, I surrounded it with 11-23 and 55-135 zooms on the CL and couldn't be happier (unless CL2 appears with IBIS - yes I am getting to that age where steadiness is more challenging).

was hoping that the Q2 was my last camera (retirement present to myself), but that gateway drug is mighty powerful hence the CL.  Of course now I am thinking about trying some M lenses...on and on it goes...

enjoy.

 

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44 minutes ago, gumbee said:

I hope you like it as much as I do my Q2/CL pair.  Since the Q2 is good cropped to 50, I surrounded it with 11-23 and 55-135 zooms on the CL and couldn't be happier (unless CL2 appears with IBIS - yes I am getting to that age where steadiness is more challenging).

was hoping that the Q2 was my last camera (retirement present to myself), but that gateway drug is mighty powerful hence the CL.  Of course now I am thinking about trying some M lenses...on and on it goes...

enjoy.

 

I'm just about in the same boat as you. I get shaky hands at times and I wish the CL had IBIS, but that's the way it goes. I'll just have to stick to faster shutter speeds then what I could with OIS or IBIS. At times I wish I had gone with the Q2 over the Q, but not enough to upgrade. It came down to the Q2M or the CL and the flexibility of longer focal lengths edged out better low light B&W performance. Maybe in a year I will give the Q2M another thought. I think you made a great choice.

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1 hour ago, Driften said:

The Sigma 30,45,60 lens look interesting for the price. Yea... the 45 is a full frame lens but it would work. The 30 and 60 look more attractive than the full frame versions in the same line as the 45. From what I read here these Sigma seem to have their quirks, but size, weight, and price might make it worth a go. After spending time with the zoom I might pick up one of those.

Not sure where I was coming up with a Sigma 60mm. The lens I was musing over for later were the 30mm and 56mm f1/4 DC DN, or the 45mm f2.8 DG DN. But it doesn't matter since I want to shoot with the 18-56TL and see what focal lengths I might need something faster for that the Q doesn't already cover. For indoors in lower light shooting the Q at 28 or 35 should handle most of what I would need so the CL is going to be more of an outdoors in daylight thing. Maybe I won't need a prime. Maybe like gumbee I will pick up a 55-135...

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5 hours ago, Camaro5 said:

As many of us have probably done, I've purchased lenses that I ended up not liking (or using) very much.  I wanted to try this 21mm and renting seemed like a good idea.  It was $175 for a week with the M-L adapter, so not too bad.  I'll be shooting the heck out of it and then make a decision on whether or not to buy.  

I’m very interested in your experience with the 21 SEM. I have some lenses, 35 & 75 Cron, I’m looking to acquire a 21 as well as a CL. Looking forward to hearing your impressions 

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On 7/29/2021 at 12:21 AM, wda said:

Driften, welcome to the forum.

In case you missed it, my article here might help you get the best from your Leica CL https://david2008.photium.com/my-way-with-the-leica

Nice user review overall. A minor editorial nit ... Near the top of the article, you wrote: "The CL incorporated the new Leica L-mount which was first introduced on the Leica." That should be "... Leica T". :)

It's interesting to hear how others set up their CL for use to suit their needs, expectations, and (presumed) comfortable workflow. 

I use my CL body rather differently from others, I suspect, in that I do not use any TL or SL lenses on it at all. I bought the CL body-only to allow me a digital, TTL viewing/focusing camera when I sold the SL  and my SL lenses. At the time, I was using my M-D typ 262 most of the time. What I didn't realize when I bought it was that the image quality and the versatility of the CL were so good, and that it was enough smaller and lighter, that I would soon sell off the M-D 262 body as well. The CL is now my default "leicht kamera" that I naturally grab whenever... :)  

I already had/have a full complement of both Leica M and R lenses. My camera is always set up with the Leica M Adapter L fitted and my standard 'walking about' lenses are M-mount (usually a wide, a normal, and a modest tele). When I'm doing more specific things, I switch to my R lenses using the Leica R Adapter M stacked onto the M Adapter L. This gives me access to prime lenses in focal lengths from 10mm up to 360mm, plus macro lenses in 60 and 100mm. I can alternatively stack a Nikon F->M-mount adapter for use with a 600mm reflex mirror lens too, occasionally. 

Using the camera this way means that I am limited to manual and aperture AE exposure modes and have no auto focusing. That works well for my photography: I've never missed the AF and have only found limited desires on rare occasion for Program and Shutter priority operation. The 'control panel' view added in fw 4.0 release does nothing for me since all the same information is available on screen anyway with the info display active and the center button on the four-way controller hides it if I so desire without needing to give a precious programmable button. I have the FN and dial buttons configured with my most used control options (ISO setting, peaking color, etc) ... normally, I use FN set for Self-Timer and right dial button set for ISO. I wish there was a way to eliminate the control panel view since now I always have to press the MENU button twice to get to things I am actually looking for, which are in my Favorites menu. But that's a small nit.

I use the User Profiles a good bit. I created my general personal profile first, with coded Leica M lenses in mind, and then developed the rest of them from that to quickly set up the camera for either a specific lens choice (R lenses or uncoded lenses like the Voigländer 10mm), or for a specific activity (copy work with the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm, etc). 

I have the EVF-LCD switch set as an option on the right dial button, but honestly I only rarely change it from Automatic. In the field when shooting, I normally get 500-800 exposures on a charge, way more than I usually make in a session, so changing it for battery consumption reasons is somewhat unimportant to me. I find that I use this facility most when I'm doing things on tripod or copy stand and either want to lock the camera to the LCD or to the EVF so that it is not autoswitching the viewfinder all the time and being an annoyance. ISO setting is my usual choice for the right dial button, I switch it to focus peaking when I'm doing macro/copy/table top work because there are many situations when I need peaking to be either a different color or OFF in those situations. The FN button defaults to the self timer, since a wired remote cannot be fitted and it is often too much of a pain to fire up Leica FOTOs and link the camera just for a remote release for one picture; I use the self timer often for single shots where I don't want to have to try to hold the camera still and jig it into a stable position somehow. In copy work I switch it to control the exposure compensation, or white balance, etc, whatever I find need to control manually more of the time.

My biggest issue with the CL as it is today is the same issue I have with any EVF/LCD camera: on a bright sunny day, the EVF or LCD brightness competes both with sunlight and with my 'transitions' darkening eyeglasses. The only workable solution so far has been to always have a floppy wide-brimmed hat available so that the sunglasses lighten up a little and the camera is shaded from the sun, minimizing dazzle. This works remarkably well. ;) 

And I wish the CL had a remote release socket and accessory wired remote. 😱

Otherwise, I'm very happy with the CL body and have considered buying a second body as backup... I've not really needed a backup yet, though, in three years using the CL a lot. I guess when a good example comes up and I feel a little flush, I'll grab it. Or wait to see what they do with the so-far mythical CL2... LOL! 

G

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Thank you Ramarren for your detailed explanation of your operating procedures. I agree with your satisfaction with M-mount lenses. (I don't have R lenses). What your generous contribution shows new users, is the remarkable flexibility the CL body provides. Thank you for mentioning my type, now corrected.

 

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On 7/29/2021 at 9:18 AM, Driften said:

The Sigma 30,45,60 lens look interesting for the price. Yea... the 45 is a full frame lens but it would work. The 30 and 60 look more attractive than the full frame versions in the same line as the 45. From what I read here these Sigma seem to have their quirks, but size, weight, and price might make it worth a go. After spending time with the zoom I might pick up one of those.

Do yourself a favor and look at the full-frame Sigma I-series (24/35/65). They are a nice size, have real aperture rings, and play very well with the CL. Plus, if you ever decide to "upgrade" to a SL2 or other L-mount full-frame camera, you'll have some lenses that will work on those, too.

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On 7/30/2021 at 5:04 AM, Marac said:

I have been using the Voigtlander 21mm f1.8 on my CL with great results, I'm sure the Leica is stunning and 'better' but for my needs the Voigtlander is superb and tack sharp.

Are you having any color fringe issues?

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22 hours ago, oldwino said:

Do yourself a favor and look at the full-frame Sigma I-series (24/35/65). They are a nice size, have real aperture rings, and play very well with the CL. Plus, if you ever decide to "upgrade" to a SL2 or other L-mount full-frame camera, you'll have some lenses that will work on those, too.

I've heard good things about the Sigma L-series lenses. That said, I question whether the aperture ring is 'real' ... that is, a mechanically coupled ring that directly affects the iris mechanism ... or whether it's just a potentiometer that the body reads and then sets the lens opening with. At least... that's how Panasonic made the aperture rings on the Panasonic-Leica lenses for the FourThirds SLR cameras. 

I've not yet actually seen the Sigma L-series lenses in person... None of the very very few brick and mortar photo shops left around here carries any of these things.  

G

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