How much longer will service for the CL be available?

[lykaman]

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43 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Well, the rollout of rhe EV1 appears to be held up in the USA    

The USA is a huge market, why couldn’t Leica sort out any problems before launch? The USA is made to feel like the poor relative..

[jaapv]

Not at all, but the fact of the non-availability remains. 

[Le Chef]

14 hours ago, lykaman said:

The USA is a huge market, why couldn’t Leica sort out any problems before launch? The USA is made to feel like the poor relative..

Blame the government shutdown and the FTC. I don't believe this was Leica at fault.

 

[lykaman]

1 hour ago, Le Chef said:

Blame the government shutdown and the FTC. I don't believe this was Leica at fault.

 

On the face of it, I would agree, but, manufacturers should know their markets and work towards retail.. 🍻

[Le Chef]

43 minutes ago, lykaman said:

On the face of it, I would agree, but, manufacturers should know their markets and work towards retail.. 🍻

Getting FTC approval takes time. This would have been in the works probably 6 months before the shutdown, so no surprise. Not something even companies can predict that easily. And to correct something, they work back from retail.

[elambo]

Leica's follow-up is frustrating.

"My apologies. Not all CL models are repairable. You may send in your equipment for inspection by our technicians."

I don't know which "models" of the CL aren't repairable but it feels like they're merely walking back their original response, which was inaccurate. I'm not going to ask for further clarification about their shaky response -- I think it's clear that Leica is, in fact, still servicing the CL.

To whomever asked why I didn't just email Leica, this is a perfect example of why I lean on forums first. Had I left it to Leica I'd be of the mindset that the CL is fully retired.

[jaapv]

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Well it made no sense economically to repair mine -pretty beat up.- but they did offer a refurb @ 2100 Euro. Not of interest to me as it is my #5 camera and still works with manual lenses.   And pay that much for a camera that is clearly at the end of its technical lifespan? 

[lykaman]

Leica new and s/h prices here in the USA are all screwed and myth covers the Red Dot. Considering what we pay for boxes with Red Dots, I don’t think what Leica are asking for a refurbished CL is expensive.. Your TL lenses are mouthwatering… 😉

[elambo]

21 hours ago, jaapv said:

Well it made no sense economically to repair mine -pretty beat up.- but they did offer a refurb @ 2100 Euro. Not of interest to me as it is my #5 camera and still works with manual lenses.   And pay that much for a camera that is clearly at the end of its technical lifespan? 

That's ~$2,500 USD which is high. "Like New" CLs can be found for just a hair under $2K. And no, considering how this camera is coming toward the end of the road I'd not invest $2.5K into this model. *Maybe* 1,999, because it's still a very capable camera, but there's the issue of repairs expiring and potential parts shortages.

[TL3]

Probably would make more economic sense to wait for a next generation higher resolution Lumix S9 or Sigma BF in order to use the TL lenses again on a small body.  2100 Euro would basically cover the new camera.

[KitW]

That's pretty much what I'm holding out for. In the meanwhile my CL works well and I have some nice small lenses.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if someone eventually starts making aps for L mount again.

[elambo]

20 hours ago, TL3 said:

Lumix S9 or Sigma BF

Are those the two that you'd consider to be the closest to the CL?

[lykaman]

26 minutes ago, elambo said:

Are those the two that you'd consider to be the closest to the CL?

Size, weight and specs are at this time not available in Leica. The Q range is great but then you have a bunch or lenses laying in a drawer! The SL range is far to heavy and big in itself, yes you can use your TL lenses but at reduced megapixels! The CL covers everything I want it todo, so I may well look into a Leica refurbished CL… 🕺

[TL3]

8 hours ago, elambo said:

Are those the two that you'd consider to be the closest to the CL?

They are unfortunately not too similar other than the smaller size, and shared L mount.  Ultimately for me, I want a small L mount camera for traveling with my TL lenses, and if the CL dies there’s no direct replacement since the S9, BF and TL2 all don’t have built in EVF.  The TL2 would still be the closest thing for me though, and I do bring it on certain trips instead of the CL if I am just doing family vacation snaps and not needing to stay low key.

If all my Leica APS-C bodies died, then I’d probably look into the S9 / BF or their successors for travel.  Or just suck it up and get an SL series camera.

[Guytou]

13 hours ago, lykaman said:

Size, weight and specs are at this time not available in Leica. The Q range is great but then you have a bunch or lenses laying in a drawer! The SL range is far to heavy and big in itself, yes you can use your TL lenses but at reduced megapixels! The CL covers everything I want it todo, so I may well look into a Leica refurbished CL… 🕺

Admittedly, the SL series is larger.

But the SL3 can still be used in APS-C with 26 MP and the SL2 with 20 MP in APS-C.
Which would still be sufficient for me and my TL lenses.

GuyM

[dsalamena]

I was thinking that whenever and IF a small L mount camera with the right specs (EVF, Ibis, etc) will finally hit the market, a limited set of prime lenses would cover most travel needs.
Image a Sigma/Panasonic full frame 24mm prime lenses (that can be easily cropped to 36mm whenever necessary) and the 35/60 Leica TL lenses when a small tele for portrait/macro is needed. With three light and portable lenses I would cover 90% of my travel photos with excellent image quality.  
For some reason I don’t see myself using the SL3 for this type of photography (probably because of its weight and size). 

Edited November 11 by dsalamena

[TL3]

On 11/11/2025 at 5:21 AM, dsalamena said:

I was thinking that whenever and IF a small L mount camera with the right specs (EVF, Ibis, etc) will finally hit the market, a limited set of prime lenses would cover most travel needs.
Image a Sigma/Panasonic full frame 24mm prime lenses (that can be easily cropped to 36mm whenever necessary) and the 35/60 Leica TL lenses when a small tele for portrait/macro is needed. With three light and portable lenses I would cover 90% of my travel photos with excellent image quality.  
For some reason I don’t see myself using the SL3 for this type of photography (probably because of its weight and size). 

Totally agree and I am hoping for this day.  In the meantime I will continue to use my CL or TL2 for travel as long as I can.

[Aerosail]

Am 8.11.2025 um 21:52 schrieb jaapv:

Well it made no sense economically to repair mine -pretty beat up.- but they did offer a refurb @ 2100 Euro. Not of interest to me as it is my #5 camera and still works with manual lenses.   And pay that much for a camera that is clearly at the end of its technical lifespan? 

So what symptoms did your camera suffer from and what you gonna do with it now?

Got it from the other topic: Lens communication error...Sounds like a fixable problem for electronics guys like louis rossmann.

Edited November 13 by Aerosail
Answered the question myself

[jaapv]

Maybe. I”m not going to bother. Leica has written the system off. I’ll follow their example. 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Gregm61]

Happens....virtually all DSLR makers have pretty much done similar, but I won't be giving up my D850 or Df any more than I will my virtually complete CL outfit. 

Plenty of bodies to choose from as needed; way more economical than considering starting over with something else requiring all new lenses.

I'm more likely to break down at 64 than any camera I own.