Does the digital CL feel like a "real" Leica?

Ko.Fe. said:
In other words it sucks if you need lens to act as wide lens, not tele.
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M8 has a 15% increase in focal length only if i am not mistaken.
It does not convert a wide to tele.
I worked w/ a Nikon D100 and D200 for years, w/ more cropping than that and did everything i wanted out of my lenses.

As I see it Leica should have a line of cropped sensors w/ better prices just like Nikon does... If it´s a CL, more power to them. Big sensors are much more expensive.
 
leicapixie said:
The CL is a digital camera with built in obsolescence..
A new model all the time, battery availability another means,
of killing a model. If your income has no problem with digital Leica prices, go for a full frame Leica..An M.
Lenses will be what designed for..
Film is alive and well and very competitive..
I love the slowness (no longer doing pro assignments),
the tactile feel of holding an image..
Only you the buyer can decide what you should do!
I have looked at the 28mm 1.7 summilux camera,
that never opens aperture more than f2.4 ?..
A cropped image at higher views..
The CL can never be a Barnack!
Those old cameras are unique and all the mods cannot compare!
I have used them, the results very interesting with old lenses..
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Well, you have a choice - buy an up-to-date camera which will become obsolescent or buy an old-tech one which already is...:D
 
Ko.Fe. said:
FoV of 21 wide lens is 31 on CL.

Here is nothing what could be done, this is why it is called as the crop.
Even some YouTube video will not fix it. :)
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No, but as I understand their point--just buy the lens that gives you the angle of view you want (thanks Jaap), and your problem is solved. I don't have any Leica lenses in my stable at the moment so this seems like a very reasonable approach to me.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
FoV of 21 wide lens is 31 on CL.

Here is nothing what could be done, this is why it is called as the crop.
Even some YouTube video will not fix it. :)
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Hang on.. You're a photographer -right? You see the shot, you select your gear - you take it. You are not going to take a 35 mm equ. lens when you need a 21 mm equ. are you?

And it is not field of view - it is angle of view. Field of view incorporates the subject distance.
 
karateisland said:
Does the digital CL feel like a "real" Leica?....
My big surprise in this thread is that there are so many different views on what makes a "real" Leica.
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If you can, go to a dealer who has the CL, M etc in stock so you can handle them. Then it's up to you.
 
Huss said:
If you can, go to a dealer who has the CL, M etc in stock so you can handle them. Then it's up to you.
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All other arguments aside, this is my plan--I am learning that no one else's opinion is as important as my own experience. I'm going to Boston for the weekend soon, and I'll see if I can't test drive one of the cameras for 24 hours to see if it clicks or not.

(Or is the test drive only for the SL now?)
 
jaapv said:
Hang on.. You're a photographer -right? You see the shot, you select your gear - you take it. You are not going to take a 35 mm equ. lens when you need a 21 mm equ. are you?

And it is not field of view - it is angle of view. Field of view incorporates the subject distance.
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Thank you, Jaap. I'm just calling it wrong, I guess.
This is what I'm trying to say here from day one :).
Here is no M 14mm lens made by Leica, I guess, to have similar to 21mm Leica made lens result.
But maybe OP doesn't mind 50mm lens to be 75mm.

Personally, I like how 35mm 35usd Jupiter-12 gives me same images on film and digital M :)
Otherwise I would already own Epson R-D1.
 
I use the Voigtländer 15, no problem :), besides, the wide zoom for the CL is 11-23, with plenty of Leica quality built in :)
 
Hmmmm, my Sony A6000 has an APS-C sensor, can use M-mount lenses (with an adapter), and costs a tiny fraction of what a digital CL might cost. But it doesn't "feel" like a "real" Leica. Better probably, because the Sony has a useable handgrip which makes handholding infinitely more comfortable and secure than the usual bar-of-soap shape Leica is forever married to for all its cameras.
 
karateisland said:
All other arguments aside, this is my plan--I am learning that no one else's opinion is as important as my own experience. I'm going to Boston for the weekend soon, and I'll see if I can't test drive one of the cameras for 24 hours to see if it clicks or not.

(Or is the test drive only for the SL now?)
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It will click or not over the counter. Hold it, press to your face, shoot. Three times. You either feel the love or don´t.
You may dislike it in 6 months which i highly doubt.
If you have the cash, buy a high end small digital. They are wonderful.

Sonys were mentioned... Sonys have confusing menus. Leica opts for simplified menus. It´s their take on digital and it´s great.
 
I think the CL has that Leica build quality. It’s feels good in the hands. I’d buy the lenses that are made for it though. If you want to use ff MF lenses, there are better options. I’d stay clear of the SL though. Those are for diehard Leica fans only imo. For full frame Leica M lenses, nothing beats an M.
 
css9450 said:
Hmmmm, my Sony A6000 has an APS-C sensor, can use M-mount lenses (with an adapter), and costs a tiny fraction of what a digital CL might cost. But it doesn't "feel" like a "real" Leica. Better probably, because the Sony has a useable handgrip which makes handholding infinitely more comfortable and secure than the usual bar-of-soap shape Leica is forever married to for all its cameras.
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You do realize that grips are a preference right? I hate grips, so long live the soap bar!
 
karateisland said:
All other arguments aside, this is my plan--I am learning that no one else's opinion is as important as my own experience. I'm going to Boston for the weekend soon, and I'll see if I can't test drive one of the cameras for 24 hours to see if it clicks or not.

(Or is the test drive only for the SL now?)
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Ah, you're changing the basis of your decision process on us. :D

Seriously, the SL is a rather different order of fish from either the M or the CL. Do take a look at it, it's a lovely machine, but it's not directly comparable to either the M or the CL.

I had an SL for three years. It's a superb camera. The body is a nice size: about the size/weight/shape of a Leicaflex SL give or take a little. Its native SL series lenses are superb performers, but they tend to be rather bulky and heavy. It, like the CL, performs well with most of the M series lenses (M Adapter L necessary) and with all of the R series lenses (either M Adapter L + R Adapter M or R Adapter L mount adapters necessary ... to get all the lens profiles). The EVF is likely the best, or at least one of the best, in the business. And the control layout, etc, is superb ... if utterly and completely different from an M camera.

But I found that when I retired and closed my photo business for good, I didn't want to carry it any more. It's a tool that met my every need for professional jobs, but it's not a camera that I want to carry casually for my own photography.

I replaced the SL with the CL because I still needed a TTL camera for purposes like macro, copy work, long telephoto work, etc. And I still have all my R lenses. And I find the CL is great to have around for much more than those niche purposes. The CL handles much better with Leica M lenses—its smaller size and lighter weight balances better with them—and still performs brilliantly with the R system lenses and accessories. For my specific niche needs, it actually does a better job than the SL ... given the same resolution sensor for copy and close-up work, with the same lens as the SL, I don't need to work with such long extensions on the bellows or such a tall copy stand position, with means fewer problems with vibration, etc.

In the end, the only opinion that matters is your own. Go to a Leica dealer and handle all three, for sure. They are all superb cameras, and all superb lenses. Pick whichever one tickles your fancy, then go out and make photos.

G

"Equipment is transitory. Photographs endure."
 
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