Leica CL

Leica CL

Rumors have swirled about a digital version of the Leica CL for years, but most have pointed to a compact, full-frame M-mount camera with an EVF rather than an optical one. That's not what we got.

The Leica CL digital is a camera I've been waiting a while for; almost 10 years now. But if you rewinded back to the technology world 10 years ago, you saw that mirrorless cameras weren't even a thing yet, and the Leica M9 hadn't even launched.

Leica CL Review

The Leica CL is a small, sleek mirrorless camera that delivers excellent images, but its interface needs some refinement. The first Leica CL was released in the 1970s. A 35mm rangefinder, both smaller and less expensive than its contemporary, the M5. The modern CL ($2,795, body only) is a digital camera with an APS-C image sensor, autofocus, and a touch LCD. But like its namesake, it's very compact, and priced signficantly less than an M10 ($6,595). It's still a Leica, a luxury item when it comes to cameras, so don't expect it to do more than more affordable options, like the Fujifilm X-T2, our Editors' Choice in the high-end APS-C mirrorless camera space, altough Fuji's X-Pro2 is a more appealing alternative for Leica aficionados. Design The CL isn't as dramatically futuristic-looking as its sibling, the TL2. It instead goes for a classic silhouette similar to the antique Leica III series, featuring an all-black finish, a leatherette wrap, and standard physical controls. For comparison, the TL2 is carved from a solid block of aluminum and boasts a huge touch LCD with just a pair of dials to adjust ...

Leica CL Mirrorless Camera Review

Fans of Leica rangefinder cameras, and you know who you are, will welcome the CL as a harkening back to the original small format cameras designed by Oskar Barnack in the first part of the 20th century, including the requisite red dot.