🔴 Bye Bye CL?? .. Leica SL vs Leica CL

Long Term Review+Many Photos. Pros & Cons of Leica CL vs Leica SL 2022 (Is Leica CL Worth it?)

Video discussing - is the Leica SL /Leica CL worth it in 2022? and which is the best digital Leica camera as your first Leica? The CL and SL are the cheapest digital Leica camera options with interchangeable lens and 24MP sensors. Video includes Leica SL portraits, Leica CL portraits and Lightroom presets for Leica (both Leica SL LR presets and Leica CL Lightroom presets). Both amazing cameras and both offering their own strengths depending on your needs.

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#leica #leicareview #leicacamera #mrleicacom

[paullefko]

I have had the Sl Q and TL2 and CL. Tbh there is almost no difference in image quality between these cameras. The TL2 is a better travel camera for its in body charging and 32 gigs of RAM on board. The CL focuses faster and more reliably over the TL and it’s better for flash use. The SL was awesome but too heavy to be practical for travel where your walking around / hiking, the q was awesome for travel but often is not wide enough at least for me and say interiors of churches in France.
The CL is for me the best compromise for size and and functionality. It and the Fuji x100v are almost identical in size oddly enough with the 18 on it.

[jklphoto]

An excellent synopsis Matt. I always enjoy your rapid-fire presentations. Faff-free. I bought my SL (601) first ( to digitize my M-glass), then picked up the CL as a 24MP backup and travel camera. One salient point you didn't mention is the CL uses the newer 3-button interface, common on the M10/11, Q series and SL2. Besides the physical buttons, the Leica CL also has the newer menu GUI with touchscreen, which is a drastic improvement to the older SL. Totally agree with your conclusion. The SL has been a tremendous FF EVF value for the last couple of years and is a true workhorse. The CL is an amazing travel camera, more true to Oskar Barnack's original vision.

[utubepiotr]

Matt, you've become "an institution" in sharing your photography knowledge and experience, DON'T STOP. Not only is it knowledge but even more so, the contagion of being a photographer. Your 15 min videos pack enough to make 115min videos of many other utubers. Thanks for doing what you are doing and if you are ever again somewhere in PL near Wroclaw, I'd love to buy you a coffee and pick your brain some more. Cheers.

[weisserth]

I really like the concept of the CL. It was just too expensive as a value proposition - too expensive within the Leica line-up that is.

I'm sad the CL is being discontinued. I was hoping for a more appealing CL2 (weather sealing, IBIS).

The SL body is just too large. The bodies, the lenses. It's too large as a camera I would lug around most of the time. Panasonic got it right with the size in the S5. Sony got it right with their A7 line and E Mount has a lot of high quality, small fast primes. L Mount does not (exception are the Sigma contemporary primes for L mount).

I don't think there is any chance Leica will add a smaller SL body to the line up - it would not offer much of a benefit given how large the SL lenses are; they could not price it any cheaper without hurting their portfolio. I looked at the product shelf at the Leica store recently and confused the SL zoom lenses with Leica S medium format lenses, because they've put the lenses next to an S3 and the lenses matched the size of the body.

Think about this: Leica, the pioneer of small, portable cameras is doubling down on large, heavy, bulky cameras and lenses which are larger in size and weight than anybody else's products in that format. I think the way to look at the SL portfolio: its targeted competitors are medium format cameras, not other 35mm small frame format cameras (yes, I am using the correct term, "full frame" is not the original, correct term for the 35mm format, Leica invented 35mm format as "Kleinbild", which means small frame).

My Leica M bodies (M3, MP, M10) are as large as I am willing to go with a Leica body. A 35mm small frame camera should not be larger than a Sony A7, Panasonic S5 etc. - just my personal preference. I have no doubt the SL cameras are a joy to use - when you don't have to lug them around all day and you don't have to care about being candid that is.

[juliussternfeld]

I love my SL . Sometimes I wish, it was more compact. If they made a full frame CL, that would be awesome. Would you be interested to make a video about the sigma fp? I would love to watch that.

[jeromearnould]

Excellent video on 2 big winners.... I'll keep my CL as my small AF "go kit" as it does accept all my M, LTM and L lenses😊 and I 'll keep my SL2-S as my main AF kit. And I do not regret my M10P. And now for street photo I use my SL2S with a 28mm (Ultron or Summaron LTM) and sometime the TL18mm (APSC so 27mm) that make my SL2 even smaller, fast and sharp ...

[Funktrainer]

I also have the SL (Typ 601) but for street, event, travel, landscape and architecture photography I slowly go back to my M8 and M9-P, they are simply more straight forward and easy to use with better image quality out of the box thanks to the CCDs and the great M lenses. Plus the M system is A LOT lighter and easier to carry around with a complete set of lenses.

[absonus]

I have the SL2S, 246 and a full CL kit. Just can`t get rid of the CL .I use it with my M lenses, ,,, nice and small and some extra reach . The SL2s was the biggest disappointment .Its heavy and the AF isn`t good enough for what I need .I only have two lenses for it . A Pany 70/200 and the 24/70 .The 24/70 gives me a useful range on the CL and today I`m going to see how the 70/200 performs on the CL. So apart from its lovely native lenses the Cl is also a very useful tele converter .

[webersteve]

The CL has a newer sensor which makes the photos look more like the SL2/Panasonics (which I prefer). The CL batteries are much cheaper and you can buy clones from Panasonic, which is suitable for traveling. The CL has the new user interface from the SL2, which is a hughe improvement imho. Overall you get a better IQ in the CL, better image quality and a smaller size. The only downside is the smaller viewfinder, and that some of the Aps-c lenses are much to big. I use the CL as a back up and travel camera, with the 18 mm and 23 mm, but mainly with full frame lenses. The new ff Sigma Dg Dn are awesome and fit very well.

[arthurpeterson]

Why does Leica make the same mistake all over again? (It's almost as if history repeats itself.) Decades ago they discontinued the lovely and popular original (film) Leica CL in favour of the much larger and heavier Leica M5 and Leicaflex cameras, and the company almost went down the tubes! Now I keep seeing reports that they're discontinuing the brilliant (digital) Leica CL in favour of the grossly oversize and overweight Leica SL2 and SL2-S cameras (and their grossly oversize and overweight lenses) and Q2 cameras that, almost unbelievably for serious cameras, have a fixed lens. The current CL is simply the best camera Leica has ever made. Is it perfect? No, of course not. It's five or so years old and certainly could be improved (as per the SL-to-SL2 developments)---IBIS, weather sealing, higher resolution EVF, higher megapixel BSI sensor, and so forth. And, yes, it could have a full frame sensor. If the Leica Q2 and the Sigma FP cameras can sport full frame sensors, there's no reason why a Leica CL2 shouldn't have one. Just as the original Leica CL was pure joy to carry and use for film, the modern Leica CL is pure joy to carry and use today; and it is an unbelievable repeated stupidity for Leica to discontinue its CL camera line yet again, rather than move it forward with a new CL2 model and more of its superb lenses!

[sunnyportraits]

Working with a borrowed Sony A7ii now matching nicely my old Minolta MD lenses. It is too small and awkward for my hands, but it gets the job done. Manual focussing a vintage lens on a mirrorless camera just has something fun to it as well, and I like being able to see the B&W preview. Maybe when I get some nicer lenses I will look into the SL, that viewfinder sure is something special from what I remember!

[papafrita]

Gret video, do you happen to know if the Leica SL maintains it's weather sealing when using sealed lenses from Panasonic or Sigma?

[wilfredshum]

Hi Matt, nice to hear from you again on Leica cameras and lenses. Just bought a brand new TL2 at a huge discount to pair with the tiny 18 mm Elmarit. Just for fun, I will try my 135 mm Tele-Elmar lens on it with the EVF.

[kostyafedot]

If jumped from one Leica, to another and then another, it clearly indicates what it doesn't matter which camera was in use. I was going to get SL in addition to M-E 220, but realized what old 5D MKII does it well too and for less :)

[FarEastSurvival]

Thank you. I know what you mean by the colors. The CL colors are less accurate than the SL/SL2. I am on a trip and I decided to take the M10R and CL and left the SL2S at home so I agree with your recommendation. I dont think I will get rid of the CL. I like it so much. I ordered the 18mm TL lens. I can't wait to try it out for going on hikes or traveling about.

[sromrell]

Your example photos are so amazing. The Sigma 30mm DC DN you showed has character, more so than the TL 35 1.4 to me anyway. Not sure about the SL, but the SL2 is water resistant/proof, so that’s another reason to grab the bigger camera.

[yopuivideo]

Nice video. I will stick with my CL for now. I like crop sensors as I can carry smaller lenses and all my kit fits in a small camera bag meant for one SLR body and one lens. That includes a charger, flash and a small LED light! The image quality is exceptional and the camera is easy to use especially with manual lenses.

[oh_aces]

I'd like to mention that the SL has really solid 4K video as well. The caveats are horrible rolling shutter, crop, and no log format. But the colors are absolutely gorgeous so if you get your WB and exposure right in camera, you can just edit and export and it will be absolutely stunning.

[thedondeluxe]

I have swapped my M240 for an M10 now, but I still use my CL all the time! Can't see myself ever selling it, really. The lenses and image quality are just crazy good compared to the tiny size and light weight.
I really hope they change their minds about crop sensor cameras. If not, I'll probably get another CL or a TL2 before they start going up in price on the used market :-)

[canyoneagle]

Great content as usual, Matt! Thanks for this video, as it really hits home.

I love my CL (with grip and thumbsup) and plan to keep it as my travel/street camera (with Leica 21mm Elmarit f2.8 ASPH and vintage Summicron 40mm f/2), and I'm looking to get a used SL or SL2-S (perhaps SL2) as my main camera. I do mostly landscape, nature and astrophotography, so the SL format is much better suited for that type of work (remote shutter control, full frame sensor, etc).
The two-camera setup is surprisingly accessible when shopping the used market, and since both cameras work well with the same lenses, it seems like a great setup. I only shoot manual glass (Leica, Voightlander), so AF is not on my radar. The focus assist on the CL is excellent.
In time, I might replace the CL with an M10-R or base M10 (maybe an M-10D) to keep as my street/travel camera.

One thing is for certain: I'm never leaving Leica. I can't quit you. :)