Leica CL review: Clever, capable, quirky and costly

Oh, Leica. Once again you've given me the ambivalent feels.

The Leica CL might be forgiven some of its oddities and omissions at a lower price. But if you've been waiting for a Leica mirrorless that looks like a traditional Leica and consider its quirks part of the experience, then go forth and spend.

The Leica CL produces sharp photos with neutral colors; at least in winter light; has a great viewfinder; good performance and streamlined shooting controls.

Price, of course; But also design decisions, including no grip, no connectors and no way to lock navigation buttons, plus missing capabilities like manual exposure controls for video.

Leica CL Review

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 ...

The Leica CL is a small, sleek mirrorless camera that delivers excellent images, but its interface needs some refinement.

Compact body with integrated EVF; Touch LCD; 24MP APS-C image sensor; 4K video; Mechanical and electronic shutter options; 9.8fps burst shooting; Wi-Fi

Some interface quirks; Locked video frame rates; No in-body flash; Expensive

Leica CL Review

Superb, rock-solid build quality; Large, clear electronic viewfinder; Cleverly conceived control setup; Excellent RAW image quality;

No image stabilisation; No live view during continuous shooting; Touch-focus conflicts with viewfinder use; Limited exposure control during video;

Leica CL review review

Small size and weight; Simple handling; Excellent image quality;

Painful price tag; Screen is fixed; Touchscreen handling niggles;