arondyte318 Lol, if everything goes to plan I will reunite with the Leica T pretty soon. From there its easy to upgrade to the TL2 in a year or so when the price has come down :)
Mattias, you said "Loved" this is PAST tense, meaning you maybe sold it or moved up to another camera? Please explain, I am sure you absolutely LOVE the New TL2 though?
I saw the T at the Leica boutique in Mayfair, London, in 2015. It was quite stunning, no buttons and a beautiful thing to hold, but in some ways it was like a steroid pumped up smartphone that needed a leash to contain it. The aluminium block concept still looks very unique in the TL2, and more importantly it sounds like it can punch above its weight in certain performance aspects. What surprises me is how it fits in with the Leica family, doesnt look odd, or too clever for its own good, but now seems like a very successful 'Leica-ish' innovation.
"How do you change focus points when you are using the EVF?" You move your eye away from the EVF and set a new focus point with the touch screen. It's not as fast as setting a focus point with, for example, a Fuji XPro-2. You have to think ahead a bit with this T-series, and have an idea of what you want to do in your head. Of course, if you are not using the EVF you can just touch the screen and it'll focus and take a picture, click, where your finger was.
Leica is keeping it simple, the lens the TL comes with is a full frame equivalent lens so when it says 35mm, its 35mm focal length on both a cropped and a full frame but because the cropped sensor captures only 66.7% (1/1.5x) of the image circle of the lens, it 'magnifies' the image to around 50mm, Well we all know that, the thing is Leica did not have it in mind to make a separate line of lens formulas suited for the cropped sensor. We know what that means, in the near future, they will switch over to full frame, the T, TL all can have a FF sensor in there, they have the same mount as the SL. I am waiting for that FF body to come out, hoping it will be a Q like systems body :-), I have the T, I love it and plan on sticking to it and use a lot before switching. I paid $600 so I did not spend so much on it to begin with. My next investment will be a FF body, great review Thorsten, always a pleasure!
Interesting review. Thanks for doing it, Thorsten. It would have been nice to see a few more of the photographs from your trips which the title suggests. :) I have the Leica T and still really enjoy it, using it mostly with M lenses.
Dear Max, The article will feature a lot more photographs in a few days, as well as more text. There is also a T/TL/TL2 video course being released in a few days.
Hi Thorsten, very intresting video ! Thanks for showing us around with the new Leica TL2 ! I am a "new" Leica Q owner and very happy with it and .... learning to use it ! Just to inform you, your video "What is the Leica Q" persuaded me to the purchase ! I hope you will find soon some spare time to finalize your eBook and the LR presets of your Leica Q Masterclass. Greetz, Roger B., Antwerp.
Thorsten, I'm not even a Leica user (will never be able to afford one) but still enjoy watching your videos and your persona. I think it would be great to see some videos from you about composition and the artistic side of Photography. I enjoyed your previous videos on sharpness etc.
Great explanation, the interface is a thoroughly modern solution. The only thing they really missed on is not making the slow zooms with optical stabilization. But if your shooting the Leica way you would want to stick with primes.
You know the Leica X Type 113 looks very interesting. For what they are going for these days, they are a great value in Leica terms, Made in Germany camera and lens, pretty fast and sharp lens and a great size, perfect for walking around and capturing moments. It has its limitations but it seems like you could get some pretty nice image with it and it is the perfect size, better than the Q in this regard.
Very good review,good job!This camera has undermined by the bad review from the press of original Leica T,I have use original Leica T for 2 years and recently upgrade to TL2,it is a amazing and beautiful camera.The price of TL2 is reasonable priced .
What a stunning camera! That footage around the 13 minute mark showed a lot of frame skipping though, it'd be interesting to see whether that was something to do with the camera, or a codec mismatch in the editor? Love the B&W side angle in this review - beautifully done.
That'd be great - thanks. Most videographers shy away from Leica because of the investment, but I saw a youtuber who used the SL and Q to get some really nice footage ( /watch?v=sODj1DovsXo) so I'm curious to see how the TL2 does in that respect.
Hi Gary, I shoot at 23.976 and Thorsten's TL 2 footage was shot at 30 FPS accounting for the skips you were seeing. Shortly I'll be cutting together a separate video with photos and video with matched resolution so you can see the footage "au natural."
For most of us Leica cameras and lenses are out of reach (pricewise) but I appreciate your effort explaining the TL2. Personally I hate the fact that it does not have built inn viewfinder but that's subjective thing. Keep up the good work Thorsten og jeg digger dansk-engelsk way of speaking :D
Thanks. The Leica Digilux 2 is actually a great camera with an amazing f/2.0 zoom lens. Many don't know about it becauase it's from 2004 and only sells second-hand (for $250-$1000), but most who get one, buys two just to be sure never to part with it. Very high love factor, and great image quality, as well as a camera that feels like a 1970's camera in handling. You can see my user report on it here: www.overgaard.dk/leica_digilux2.html
Excellent Video Thorsten. I have a T and it looks like the TL2 is addressing all of my concerns. I really like shooting the T except for its low light performance. The zooms are bit too slow for my taste in low light. If I could get good quality at ISO 6400 that would make all the difference. Also the increased resolution is a welcome upgrade. I will be upgrading when they get the firmware thing fixed.
Hi Thorsten - Set your Leica TL/TL2 to B/W mode high contrast and let me know if you like that Leica look. The processing firmware on the TL is special unlike the SL. Enjoy!
I loved the review. I sold my T and was wondering which one to get the TL2 or the CL. I will have to go the TL2 way, cause I kept some accessories from my old T and I will save some money (battery, case, strap & viewfinder): I just simply hate that you have to buy the posts to have a regular strap. The review is very good !
NOt sure how I missed this overview my friend. The TL is truly interesting. I wonder which makes the most sense for a quick compact every day carry camera, this or the Q?
No idea who would this be for either. It's small camera but lenses are big. It's not full frame. But it has 4k video. But it doesn't have EVF. No flash. If you put evf, can't put flash. So it's not really for casuals that much. A casual wanting a Leica would be much better served by a Q. If I had to chose between a Q and this I would get the Q although the 4k video is appealing. I have an M10 so maybe I want this to use with my M lenses? But what do I gain, it's still manual focus... 4k video? It's just a weird camera but it's Leica so I hope they sell tons.
I don't see it as a companion to a M10. The fact that it is not full-frame doesn't matter much for image quality or anything. Video ands tills looks amazing. But I think it's for people who are not attracted to traditional camera concepts but want image quality and brand. Just like the small Leica cameras that have twin Panasonic models, the Leica attracts an audience who want a brand rather than just the features. We'll see. The T was a success; and the TL2 has gotten rid of all the slowness.
I would consider a Leica M10 paired with a TL2 for only one reason. With a M10 my 50mm Summicron is 50mm, with a TL2 I'm guessing it would be something 75mm and my 90mm would be 135mm (hopefully image quality would hold up), but, as I think you're suggesting, I would need an adapter. Leica adapter for a Leica camera -- not going to happen for me. I rather a Sony a7Rr ii.
I don't know what the problem with an adapter would be. The Sony seem to work well with Leica lenses, though and is a good camera with one of the best EVFs. I do find that Fuji sensors are not taking Leica lenses that well (or any other lens for that matter) as they seem to rely heavily on software-correction of lenses; which means they work well with Fujinon lenses but not with other lenses.
Nice overview of the camera. I like the way you bought one brand and talked about how they work differently. Could you please tell me what the red rings are on the M and Q. Thanks
I had some ventilated lens hoods made for myself because I like that old style. So people asked where they could get them, and then I started a production. And for the fun of it we made a "limited edition" in RED which isn't really limited. Just a fun thing for people who like colors and fashion-like stuff.
A great review and an interesting camera. If it had come out last year I would probably have bought it. Last year all hell broke loose. I bought the X113 as a compact for my Nikon system. It blew the Nikon away and by this year I had replaced my Nikon system with a Panasonic GX7 with the fantastic Olympus primes. Yes, the tilting touch screen changed teh way I photograph and the optical stabilisation has been a game changer. This year I cant see the TL2 replacing the Panasonic and, in truth, I cant see it getting me better pictures than the X113 which I love. I am not a fan of 24MP high ISO crop sensor cameras; 24MP is fine for full frame. There really is no way of getting round the physics without image processing and to me that gives a digital brittle feel. I never use higher than ISO1600 and image stabilisation makes this possible in any situation.. I have never found 16MP limiting; I still retain a 12MP Fx D700 which is a light bucket. Really the TL2 fails for me on stabilisation and tilt screen. Really my upgrade path is clear, the X113 would upgrade to a Q if they ever bring out a 35mm Summilux version and the Panasonic to a GH5. I will always have a Leica but I somehow doubt my system camera will be the TL ;-)
You should be able to turn it on with the wheel, no? Look here under Manual Focus Peaking: www.overgaard.dk/Leica-TL-mirrorless-digital-camera-review-and-user-report.html
The AFc, which is the continuous focus tracking I seldom use. I don't like the idea of it, thought I ama aware that for runners and such, you need something that follows the subject. I just didn't work with that, so I don't really have an answer on it.;
Do you think the Leica T (2014) is worth buying used for a relatively cheap price as a fist camera? Second hand rangefinders are still quite unaffordable but the T is surprisingly within reach.
I have no experience with the Canon 80D. I only buy and use cameras that works for me in my work, I don't do comparisons or traditional "reviews". I would visit a store and see them together.
Why image quality is the same as full frame? This is much cheaper, right? Touch screen interface is sleek but it's slower and less convenient than physical dials? This system makes Leica a lot more affordable. Small size is also nice. Thanks for the review. Your portraits are incredibly good, the best!
There are few cameras as intuitive and easy to control as the Leica M, but if you are looking at other cameras, it's either a lit of scroll menu's and buttons and dials, or this Leica TL2 with touch screen. It works really well for quite a lot of things. If you want quick intuitive control, not much other solutions than the Leica M.
Magic Of Light I think these are made in China instead of Germany, right? I few years ago Leica provided consulting for a china phone company that made a phone with two front facing cameras with Leica badge. One camera is black and white to enhance contrast and dynamic range or something, for the color camera. And then Leica announced that it'll open a manufacturing plant in china. Right now, I'm thinking it's all for the purpose of making this. The user interface resembles that of a cell phone. The lenses are bigger than the regular Leica. I'm thinking that they're trying to invent a poor men's Leica, kind of like what Porsche has been doing with cars (cayenne, Baxter, cayman). I'm really attracted to the system, since you said the image quality is the same as Leica m, but I don't understand why would that be the case when it's APSC. Maybe the dynamic range, low light performance, and depth of field are weaker? I've been setting my mind on saving up for the Sony full frame, but this system seems worth considering. I own a Lytro camera, that has a touch screen interface. It's well done, but it's like, when I'm out there shooting and I want to make quick adjustments, using physical buttons and dials seems much faster and easier than pulling the camera away from your face, access the touch interface, and make the adjustments. And that's my second reservation for this system (APSC sensor being the first, and I have yet to check the prices for the lenses and lens selections). Any thoughts on any of this? Thanks! I appreciate the review and like your photographs very much. God bless.
The Leica cameras are made in Germany and Portugal mainly. There was also Leitz Canada which made many camera bodies and lenses from 1940's to 1980's. The Portugal factory has been going since the 1980's and was a watchmaker factory they took over, including all the staff that was trained in precision assembling. They built a brand new factory in 2014 in Portugal and 2015 in Germany, The Leica X supposedly was made (for a large part) in Vietman, and the D-Lux in Japan. However, if a product says "Made in Germany", 83% of it has to be made in Germany. So that gives an idea of how much was done where. I tried the Lytro briefly when it came out and decided it was too big (I had expected it much smaller) and I didn't like the edges and the built quality. Not to mention the image quality that I found was lacking, but it is a great concept in many ways. The Huawei corporation, as far as I know, is Leica providing technology and lenses. They also opened a Huawei/Leica research facility in Wetzlar in Germany to further their corporation. I haven't heard about production of Leica in China. Only that Leica opened a management office in Shanghai to run Asia (which was previously run from Singapore).
Thanks for the info! The lytro was like a prototype badged as a production ready camera, while the inventor was a genius, I don't think he understands too much outside his field. I think a prime lens with sharper images and leveraging light field technology to enhance post processing prowess would've been better than that whole living picture gimmick. Apple picked up on the gimmick of that little 3D effect when you wiggle the phone, and Panasonic picked up on post focus by taking multiple shots. But anyways, that was a great story and all. I picked up the camera at liquidation prices just out of curiosity. The user interface is said to be better than even some smart phones, but then again, it has limited features. I own a Panasonic LX100, which is the same as Leica D-Lux. Love it! I think this camera is a great opportunity to get Leica quality at an affordable price (have not checked lens prices yet but body costs $2000, the most expensive APSC, but much cheaper than leica m), but not sure how I'll cope with the touch screen interface for the long run, it could eventually drive me nuts lol :D. Thanks!
Too bad that Leica had decided not to continue with the TL series. Nevertheless I bought one this year because of its unique design and construction. With the tiny 18 mm pancake lens, the TL2 fits well into my pocket. Its LCD screen is good but the WiFi is poor because there has been no firmware update for quite some time.
@@kongsshamaki I am happy with images obtained with the 18 mm and 60 mm TL lenses under outdoor lighting conditions. Its autofocus is quite good as a point and shot camera. I think there are six TL lenses to choose from. I especially like the feel of holding this hand-polished camera in my hand.
The TL is an entirely new thinking of "how should a camera be made if we made a camera for the first time in this day and age, with current technology and the way of using things" and that's how it got the touch screen and is mainly made for people who would look at a screen to take photos and use their fingers to navigate. The CL is a traditional camera, and in my opinion a in-between-model in that the EVF of the CL is great, and that was likely what prompted Leica to make the CL. That they could make a camera with an EVF built-in in that high quality vs compact size. Not much other in the CL is thought through very much. Next model might be awesome, but the CL is based in the traditional way of making cameras.
Jerry Bruckheimer used Leica TL2 to take portraits during the shoot of Pirates of the Caribbean, guess that makes it legit, he could've used anything. But I still think the full frame Leica has better image quality, though. I checked image samples of both.
I can't tell the difference really on the full frame 24Mp and the TL2 24MP "cropped" sensor. But there are other differences in sensors not related to size. The Leica Q sensor and Leica SL sensors are different than the M sensors in the way they behave in editing. Good or bad, I don't know, but different.
Hello thorsten I really like your channel and also your photos. I have a question do you know if the summicron 50mm f2 rigid was designed by dr mandler, and if it is not this lens could you tell me which ones were designed by walter mandler. I am interested in buying one of these to get the leica glow on my photos thanks for your help
This is definatly an apple approach, they upgrade everything and keep the price same, even though this here is Leica, they did a very good job with the specs of the body, I am sure they shut a lot of peoples mouth about performance, right? well one thing will be complained about is the price, but to be honest, its not that bad, its a well built camera, all aluminum, stylish, desirable, slick, so very compact and now it has the balls to do the job!
If the price was less than 1,000 it would be a no-brainer. But they just can't make things that way. The good thing is that despite the high entrance price, the second-hand value stays very high, making it easy to move to new models.
Definitely, you are right, I took a peek on ebay on the Leica Ts, they are selling for $500-$800, body alone, Leia holds its value very well, cause its so well built, there is an intimate connection between any leica and user. This is everything that T is, same screen, but faster performance, if I was a T guy, I would have switched but my goal is to get a FF body, my T is a 'fill in' body at this point, A body like this is a keeper, weather it be TL or TL2. Like you said in your review about the M10, - there is not much good things to say about the 10 compared to the previous M models, - and thats a good thing' unquote, what we get from it is that Leica makes a body not for a season but for as long as it will go and you will still be loving it for a long time, look at the M8, still sells for over $1000, its a 10MP body!
I'm thinking of getting to use it for mainly street photography. I was told in the store that the old TL has better colors on the same size sensor having less pixels! (and cheaper of course). Is this true? Is there a study? I will be the first time Leica user. I have to decide. Thank you.
There is no study of colors or sensors. It's all opinion, and that statement is even new to me. Only thing I can agree as true is that is's cheaper :-)
Because it is a 35mm lens. But because APS-C sensor has 1.5x crop factor (because it is smaller than full frame). When mounted on APS-C sensor, the field of view is equivalent to 50mm in full frame sensor (aprox).
Hi Thorsten, the focal length of a lens is theoretically simply the distance from the rear nodal point of the lens to the sensor (or film) when focused at infinity. For a theoretical basic 35mm lens, this is distance 35mm, for an 85 lens, that's 85mm. Hence the expression "long lens" for telephoto lenses. The actual field of view is - of course - determined by the size of the sensor (or film). When you use the same 35mm lens for your m10, you get a wide field of view (54°). If you put the same lens on the TL2, it's like only using the central part of lens (37°). If you put the sam 35mm lens on a medium format lens, you would get a much wider field of view. There are, however, to caveats: Due to the modern complex construction of lenses, the focal length isn't necessarily identical with the physical length of the lens. That's because modern lenses have several lens elements that do different things. Second, you cannot necessarily put the same 35mm lens on a full frame, medium format or crop camera, since it is usually specifically designed to work with one camera. If you tried to put a TL lens on the M (which you can't because the mount doesn't fit), you would get heavy vignetting. One last thing: The field of view of the 23mm lens on the TL is roughly the same as a 35mm lens on the M. The difference in the image has to do with compression and depth of field. If this difference is negligible to you, you might as well go with the smaller sensor. I hope that cleared thing up a little. Thanks for your inspiring videos - I'll definitely join a workshop in the future (once I can afford it).
It seems like there has to be a high contrast edge for the red peaking signal to show even when zooming . So sometimes you have to relay on your eyes and the lcd screen. My guess this is due to the nature of the lens itself. I am sure one of those ultra sharp sigmas with little character will give better peaking. By the way anyone has had success with the Leica app? The wi-if connection is terrible, it’s not reliable at all. Sometimes I cannot even connect and When connected I only see one image. My ricoh grii does a much better job in that sense and that app isn’t great either, but at least I reset it and it works; Leica’s doesn’t even work when restarting. Come on Leica!
TL2.....I am sure that you have used an iPhone so it's that simple, and if you get more serious, set your own values, f-stop and shutter speed, you can turn those dials and BLOW your mind on how AMAZING the LEICA SENSOR captures the colours! I go through pictures I have taken and find that a TEAR comes to my eye when I see them all over again.
Many love the X, it was never my thing. Objectively I would say one offers compact size and fixed lens, the other (TL2) offers change of lenses. The Q is also a possibility, just to throw you all off :-)
I really could not tell who this is for. Too expensive for most (with the lens, EVF etc..). It does not have the character and the personality of the M. I am sure it takes amazing pictures as expected from Leica.
I make the ventilated shades myself: www.overgaard.dk/Thorsten-von-Overgaard-Gallery-Store-Hardware-for-Photography-LeicaQ-Typ116-Ventilated-Lens-Shade.html
The drawcard of this camera seems to be the large LCD screen, in order to be able to shoot similarly to a smart phone. However, most of the reviews of this camera indicate a preference for the viewfinder accessory, which implies the LCD is not up to the quality of the latest smartphones. If that is the case, why would anyone buy this camera? Looks like a Panasonic Gx9 is more worthwhile for street photography in terms of function and price.
I think that if one is used to traditional cameras, the EVF is something you will want. But make no mistake that a lot of new photographers never used a viewfinder, but only a screen. For those, the Leica TL2 makes complete sense. I guess the Leica CL is the solution for Leica TL2 wanna-bees; that one has much of the same, but an EVF built-in.
Great review. Well thought out and explains how different it is. Seems like the Apple strategy - keeping it simple. Looks awesome to me. Give me simplicity!! I'm so over complex menus!
Most camera models with small(er) sensors have lenses that says for example 8mm "but 28mm 35mm equivalent". This 35mm is a 50mm on the Leica TL2, and the same 35mm lens is also a 50mm on the full-frame Leica SL. So that's why it makes sense - bot not really make sense - that they would call it a 35mm.
Disclaimer: Don't read this if you aren't curious about pointless whines of an old fart who once liked Leica :-) What on earth has this company become? What on earth happened to the Leica of the end of the last decade, with the M9, S2, X1, all unique products offering practical features that no other cameras had? What happened to the Leica that didn't have the opinion that getting rid of a screen is a cool feature to have on a new camera, making it worth hundreds of dollars more than what the base model costs? What happened to the Leica that cared about the needs of real photographers and used to actually innovate? Now they are just milking, milking, milking their heritage and making money out of thin air. What does this TL2 have? A cool battery removal system that Hasselblad copied with the X1D? Okay, I'll give them that :-) But what else...?
Haters are always going to HATE...if things don't go to their liking... I could never afford a "Real" Leica, but then bought a gently USED T having had iPhones and been into photography since FILM, doing my own processing in a REAL dark room... I was quite GOOD to say the least. I LOVE this NEW T system!! the best of both worlds! I cannot wait to TRADE UP to the NEW TL2.......
