Leica CL review: a classic sharpshooter

Leica has long had a reputation for building beautiful cameras and lenses for the photographic purist. Its latest pair of products - the Leica CL digital rangefinder camera and a slimline 18mm f2.8 L-mount lens - are a particularly pure expression of that spirit.

With a fixed focal length, an operating system that balances automation with control and a shutter button that feels gloriously mechanical, the pairing harks back to a time when photography was a more glamorous, exclusive pursuit. It also looks gorgeously retro.

That’s not to say it’s a throwback: the Leica CL shoots high-resolution 4K video as well as jpegs and DNG raw images, and will beam photos to a smartphone app via Wi-Fi. But the technology is more subtly integrated than in the recent Leica TL2.

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In price, size and specifications, the CL sits in the middle of the Leica range. Bigger than the compact D-Lux, it has the interchangeable lenses of the S-System SLR - but not the internal mirror. Instead of looking directly through the lens, you compose shots using the touchscreen on the back or the electronic viewfinder on top.

The viewfinder is bright and sharp, and it’s easy to forget that you’re looking at a screen - until you squeeze the shutter button and the live feed is replaced with the photo you’ve just taken. The substitution is disorientating at first, but soon becomes indispensable: when bright sunlight is glinting off the screen, the viewfinder provides a better guide to the quality of your work.

Either way, you’re likely to be pleased with what you see. The APS-C sensor and fast lens combine to produce exceptionally sharp images, even on the odd occasion when you need to blow them up to full size. Low-light performance is also excellent: even at ISO 12,500, the grain and colour are atmospheric rather than intrusive, although beyond that things get ugly - not a word you could use to describe any other aspect of the camera.

The controls take some getting used to, particularly as the two dials on top have different functions in different modes, but these quirks are soon mastered. The touchscreen helps, in part because you can use it to skip through menus, but mostly because tapping it is an intuitive way to set the focus and exposure point, as you would on a phone.

And that’s the principle appeal of the CL: once you have it set to your liking, there’s very little to think about except framing the perfect shot. It may be directly compatible with all TL-series lenses, including the 55-135mm zoom (and M- and R-series lenses can be used with an adaptor), but the 18mm lens is the ideal partner. Wide, fixed and unobtrusive, it encourages you to get close to your subject - and that’s what photography is all about.

The Leica CL is available from £2,250, body only, or £3,150 with the 18mm lens. The lens is available separately for £1,020