Leica CL Comparison Review

The Leica CL (Typ 7323) is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was officially introduced in November 2017 and is equipped with an APS-C sensor. It offers a resolution of 24.1 megapixel.

Is the Leica CL a good camera? The CL has a Camera Elo of 2470. This rating puts the CL among the top 50 percent of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (APS cameras), the CL ranks among the top 30 percent. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 3.5-star performance rating.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The side-by-side display below illustrates the physical size of the Leica CL vis-à-vis a credit card. Three consecutive perspectives from the front, the top, and the back are presented. All width, height and depth measures are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Leica CL alongside a set of comparators. If you want to review a camera pair side-by-side, just select a right-side comparator from among the camera models in the table. Alternatively, you can also move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

	Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
	Leica CL	131 mm	78 mm	45 mm	403 g	220	n	Nov 2017	2,795
	Canon 2000D	129 mm	101 mm	78 mm	475 g	500	n	Feb 2018	449
	Canon M50	116 mm	88 mm	59 mm	390 g	235	n	Feb 2018	779
	Canon 200D	122 mm	93 mm	70 mm	453 g	650	n	Jun 2017	549
	Canon M6	112 mm	68 mm	45 mm	390 g	295	n	Feb 2017	779
	Fujifilm X-A5	117 mm	68 mm	40 mm	361 g	450	n	Jan 2018	399
	Fujifilm X100F	127 mm	75 mm	52 mm	469 g	390	n	Jan 2017	1,299
	Fujifilm X-E3	121 mm	74 mm	43 mm	337 g	350	n	Sep 2017	899
	Leica C-LUX	113 mm	67 mm	46 mm	340 g	370	n	Jun 2018	1,049
	Leica TL2	134 mm	69 mm	33 mm	399 g	250	n	Jul 2017	1,950
	Leica TL	134 mm	69 mm	33 mm	384 g	400	n	Nov 2016	1,695
Notes: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Leica CL was launched in the US market at a price of $2,795. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The imaging sensor is at the core of digital cameras and its size is one of the main determining factors of image quality. A large sensor will generally have larger individual pixels that offer better low-light sensitivity, provide wider dynamic range, and have richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Moreover, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more control over depth-of-field in the image and, thus, the ability to better isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be associated with larger, more expensive camera bodies and lenses.

The Leica CL features an APS-C sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.5. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Leica CL among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

For most cameras, data on sensor performance has been reported by DXO Mark. This service is based on lab testing and assigns an overall score to each camera sensor, as well as ratings for dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), color depth ("DXO Portrait"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"). The following table provides an overview of the physical sensor characteristics, as well as the sensor quality measurements for a selection of comparators.

Sensor Characteristics

	Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
	Leica CL	APS-C	24.1	6014	4014	4K/30p	..	..	..	..
	Canon 2000D	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/30p	22.6	11.9	1009	71
	Canon M50	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/24p	..	..	..	..
	Canon 200D	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	23.6	13.4	1041	79
	Canon M6	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	..	..	..	..
	Fujifilm X-A5	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/15p	..	..	..	..
	Fujifilm X100F	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	..	..	..	..
	Fujifilm X-E3	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	..	..	..	..
	Leica C-LUX	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	4K/30p	..	..	..	..
	Leica TL2	APS-C	24.1	6014	4014	4K/30p	..	..	..	..
	Leica TL	APS-C	16.1	4928	3264	1080/30p	..	..	..	..

Many modern cameras cannot only take still pictures, but also record videos. The CL indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the CL can use is 4K/30p.

Feature comparison

Beyond body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the CL has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2360k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.49x. The adjacent tables list some of the other core features of the Leica CL along with similar information for a selection of comparators.

Core Features

	Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Size (inch)	LCD Resolution (000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Mech Shutter Speed	Shutter Flaps (1/sec)	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
	Leica CL	2360	Y	3.0	1040	fixed	Y	1/8000s	10.0	n	n
	Canon 2000D	optical	n	3.0	920	fixed	n	1/4000s	3.0	Y	n
	Canon M50	2360	n	3.0	1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	10.0	Y	n
	Canon 200D	optical	n	3.0	1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	5.0	Y	n
	Canon M6	optional	n	3.0	1040	tilting	Y	1/4000s	9.0	Y	n
	Fujifilm X-A5	none	n	3.0	1040	tilting	Y	1/4000s	6.0	Y	n
	Fujifilm X100F	2360	n	3.0	1040	fixed	n	1/4000s	8.0	Y	n
	Fujifilm X-E3	2360	n	3.0	1040	fixed	Y	1/4000s	8.0	n	n
	Leica C-LUX	2330	n	3.0	1240	fixed	Y	1/2000s	10.0	Y	Y
	Leica TL2	optional	n	3.7	1230	fixed	Y	1/4000s	7.0	n	n
	Leica TL	optional	n	3.7	1230	fixed	Y	1/4000s	5.0	Y	n

One useful feature of the CL is a presence of a top-level LCD. While being, of course, smaller than the rear screen, the control panel conveys some of the essential shooting information and can be convenient for quick and easy settings verification.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Leica CL (Typ 7323) and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

	Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Microphone	Internal Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
	Leica CL	Y	stereo	mono	-	-	-	-	Y	-	-
	Canon 2000D	Y	mono	mono	-	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	-
	Canon M50	Y	stereo	mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	Y
	Canon 200D	Y	stereo	mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	Y
	Canon M6	Y	stereo	mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	Y
	Fujifilm X-A5	Y	stereo	mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	-	Y
	Fujifilm X100F	Y	stereo	mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
	Fujifilm X-E3	Y	stereo	mono	Y	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	Y
	Leica C-LUX	-	stereo	mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
	Leica TL2	Y	stereo	mono	-	-	micro	3.0	Y	-	-
	Leica TL	Y	stereo	mono	-	-	micro	2.0	Y	-	-

It is notable that the CL offers wifi support. Wifi can be a very convenient means to transfer image data to an off-camera location.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of technical specifications can provide a useful overview of the capabilities of different cameras, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the CL. At times, user reviews, such as those published at amazon, address these issues in a useful manner, but such feedback is on many occasions incomplete, inconsistent, and unreliable. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The adjacent table relays the overall verdicts of several of the most popular camera review sites (cameralabs, dpreview, ephotozine, imaging-resource, photographyblog).

Review Scores

	Camera Model	camera   labs	dp review	ephoto   zine	imaging resource	photography   blog	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
	Leica CL	..	..	..	..	4/5	Nov 2017	2,795
	Canon 2000D	o	..	3.5/5	..	3.5/5	Feb 2018	449
	Canon M50	+	79/100	..	4/5	3.5/5	Feb 2018	779
	Canon 200D	+ +	78/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	4.5/5	Jun 2017	549
	Canon M6	..	80/100	4/5	4.5/5	4/5	Feb 2017	779
	Fujifilm X-A5	+	..	4/5	4/5	3.5/5	Jan 2018	399
	Fujifilm X100F	+	83/100	4.5/5	..	4.5/5	Jan 2017	1,299
	Fujifilm X-E3	+	84/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2017	899
	Leica C-LUX	..	..	4.5/5	..	4/5	Jun 2018	1,049
	Leica TL2	..	..	4/5	..	4/5	Jul 2017	1,950
	Leica TL	..	..	..	..	4/5	Nov 2016	1,695
Notes: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The ratings are only valid when referring to cameras in the same category and of the same age. Hence, a score should always be seen in the context of the camera's market launch date and its price, and comparisons of ratings among very different cameras or across long time periods have little meaning. Also, please note that some of the review sites have changed their methodology and reporting over time.

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just use the search menu below. Alternatively, you can follow any of the listed hyperlinks for comparisons that others found interesting.

~

Did you notice an error on this page? If so, please get in touch, so that we can correct the information.

You are here:  Home  »  CAM-parator  »  Leica CL Review