Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
At last, I was handed a copy of the new Leica T for a very brief test run at the 2014 ParisPhoto LA. I took advantage of a human sea of watchable beautiful people coming to see and buy photographs at a median price of $6,000. The Leica-T fits in to this class of living!
Other cameras put a protective shell on a framework of electronics. The Leica T is in this respect, revolutionary! It starts with a solid block of aluminum!
What attracts me is the sleek minimal design, solid-built on sculpted aluminum on which the electronics are mounted. Adding to the interest is that the small lenses are so well designed, that no computing is needed to correct them! It has built-in 16GB of memory for those times when one rushes out without a fresh memory card. I expect that this camera will be great from the outset, but will also get frequent updates of firmware as new features get rolled out. Exposure-bracketing is one of the first of new features one's on their way.
Don't fret if you have a load of other Leica m-glass, there's a handy minimalist adapter with contacts to detect the codings. That presumably means that it's not beneath the T's dignity to add the needed CA and other corrections to your precious M-lenses.
It's like holding a solid piece of almost smooth silver-unobatainium from an experimental art project from Porche Design. It's that minimalist, but somehow, the design does include sufficient curve for a comfortable grip. The finish is perfect, like a piece of sculpture of solid metal.
Yellow, orange red and other bright skins are available for the the fashion conscious who might fear that some people might mistake them for working photographers, LOL!
The buttons on the top are snugly recessed I used it with the new Leica Vario-Elmar-T 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Lens, (with an equivalent range of 27mm - 84mm allowing for the 1.5 multiplication factor). Note that the filter size is 52 mm and the front does not rotate when focussing. That's nice when using polarizing filters. Also manual override of AF is possible!
At first, I thought that the electronic viewfinder was non-functional, LOL! No worry, a second later, it switched on and the image was very clear. The eye has to be definitely at the optic for the LCD to switch from the back LCD to the RVF. I picked on a mother and infant and she kindly obliged so I took a series of pictures. As with the Sony A7, the viewfinder also goes blank between each picture, something DSLR users are not mentally prepared for! Still, that is not a real barrier if one photographs with the other eye open, as good rangefinder practice might impose on a Leica user! The speed and aperture controls are at the back of the camera, easily adjustable by the thumb. Still, one does have to access the menu for more detailed settings.
The camera fits in my hands well, I am comfortable using the rear screen, the solidness of the unit likely cuts vibrations, but, anyway, the shutter is almost silent. The zoom lens snaps to focus and zooming in appears to hold focus too but I need to check this more. It could be that the camera detects any minor changes and refocuses as one releases the shutter.
As a reference, I also took the same pictures with the Canon 6D and a 50mm 1.2L Lens. Neither has image stabilization and both combinations are rather esoteric. Still, some observations.
The Leica camera is so light and unimposing and matches a 16MP CMOS APS-C sensor with an an apparently extraordinarily optically-corrected lenses. Here, likely as not there's a fair match. The Leica is likely to outrank the respected Canon 1.2L at the rather open apertures I generally use. The Canon doesn't appear to correct aberrations automatically, AFAIK. (At least not with the 5DII. Perhaps the 6D does make some corrections.)
I must admit, I felt more comfortable for grab-shots using the excellent rear LCD. There's a lag between each shot and the LCD being active for the next shot. At the present there's no capability for bracketing but this will appear soon, I'm assured. I am waiting for Leica to send me the files. Meanwhile, i'll post the Canon versions. I'd be willing to work a little slower with this compact enthusiasts camera and gain the advantage of the expected better quality delivered by the new lenses.
If the pictures are as good as I expect, I'd love to own this camera. For a total price of about $3,500 I'd feel comfortable that I had for myself a bit of unobtanium and a very useful tool. Still, I have to see my pictures and hope the lenses really do justice to my impulsive coveting and adoration!
Asher
Of the two lenses available, I went for the zoom as it was already on the camera. I hope to soon check out the f2, 23mm Summicron-T Asph and the flash.
Other cameras put a protective shell on a framework of electronics. The Leica T is in this respect, revolutionary! It starts with a solid block of aluminum!
What attracts me is the sleek minimal design, solid-built on sculpted aluminum on which the electronics are mounted. Adding to the interest is that the small lenses are so well designed, that no computing is needed to correct them! It has built-in 16GB of memory for those times when one rushes out without a fresh memory card. I expect that this camera will be great from the outset, but will also get frequent updates of firmware as new features get rolled out. Exposure-bracketing is one of the first of new features one's on their way.
Don't fret if you have a load of other Leica m-glass, there's a handy minimalist adapter with contacts to detect the codings. That presumably means that it's not beneath the T's dignity to add the needed CA and other corrections to your precious M-lenses.
It's like holding a solid piece of almost smooth silver-unobatainium from an experimental art project from Porche Design. It's that minimalist, but somehow, the design does include sufficient curve for a comfortable grip. The finish is perfect, like a piece of sculpture of solid metal.
Yellow, orange red and other bright skins are available for the the fashion conscious who might fear that some people might mistake them for working photographers, LOL!
The buttons on the top are snugly recessed I used it with the new Leica Vario-Elmar-T 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Lens, (with an equivalent range of 27mm - 84mm allowing for the 1.5 multiplication factor). Note that the filter size is 52 mm and the front does not rotate when focussing. That's nice when using polarizing filters. Also manual override of AF is possible!
At first, I thought that the electronic viewfinder was non-functional, LOL! No worry, a second later, it switched on and the image was very clear. The eye has to be definitely at the optic for the LCD to switch from the back LCD to the RVF. I picked on a mother and infant and she kindly obliged so I took a series of pictures. As with the Sony A7, the viewfinder also goes blank between each picture, something DSLR users are not mentally prepared for! Still, that is not a real barrier if one photographs with the other eye open, as good rangefinder practice might impose on a Leica user! The speed and aperture controls are at the back of the camera, easily adjustable by the thumb. Still, one does have to access the menu for more detailed settings.
The camera fits in my hands well, I am comfortable using the rear screen, the solidness of the unit likely cuts vibrations, but, anyway, the shutter is almost silent. The zoom lens snaps to focus and zooming in appears to hold focus too but I need to check this more. It could be that the camera detects any minor changes and refocuses as one releases the shutter.
As a reference, I also took the same pictures with the Canon 6D and a 50mm 1.2L Lens. Neither has image stabilization and both combinations are rather esoteric. Still, some observations.
The Leica camera is so light and unimposing and matches a 16MP CMOS APS-C sensor with an an apparently extraordinarily optically-corrected lenses. Here, likely as not there's a fair match. The Leica is likely to outrank the respected Canon 1.2L at the rather open apertures I generally use. The Canon doesn't appear to correct aberrations automatically, AFAIK. (At least not with the 5DII. Perhaps the 6D does make some corrections.)
I must admit, I felt more comfortable for grab-shots using the excellent rear LCD. There's a lag between each shot and the LCD being active for the next shot. At the present there's no capability for bracketing but this will appear soon, I'm assured. I am waiting for Leica to send me the files. Meanwhile, i'll post the Canon versions. I'd be willing to work a little slower with this compact enthusiasts camera and gain the advantage of the expected better quality delivered by the new lenses.
If the pictures are as good as I expect, I'd love to own this camera. For a total price of about $3,500 I'd feel comfortable that I had for myself a bit of unobtanium and a very useful tool. Still, I have to see my pictures and hope the lenses really do justice to my impulsive coveting and adoration!
Asher
Of the two lenses available, I went for the zoom as it was already on the camera. I hope to soon check out the f2, 23mm Summicron-T Asph and the flash.