Leica CL Review and Sample Photos / November 29, 2017 by Benjamin Traves

The brand new Leica CL has arrived!

I have been testing it and I will be posting my thoughts and more importantly, lots of sample photos very soon. Check back for more!

Leica CL - my first quick conversion to B&W from a raw file (DNG)

Quick unscientific test of dynamic range. Full sunlight to heavy shadow, and the CL did pretty well.

Below is a slideshow gallery of some of the test photos I took in a wide variety of light conditions. All were DNG processed in Lightroom and adjusted slightly to suit my preferences. Some of them have a film look which I added. The files look great to me so far and I'm looking forward to shooting more soon.

LENS REVIEW: LEICA 50mm SUMMILUX / November 4, 2015 by Benjamin Traves

LENS REVIEW: LEICA 50mm f/1.4 SUMMILUX-M ASPH

This particular Leica 50mm is a very special lens, with a difficult position in the lineup. There are precisely five (5!) different options currently offered by Leica at this focal length, but one might say that this Summilux is the best all-around option. In terms of price, the lens sits squarely in the middle of the lineup, but it is the second highest-performing lens in terms of maximum aperture (namely f/1.4 vs. f/0.95 of the famous Noctilux).

Another factor to consider is that the 50mm APO shares a maximum aperture of f/2 with its stablemate, the classic 50mm Summicron.

To save you reading a long review, I can safely say that this lens is the way to go if you don't mind the price tag. Roughly speaking, the price points of $2k, $4k, $7k, and $11k are the main lenses that Leica offers in 50mm. I have used all of them and they are all excellent.

LEICA 50mm SUMMILUX-M ASPH (yes, it also comes in black)

LEICA M (typ 240) & LEICA 50mm f/1.4 SUMMILUX-M ASPH

Technical Notes: Product images for this review were taken with the Leica X Vario (any photos of the lens or camera) and the example images were taken using the equipment being reviewed. In this case, the Leica 50mm lens on a Leica M (typ 240) camera. All of my images are processed in Adobe Lightroom from Leica DNG raw files and I have slightly adjusted them to my own personal preferences unless I indicate otherwise in the caption.