Leica T Review

Crafted machine

Leica’s first mainstream CSC will set you back a pretty penny, but is it worth the outlay?

Leica T Reviews - While compact system cameras have become pretty commonplace over the past couple of years, Leica through its series of rangefinders has arguably been in the CSC market for longer than anybody else. Now, however, it has introduced the T, which will compete more directly with the likes of the Fujifilm X series, the Olympus PEN and OM-D ranges and the Sony E-mount systems.

Leica says that the T system is a return to “back-to-basics shooting”, a claim that is borne out by the fact that there aren’t very many complicated controls on the body of the camera itself.

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Features

Inside the T is a 16.5 million-pixel APS-C sized sensor, which puts it in direct competition with cameras from Sony, Samsung, Canon and Fujifilm. Leica has also developed a new image processing engine for the T series. The Leica T mount is brand-new.

There are currently just two new lenses that are directly compatible: an 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and a 23mm f/2 prime optic Unlike with Leica’s M rangefinder lenses, T lenses are capable of autofocussing. You can attach classic lenses via an adaptor – although these optics remain Manual Focus only.

"The Leica T features an APS-C sized sensor"

Leica is promising to introduce two more lenses for the T system during September’s Photokina, the huge biennial photo industry fair. Look out for a wide-angle 11-23mm f/3.5-4.5 and a telephoto 55-130mm f/3.5-4.5.

Leica is positioning this camera more towards the luxury end of the market, so design is a key selling point. The body has been designed in collaboration with car manufacturer Audi and is crafted from a single block of aluminium.

Interestingly, the company hasn’t skimped on modern features. There’s integrated Wi-Fi, which allows for the quick transfer of images across to your smartphone, tablet or computer, or for those devices to be used as a remote viewfinder. There’s also a 3.7-inch touchscreen on the back of the camera – much larger than the displays on most CSCs. No viewfinder is included, but an optional model can be attached via the hotshoe.

Build and Handling

At 134x69x33mm, the T is a fair bit smaller than other Leica models. It’s reasonably similar in size and shape to the Panasonic GX7, for example. But it’s quite a heavy camera, and having been crafted from a single piece of aluminium, it feels pretty solidly built too.

Probably the most notable thing about the T’s design is the scarcity of buttons on the body compared with the plethora most modern cameras offer. Most of the rear is taken up with the LCD screen. While there is some space here where additional buttons could have been added, this would no doubt have distracted from the sleek appearance of the camera. There are two dials on the top of the camera, which control different parameters depending on the shooting mode you’re in. The left dial can be customised. For instance, if you’re in Aperture Priority mode, the right dial will control aperture, and you could set the left to adjust sensitivity or exposure compensation.

Also on the top of the camera, you’ll find an on/off switch, a dedicated video record button and the shutter release. If you move the on/off switch past the ‘on’ position, the built-in flash will pop up. Aside from these few manual controls, though, you’re completely reliant on the touchscreen for changing modes and settings. A menu accessed by pressing a camera icon in the centre right of the screen brings can be customised to match your needs. As with the dials, this menu can be customised to your preferred way of working, with a simple hold-and-swipe gesture replacing and re-ordering the functions as desired. Entering playback requires a swipe down from the top of the screen, or a swipe up from the bottom – which is quite a nice touch.

“The body has been designed with Audi and is crafted from a single block of aluminium”

PERFORMANCE

With a premium price tag and the weight of the Leica brand behind it, expectations for the T were pretty high. Sadly, these haven’t quite been met. While the image quality is good, it’s really only competitive with what is already available on the market for a much cheaper price. Most of the time, colours are rendered pretty well, but there are occasions where skies in JPEG images are overly cyan when compared with the raw (DNG) images.

“The automatic white balance system does an excellent job of reproducing accurate colours”

If you’re OK to work with raw files, this isn’t a huge problem, but it’s a little bit disappointing to see. The T’s metering system does a decent job of producing accurate exposures. It has a slight tendency to underexpose, so you’ll need some positive exposure compensation in some circumstances. The automatic white balance system does an excellent job of reproducing accurate colours, even when the camera is faced with an artificial lighting source. Autofocussing speeds – and, indeed, general operating speeds – are certainly not the fastest on the market. In good light, the T will generally lock onto the subject with ease, but it has to work harder in lower light. Shot-to-shot times are a little sluggish, with a few seconds’ gap between each shot.

While the T may open up the traditionally premium Leica brand up to a wider audience, you’re paying over the odds for the famous red dot. Image quality is good, but no better than equivalent competing cameras, and the overall T system is still quite limited until Leica has the chance to develop it.

Overall

We say: Image quality from the T is no better than its equivalent rivals from Sony, Fujifilm or Samsung. If design, aesthetics and that famous red dot are your thing, though, this might just be your bag.

USA >> Where To Buy Leica T Review <<

UK >> Where To Buy Leica X1 Review <<

Leica T Review While compact system cameras have become pretty commonplace over the past couple of years, Leica through its series of rangefinders has arguably been in the CSC market for longer than anybody else. Now, however, it has introduced the T, which will compete more directly with the likes of the Fujifilm X series, the Olympus PEN and OM-D ranges and the Sony E-mount systems. Andrian Manhatan Leica T Camera

4 / 5