Leica CM review

Did anyone used the Leica CM? If yes can write a short review?

Thanks.

Fabio

Fabio, it is still not release and so far I haven't found any reviews online or in print. Early December release is what I heard from Leica in New Jersey.

Based on what I've read, the CM is a very appealing camera, more appealing to me than the Contax T3 because I prefer a 40mm lens to a 35mm lens, I wouldn't plan on using filters on this type of camera, and the CM has a more powerful flash, second-curtain synch, and more available fast shutter speeds. If the CM were introduced two years I ago, I surely would have purchased one. But isn't Leica just too late with the CM, especially in light of the improved digital cameras (including some by Leica -- see the above threads) hitting the market?

 

Can someone help me rationalize buying yet another film camera?

Chris:

 

If you like and enjoy using film cameras, you don't need any more reasons to buy yet another one if you want/can.

 

If you don't like and enjoy them, you don't need a reason either.

 

In both cases, I'd suggest that we couldn't supply you with any particular reason for you to do what you want, right?

 

Enjoy your camera, Chris, whether digital or film . . .

 

Regards !

 

-Iván

A good reason to get a compact film camera is that compact digitals have tiny sensors that stop at ISO 400, and even that with unacceptably high levels of noise. The camera I carry every day in my vest pocket is an Olympus Stylus Epic, but I am sorely tempted by the CM. From the product shots I have seen, it will have better ergonomics than the T3, with direct controls for aperture and focusing. I just hope it has a flash override switch that is not reset every time, unlike the Epic or my old Nikon 35Ti. Load one up with Neopan 1600, and you would have an ideal night street photography machine.

I bought a Leica CM from B&H Photo sight unseen, even after reading the nasty assumptions by Leica Club Nitpickers on this PhotoNet.com page. After running about 10 rolls of film through the camera, I find it worth every penny of the $1,000 paid for my purposes. To correct some misperceptions and "apples and oranges" comparisons with chincy point and shoots in other reviews by complainers who have not even seen the camera yet, the Leica CM is definitely not a point and shoot - it is a compact camera. In actual use, I have observed the following:

 

1) Leica build quality - No disappointment here. My past compacts were the Yashica T4 (a truly amazing piece for the money), and the Contax TVSII (beautifully built, but larger than pocket size, and no variable diopter). The Leica beats them both, and I like the leather covering and other subtle Leica design accents. It fits the hands well; is comfortable (ergonomically correct) to frame and hold steady; the viewfinder comes up quickly and accurately to the eye; the LED display is simple and intuitive.

 

2) Compact, pocketable size, exactly the same as the venerable Yashica T4. The Contax T3 is smaller and offers many of the same features, but its size creates complications in use for those of us without pencil points for fingers. The Leica CM will fit into a dress shirt pocket easily. I use a small camera bag (Lowepro) that just fits the camera, and wear it around my neck, resting on my chest. This makes the camera instantly accessible, while affording a large measure of protection.

 

3) Clean, sharp viewfinder with variable diopter (which is not offered on cheap point and shoots). This is necessary for us "old farts" who cannot see very well through most point and shoot viewfinders. Since I have used SLRs for most of the last 40 years, I like to see through viewfinders clearly - without a variable diopter I am lost. The Leica CM diopter is right on!

 

4) Improved (coating) Leica Summarit Lens, proven on the Minilux for years as a superior piece of glass. The fixed 40mm focal length is perfect for my style of shooting. No matter what their defenders say, even the best zoom lenses are always inferior to the best fixed focal length lenses. Zooms also require more mechanization, add weight and are a major culprit in relation to battery drain. For most applications I like a moderate wide angle because it by necessity puts you into the action, which for me means better shots. If I need to "zoom," I use my legs. In addition, lack of a zoom requires less fiddling with the machine and more attention to composition and exposure.

 

6) Powerful flash for its size (GN 30 with ASA 100) that covers the picture area without hot spots and other problems. I have found exposure right on with the Leica CM flash, and in its various modes it works beautifully with longer exposures as fill light (including second curtain flash).

 

7) There are 15 shooting modes in all. This might sound daunting and confusing, but not the way Leica has worked it out. The five "most used" modes are available with a simple button push on the camera back and a rotation of a very conveniently located selector knob. With a little "dry run" practice, it becomes quite intuitive to select the mode you want.

 

8) The Leica CM has manual focus, which I have found to be right on the money. My only wish for the camera lies here - it would be nice if the focus wheel had a lock. But even if it is accidentally engaged, you can't miss the warning in the viewfinder. So no big deal.

 

9) The camera has aperture priority set by a very convenient and logically located thumbwheel. I currently am using the Leica CM in the flash off mode (when turned on).

 

10) Autofocus - this is one of the loudest complaints I read about the camera - its lag time when taking a picture. The Leica CM is no different in lag time than the Yashica T4, which admittedly is slow. When you press the shutter button (which is very smooth, by the way), the camera must focus before it fires. The complainers in this thread compare the CM to their autofocus SLRs or larger rangefinders, which is unfair. Those cameras innately have much more room for heavier and faster components. I believe the Leica engineers did their best with the CM. I also do not believe its "slow" response time is a big deal, because it still focuses faster than I can, and if you are shooting a moving object, you can always prefocus and hold with the "half button" shutter approach. While this also holds the exposure measured at the same time, I see few practical situations where this would create any real problem.

 

The Leica CM is a beautiful compact camera that I am sure will suit my needs. My only question is how it will hold up, but time will tell, and a 3-year warranty is a big consolation. My message to the complainers is: "Get a Life." If you don't like the Leica CM, don't buy it. But if you want a compact camera with its "big brother" features, a beautifully sharp lens, diopter viewfinder, etc., don't be afraid to spend the money. And I have to say it. Digitals are still crap with their fiddley camera bodies, extreme zoom ranges, memory cards too small for truly quality work, cost in time and money, etc. In fact, digital is the �Big Lie� out there now, as many who �went digital� are coming back to film for all of its advantages.

 

And my final point: How is it that so many of the complainers in this thread can form such egotistical, self-righteous opinions about a product they have never seen? And even more importantly, think that they have all the answers? The design and manufacture of a complex machine like the Leica CM (or any other professional camera) is a lengthy battle of concepts, trials, and detailed considerations by some of the best engineers in the world. For everything they do and choice they make, there are endless evaluations and group criticisms. Add to that the need to get the product up to speed and to market at a reasonable cost, and to design a manufacturing and repair process around it all. Think about it. Everything these so-called �experts complain about was more likely than not likely thought through several times and accepted/rejected for important reasons that their small minds cannot even begin to comprehend. For most �photographers,� the machine they hold in their hands is more of a work of art than anything they will ever produce with it.

 

<i>Leica build quality - No disappointment here.</i><br.<br>

Funny because I had precisely the opposite reaction. I thought

the CM felt a bit cheap and nasty. The aperture select lever feels

very flimsy and the LCD housing/buttons on the back are made

from plastic like that from which Christmas cracker gifts are

made. I guess not important if the images are great but a

disappointment when something is styled as something like the

'ultimate compact'. My old T2 (which I stupidly sold a couple of

years ago) had a much more substantial quality feel to it (and

the image quality wasn't bad either).<br><br>Incidentally, I also

feel the same about the awful plastics used on the M7 -

especially in the ISO dial. Doesn't stop me from using the

camera but is nonetheless a disappointment considering the

cost of these things.