Holding the camera, you can tell right away you're holding a luxury item. So how does all that marketing mumbo jumbo translate into actual real world usage? Clearly, Leica wanted to make a statement with their foray into APS-C cameras and with it's release the Leica T most definitely made waves. It's slick, smooth, gorgeous and designed by Audi Design. In any case, the design is what really caught the media and general public's attention. I guess most people interested in the Leica T have seen some form of the commercial where they are grinding down the single block of aluminum into what will become the body of a new T. So, with that out of the way, on to the review! Review Build Quality / Ergonomics It was an opportunity I didn't feel like passing up. By comparison, Sony a6000's with a kit lens sell for about the same prices in the very same classifieds. The reason I picked the T was because after a mediocre reception and eventually the announcement of the TL2, used Leica T bodies began selling for very low prices and I managed to scoop one up for about $540 in the local classifieds. I would pair it with my M-mount glass (Leica, Voigtlander, Zeiss) and see how these lenses rendered on a CMOS sensor in a Leica camera. I picked up this camera never intending to make it my main camera system by any means. This is why Canon has a look, Nikon has a look, and Sony has a look, despite all using Sony CMOS sensors.Įnter the Leica T.
And I've always been rather skeptical of the CCD vs CMOS debate as I'm convinced the color rendition and other debateable qualities have a lot to do with the image processing software built into the camera firmware. Better low light capabilities, more megapixels, and video functionality, are the ones that stand out to me. Sure the M9 and its CCD sensor has a respectable cult following, but the CMOS sensor of the M240 has its perks as well. On the other hand, there are plenty of used M9s available with the 'cured' sensor, however these models fetch prices almost the same as those of the newer, beefier M240. But me, being a cautious kind of guy, I have a hard time shelling out almost $2k for a camera that may need a $1k sensor replacement at any moment. Leica has never released statistics over how widespread the problem was on the originals. All M9s with sensors replaced after 2015 as far as I know have gotten a sensor that is cured of any possibility of corrosion, however any of the M9s with sensors older than that could potentially be ticking timebombs.
The issue has been acknowledged by Leica and they offered a free sensor replacement program for some time, which they unfortuately have now discontinued in Q3 2017.
It sounds perfect on paper, but the M9 unfortunately suffered from an issue with the sensor that caused it to corrode in certain conditions. I know with the M9 I'll get the same look and quality that I get on the M8 only fullframe. The M9 has an 18 megapixel sensor, which for most intents and purposes is quite fine. In the meantime, it's not really on my radar.
Yes there's also the new Leica M10, and maybe by the time I do eventually upgrade I'll be able to even think about affording it. Alternatively, there's the M type 240 which sports a 24MP CMOS sensor and sells for almost the same price as an M9. The M9 is the only fullframe digital M that has the Kodak CCD sensor (which the M8 has in a crop format). After shooting the Leica M8.2 for a while I wondered what my eventual upgrade plan would be. For me, though, it was a way to test out the chops of a Leica CMOS sensor.
For many, the T system is an introduction to the Leica brand or perhaps an upgrade from the Leica X series with the perk of interchangeable lenses. I came to the Leica T for rather unconventional reasons.