LEICA T (Typ701) | SHOOTING REPORT

Leica's APS-C camera line is now joined by the newcomer Leica T. Although they have the X2 and the X vario, the Leica T has a new mount. Until few years ago, Leica had been recognized as a film camera maker because their only digital camera was the M8. But now, they have the full lineup ranging from medium format digital to compact digital. Leica is a small company unlike Japanese camera makers, yet they've finally entered the competitive millor-less camera market with the new mount. So, this must be their another iconic and conceptual model.

( Photo & Text: K )

I shot wide open almost at tele-end. JPG pictures have quiet color reproduction as most Leica users expect, but I must say it's a little more colorful than the Leica X2. In this report, I developed DNG (RAW data) and made minimum adjustment with Adobe Lightroom. When adjusting, I did my best to make pictures loyal to the actual scenes. They will release a standard zoom lens and a prime 35mm lens (in 35mm equivalent), and this time I shot only with the standard zoom lens. It's sharp enough wide open, but not sharp to the extent I feel pain in my eyes. It's nicely soft like other Leica lenses. Image surface flatness is maintained to the corners and I feel it's fine-tuned to match the body. The color reproduction both in JPG and DNG is very plain, but I notice there's so much information when I raise gamma and contrast. As a raw photographic material, I feel it has more data than conventional mirrorless cameras. Of course, you don't have to make adjustments to the JPG data if you want to enjoy the sober Leica colors.

It was so dark, so I raised the sensitivity to ISO800. This situation tends to cause dry and flat tonality when it's under exposed and the ISO is raised. Yet, it looks loyal to the reality and the statues look glossy. Even though the S/N ration isn't extremely good, I feel the picture is wonderfully tuned.

I stepped down to F8 and focused the rape blossoms in the lower one-thirds. The focal length was a little wider than the midpoint. So, it's almost pan-focused. The camera resolved each flower with fine detail without having color saturation and each branch with high frequency without problem. After all, depiction is clear to the corners.

This is a crater of Mt. Aso. I'm amazed by the 3D effect of the smoke. I hadn't visited here for about 20 years. The sound is never loud, but it scares me as it creeps toward me.

 

The exposure calculated by the camera is brighter, but I switched to manual exposure mode to make exposure loyal to the scene. In this case, I had to raise the sensitivity to ISO800, but it's glossy and I'm happy about it. I shot wide open and I'm amazed by the 3D effect as well as the sharpness of the focused point. Back bokeh is rich and round. And, the shadow has so much information.

I shot wide open at almost tele-end. With a ordinary lens, the corners would be loose, but this one is sharp to the corners. It's not razor sharp, but sharp enough. This means, you can use it in a variety of situations.

I shot under I like how it depicted the wood framework of the chairs because I can imagine how I feel when I touch it.

The maximum aperture isn't bright, but, even though I used a fast lens, I still would have to step down to capture the glass shape. The amount of bokeh is just right wide open. I love the sharpness of the focus peak, the texture of glass, and the sweet depiction of dew condensation.

It's ISO1600 and I notice some noises. But, I think it "cooks" very well. Here, you can also check another shot with ISO3200. Note: This camera is a beta version, so this may be different in the production version.

 

The actual scene was so misty probably because of the smog and moist. Yet, the light ray is striking in, so it's a difficult situation to capture. This camera has outstanding mid-tonality and it's great for shooting a quiet waterside. Again, exposure tends to be over, so it allows an approach for shooting color negative films. * The data is rich, so you can shoot DNG and adjust it to make them like slide film pictures.

In Usuki-city, Oita-Pref. I travel worldwide to shoot, but I feel Japan is so beautiful. I focused to the person and I'm amazed by the solid depiction.

Weather is so nice. Why don't you grab a camera like this and set off on a trip?

 

Powerful and Innovative. This Leica mirrorless is a pleasure to own

This is a fine-quality camera. The body built from a solid brick of aluminum has a beautiful texture. While it has Leica's traditional round shape, the grip is edgy toward the lens and this results in great holding. As Leica had announced, the simple body design is very functional yet beautiful. The pop-up flash appears by turning the power dial pas the "ON" position. I guess they didn't want to add another button and I was surprised by that. There's no button on the back and all operation is done from the menu on the touch screen that allows intuitive operation. The user interface structure is similar to smartphones' tile structure and it's kept as simple as possible so that you don't have to go between the levels. It doesn't even have the "play" button, but you can do so by flicking your finger from top to bottom on the live-view screen. Then, flick and pinch in/out just like you do on your smartphone. So, if you have used a smartphone, you'll be just fine. This camera must be the realization of everything that Leica wanted to do for a mirrorless camera system. There're so many kinds of mirrorless cameras out there, but the developers must be so happy to be able to create a camera like this LEICA T. It's a bit expensive, but once you look at this stylish body, you'll never be disappointed.


( 2014.05.01 )