Although I had a very positive view of the Leica T when I reviewed it last year, it does not appear to have been the outright success many predicted. Perhaps it is just too radical a departure for Leica fans who prefer a more traditional design with more manual controls. David Taylor-Hughes of the SoundimagePlus blog, has had a great deal more experience shooting with the T and a variety of lenses and remains a fan. He has just done a reappraisal that is well worth a read.
Despite me making it one of my cameras of the year for 2014 and pretty much raving about it ever since I bought it 15 months ago. it seems very few share my enthusiasm for the Leica T (Typ 701) It’s got fabulous image quality from a combination of four amazing lenses and an AA filter free sensor, it has the best live view screen on a digital camera and one of the best EVF’s, it looks good and in Leica terms isn’t that expensive.
I believe the Leica T is THE most misunderstood and underrated camera ever made, mainly because Leica themselves have this rather stupid habit of introducing new models in a far too brief blaze of publicity which unfortunately often majors on something like how many hours were spent polishing a lump of metal rather than as should be about how good a picture taking machine it is, and then just letting it sink or swim in the market place.
Seemingly they just forget about the new camera or whatever it is from then onward with little or no follow up advertising or perhaps more importantly much needed firmware updates etc afterwards, and it seems to me they even continue to fail in even more basic areas like getting such getting the promised extra lens options out in time to meet the demand.
So it certainly was and continues to be with the ‘T’ which in this particular cameras instance is a true tragedy for although not enough people are ever going to know it largely due to Leica’s lethargy this brilliantly designed camera and its specific fit lenses are in fact superb, certainly more than good enough to give the M9 and M240 a run for there money.
Having used a vast array of cameras over a great many years as a Pro photographer I still find it quite difficult to express just how highly I rate my Leica T and its lenses, but in short its superb true Leica M type results never fail to amaze or please me, and I just count myself so lucky I had the foresight to have bought one.
Naturally I will be sad however if it does become Leica’s biggest ever flop and hence the secondhand values fall through the floor, but not too sad because I would like a second body and maybe even a third so as to never need to change lenses, and incidentally all three bodies and lenses combined would still weigh in at less than my normal M9 or 240 combination outfits.
Don Morley
Hi Mike,
The T is a realy good camera (built, IQ etc.), but what I like most about it is the interface. It’s so user friendly. I recently bought a Q and after using it for a couple of hours, I have only one complaint (well, two actually): why didn’t they use T-like icons instead of a scroll down menu… (the second thing: why no internal memory like the T has?).
Btw: I am a traditional Leica fanboy: I’m over 50, and I’ve used a II, M4, M6, M8, M9, X2 and X Vario, but I also like innovative design. So for me the T is the best of both worlds: tradition combined with innovation.
cheers, Nico
Thanks, Nico. I agree with you on the lack of internal memory in the Q but I’m not convinced on the icon question. I liked the T when I tested it but not enough to actually buy one. That said, if a well-priced secondhand came up I could be tempted. The Q, on the other hand, has been my most-used camera this year. It is so convenient for travel–I am taking it to Hong Kong tomorrow in preference to a heavier M–and the results are superb.
Mike
I was fortunate enough to find a mint secondhand T + 18-56 lens for a very reasonable price! Traded my Fuji gear and went home a happy man 😉
The Q seems to be wonderfull! I got it two days ago, and I can’t stop shooting… I don’t think I’m gonna miss my M9.
Enjoy your stay in Hong Kong!
N.
Hi Mike
For me the T is a beautifully made and attractive camera that I would like to own – I think that for me the thing that holds it back is the placement of the lens so far to the left, which makes the handling appear to be slightly out of balance – I suspect that were the lens to be more conventionally placed, there would be far more takers.
Regards
Robert
Interesting comment, Robert. This isn’t something I had thought of as being all that important but I can now see what you mean. I have often felt that the T might have been more successful with the X body, an interchangeable-lens X, because I haven doubt many traditional Leica fans are put off by the lack of physical controls. On the other hand, we are told that the T was not aimed at the traditional Leica fanboy and that could be true. Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem to have plucked that chord either.