Leica CL

The Leica CL gives excellent image quality, particularly when processing raw files Elmarit-TL 18mm f/2.8,1/250sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

At a glance

£2,250 body only

• 24.2MP APS-C sensor

• 2.36-million-dot EVF

• 3in, 1.04-million-dot touchscreen

• ISO 100-50,000

• £3,150 with 18mm f/2.8 lens, £3,275 with 18-56mm lens

Back in1973, Leica introduced the CL, a stripped-back, compact-bodied, relatively low-priced rangefinder camera that was designed to attract a new generation of customers – in essence, it was a gateway drug to the manufacturer's flagship M system. Now, in 2017, Leica is introducing the CL – a compact-bodied mirrorless camera, which by the firm's own rarefied standards is relatively low-priced. Again the aim is clear: to attract a new generation of photographers to the unique charms of Leica and its lenses.

With a 24.2-million-pixel APS-C sensor, 2.36-milion-dot EVF, and Leica's mirrorless L mount, the new Leica CL is a camera that on paper stacks up fairly closely to Sony's highly regarded Alpha 6000. So why, you might reasonably ask, does it cost five times as much?

The answer lies in the red dot on its front plate and all it stands for. Leica still assembles its home-grown cameras in Germany, eschewing the low-labour-cost economies of Asia, while adding a dash of its own highly distinctive design flair. Where companies such as Sony like to throw in every imaginable feature that technology allows,