It was on a recent trip to Cornwall with a friend when I realised that I wasn’t happy with my camera setup. We were hiking along the coast, both of us focused on shooting film,I have a lovely Canon A-1, which I massively underuse. and therefore those were the cameras slung around our necks. However, as is the case with film, we were being a little more cautious about what we shot. So we were regularly dipping into our bags to pull out our digital cameras to ensure we still captured all the moments we wanted to.

However, I actually wasn’t dipping into my bag to pull out another camera because I hadn’t brought another camera on the hike. My Leica Q2 was back at the Airbnb and my Canon 5D was back home. Why? Well, this trip was more about the hiking than the photography, so I didn’t want to lug the 5D around. And while I love my Q2, it still always feels a little awkward to throw in a bag. I feel pretty precious about it, and it’s just slightly too big to put in my pocket.

So that evening, while half-watching The Gorge,Not a great film. I started researching compact mirrorless camera options. The main thing I was looking for was something with a smaller footprint than the Q2, which really meant I was likely looking at something with an APS-C sensor and a pancake lens. The main options that came up were from Fujifilm; however, none actually seemed to be much smaller than the Q2 while retaining the quality level I wanted. While using the Q2, I often found myself wanting just a slightly tighter image. So another thing I was intrigued by was finding a camera with interchangeable lenses, or at least something closer to 50mm.I had considered just trying to upgrade my Q2 to the more recently announced Q3 43 but I would have likely found myself in a similar situation with the overall size.

Then I came across a strange little camera. The Leica CL is a small, mirrorless APS-C camera with interchangeable lenses.Not to be confused with the original Leica CL, a 35mm rangefinder. While the CL has a number of drawbacks (which I’ll come to later), one of the first things that struck me was that almost every review I came across was written by someone who’d fallen in love with this camera. I was intrigued, for sure.

After much research, I picked one up.

The Leica CL came out back in 2017 and is no longer in production, so it might seem like an odd choice for someone buying a new camera in 2025. But its features really stood out to me. Buying second-hand also helped keep the price down — and luckily, the used market had a few CLs in great condition.

As seems to be the case with others who have this camera, I’ve really enjoyed using it so far. The build quality is great, and the interchangeable lens option is super nice to have. The camera I got came with an Elmarit TL 18 mm f/2.8 ASPH pancake lens, which is tiny, and a Vario Elmar T 18–56mm f/3.5–5.6 ASPH lens, which is closer in size to the lens on the Q2.

Not only is it small enough to fit into a (large) pocket, but it’s incredibly nice to use. It has all the things you’d expect from Leica; the same great colour science and a clean, unfussy interface. But it also has some things the Q2 doesn’t, including this lovely little display on the top showing the current settings. The images I get out of it feel really close to what I got from the Q2, even if the image size is a little smaller. But for what I’m using this camera for, I’m completely fine with that.

That said, of course there are some drawbacks with this tiny little camera. First off, the APS-C sensor means the images aren’t quite as big as those from my other cameras. It also means that the depth in the photos isn’t quite there. I tend to shoot with the lens as wide open as I can afford to go, but with the cropped sensor the f/2.8 approximates to around f/4.2, which is narrower than I usually would shoot, and I really notice it. Another slight drawback is the lack of any GPS. While the Q2 also doesn’t have built-in GPS, it links to my iPhone using the Fotos app and that writes the GPS location.I’ve read that a lot of people either have issues with this approach or find it unreliable, but for me it’s always been rock solid. But the CL doesn’t have GPS at all. So far, I’ve been adding location information to my images as part of my editing workflow, but this is a pain, especially if I’m hiking and moving around a lot.I know there are better solutions out there, but none of them are great.

These things aside, I still really enjoy this camera. The reason I got the Q2 in the first place was to have a smaller camera than the 5D to take around with me. I’m not great at remembering to use my iPhone’s camera, so having a dedicated camera with me is like a physical reminder to take a picture. When it got to the point where I wasn’t bringing the Q2 because it was still a little cumbersome, then it wasn’t serving that purpose anymore. The CL has really nicely solved that for me. This camera isn’t what I’m going to bring if I want the best possible photo quality, but ultimately, that’s not why I have it.

I’m also in the wonderful position of this camera having interchangeable lenses. My preferred focal length is somewhere between 35mm and 50mm. There’s a Summilux-TL 35mm f/1.4 ASPH which would be great, but the price and physical size aren’t encouraging me to pick it up.At least not yet.

Now that I have the CL in the lineup, I probably need to re-evaluate my whole camera setup. I’m shooting fewer weddings now (where I’d typically use the 5D), and honestly, the CL has nicely replaced the Q2 for me in everyday use. I’ll always want a “big” camera, but I would consider selling the Q2 and the 5D (along with the plethora of lenses I have for it) and getting something different, potentially going all in and picking up the Leica SL3. Who knows.

But for now, the CL has been the perfect camera for my pocket, encouraging me to take more photos. It won’t replace my main camera for bigger shoots, but it’s already replaced my excuses for leaving a camera behind.