Leica Unveils the TL2: 24MP and One Giant Touchscreen

Leica today unveiled the TL2, a followup to the original TL mirrorless camera. The L-mount TL2 features new features, specs, and physical design elements.

One of the first things Leica will tell you about the TL2 is how special its physical construction is. Reminiscent of Apple products, the TL2’s camera body is machined from a single block of aluminum, giving it a special look, feel, and solidity, Leica says.

At the core of the TL2 is a new 24-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and a Maestro II image processor. ISO goes up to 50,000 now, up from 12500 in the TL.

Continuous shooting speed has also been greatly improved: while the TL could do 5fps at 16MP for up to 12 photos, the TL2 can do 20fps at 24MP for up to 29 images using the electronic shutter (or 7fps using the mechanical one).

On the video front, the TL2 has an increased resolution of 4K, up from 1080p. You can do 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps, and 720p at up to 120fps (slow motion).

The TL2 is also designed to be fast: it has a startup time of just 0.6 seconds, silent electronic shutter exposures at up to 1/40000s, and a autofocus speed of just 165 milliseconds (3 times faster than the TL’s AF).

On the back of the TL2 is a giant 3.7-inch touchscreen LCD with 1.3M pixels, the same size and specs of what’s found on the original TL.

The large display is important for the camera, as there is no built-in viewfinder and no physical controls on the back surface.

There is, however, a TL App for iOS and Android that can turn your smartphone or tablet into a wireless electronic viewfinder and remote for the camera.

Other specs and features of the TL2 include a 49-point contrast-detect AF system, 32GB internal memory and a SD card slot, Wi-Fi, HDMI and USB 3.0 Type-C ports, and USB charging.

The Leica TL2 is available through authorized dealers starting today in silver or black for $1,950.