Leica Leica SL3

[RichardC]

My inbox got blitzed with invitations to pre-order the new SL3 this morning.

Not a lot of change from six grand in the UK. It does look rather nice though

 

[nstelemark]

Heh, sadly I am not one of the anointed, but maybe that is a good thing ;-)

 

[Tili]

Meeeeeh

 

[RichardC]

Heh, sadly I am not one of the anointed, but maybe that is a good thing ;-)

Someone in marketing must have a sense of humour - or no way of assessing my net worth.

 

[rayvonn]

I wonder how much the same Panasonic camera will cost?

 

[pdk42]

The SL3 looks really nice, but too expensive for my taste. However, the images from it look really excellent. About the best I’ve seen short of Fuji GFX (MF). You can download sample raw from this review:

Leica SL3 Review | Photography Blog

Expert review of the Leica SL3 full-frame mirrorless camera with full-size sample photos and videos.

www.photographyblog.com

I’m really hoping the sensor makes it into an S1Rii. If that’s priced at the same level as the Sony A7Rv then I’ll be buying it.

 

[pdk42]

@christilou - do you think you'll be upgrading to the SL3? It looks an excellent camera. I like the third dial and the new UI it has. I'm not so wild about the single-axis tilt screen (I love the dual axis tilt on the S1R - it gets a lot of use in portrait orientation on the tripod), nor the poor battery life.

 

[christilou]

@christilou - do you think you'll be upgrading to the SL3? It looks an excellent camera. I like the third dial and the new UI it has. I'm not so wild about the single-axis tilt screen (I love the dual axis tilt on the S1R - it gets a lot of use in portrait orientation on the tripod), nor the poor battery life.

I have considered it I must be honest. I will be getting my state pension in September so it is tempting! Meanwhile I am watching all the threads . The only thing I would want is the better autofocus.

 

[pdk42]

I have considered it I must be honest. I will be getting my state pension in September so it is tempting! Meanwhile I am watching all the threads . The only thing I would want is the better autofocus.

Do you find the AF in the SL2 not good enough for your sort of photography? I do mostly landscapes/cityscapes so practically everything I photograph is nailed to the perch, so fancy AF is of no interest to me; but I got the impression that the DFD technology of the SL cameras was good enough for people shots. It seems the big challenge for it is either video or for fast-paced genres like wildlife or sports.

 

[christilou]

Do you find the AF in the SL2 not good enough for your sort of photography? I do mostly landscapes/cityscapes so practically everything I photograph is nailed to the perch, so fancy AF is of no interest to me; but I got the impression that the DFD technology of the SL cameras was good enough for people shots. It seems the big challenge for it is either video or for fast-paced genres like wildlife or sports.

The af is ok with the Sigma 35mm that I have when Lucy is fairly still inside the house. Coming from the Sony A7 series it does seem rather lacking once she starts racing about ! Eye af was added a while ago but it's not stellar and tracking is hit and miss. Having said that I have managed to get some surprising shots that I thought it would miss. Lucy riding her bike in the garden for instance. I had a lot more in focus than I had thought I would be able to get. I have tried tracking and also face/eye detect but really spot focus is the most accurate still. Better af would definitely tempt me!

 

[pdk42]

Having done some more reading of reviews on the SL3, I think it's the first Leica camera that I could be tempted to buy. I doubt I will, but it seems to me that they've done a fantastic job on it. The IQ is really amazing from it and I just love the redesigned UI (based on relatively limited info in reviews, I'll admit). I also really like the idea of the third dial. So long as it's sufficiently programmable, I can think of lots of uses for it - ISO, crop size, shutter type, display adornments, AF type, ... These are all things that need multiple button presses on most cameras. I guess most people will use it for ISO, but I can see so many more options.

But it's a lot of cash...

 

[pdk42]

The af is ok with the Sigma 35mm that I have when Lucy is fairly still inside the house. Coming from the Sony A7 series it does seem rather lacking once she starts racing about ! Eye af was added a while ago but it's not stellar and tracking is hit and miss. Having said that I have managed to get some surprising shots that I thought it would miss. Lucy riding her bike in the garden for instance. I had a lot more in focus than I had thought I would be able to get. I have tried tracking and also face/eye detect but really spot focus is the most accurate still. Better af would definitely tempt me!

This article might interest you. A very personal take on the SL3, esp wrt AF. Read it to the end, it's quite an epic!

The Leica SL3

www.slack.co.uk

 

[Ad Dieleman]

To my surprise the SL3 doesn't feature EFCS (Electronic First Curtain Shutter), that's just plain stupid in my opinion. Especially with telephoto lenses and a high resolution sensor there is a risk of motion blur due to shutter shock, I think a top-flight camera should either offer a global shutter, an electronic shutter with low rolling shutter or EFCS.

 

[RichardC]

Since I rather stupidly upgraded to Sonoma, my iMac has been running hot at the best of times. 60mp RAWS would probably incinerate the poor thing.

 

[pdk42]

To my surprise the SL3 doesn't feature EFCS (Electronic First Curtain Shutter), that's just plain stupid in my opinion. Especially with telephoto lenses and a high resolution sensor there is a risk of motion blur due to shutter shock, I think a top-flight camera should either offer a global shutter, an electronic shutter with low rolling shutter or EFCS.

I didn't pick that up in the reviews I read. As you say, an odd omission. Maybe the final firmware will add it. It seems the current one is pre-release and has some limitations; I noticed some reviewers commenting on super-long viewfinder blackout after a shot is taken and about the lack of a hi-res pixel shift mode.

 

[RichardC]

I didn't pick that up in the reviews I read. As you say, an odd omission. Maybe the final firmware will add it. It seems the current one is pre-release and has some limitations; I noticed some reviewers commenting on super-long viewfinder blackout after a shot is taken and about the lack of a hi-res pixel shift mode.

Perhaps the average Leica user isn't going to possess the hardware to regularly process 240mp files anyway?

I do wonder about youtubers sometimes

Pixel shift makes sense when you're extolling the virtues of an MFT sensor (ie, 'it does all of this stuff really quickly AND you can get static images that compete with full frame') - but at these levels, by the time you've bought a few lenses, if you really need files that detailed, maybe you would go for a Hasselblad and get stunning 100mp 16bit medium format file in a single shot?

 

[pdk42]

Perhaps the average Leica user isn't going to possess the hardware to regularly process 240mp files anyway?

I do wonder about youtubers sometimes

Pixel shift makes sense when you're extolling the virtues of an MFT sensor (ie, 'it does all of this stuff really quickly AND you can get static images that compete with full frame') - but at these levels, by the time you've bought a few lenses, if you really need files that detailed, maybe you would go for a Hasselblad and get stunning 100mp 16bit medium format file in a single shot?

I must say I’ve decided that 196Mp pixel shift hi res images from the S1R are a bit pointless. Not only are the files huge and slow the PP down significantly, but the extra detail really isn’t that useful - partly because lens limitations mean that the amount of real extra detail is limited, but more importantly because the potential output DPI is now so far ahead of any medium I’m likely to use that it’s like having a 20ft ladder to scale a 3ft wall.