SL2-S

[LocalHero1953]

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1 hour ago, Big John said:

I wonder, if Leica was releasing the SL2 series of cameras today/at the same time, would they be called the SL2-R and the SL2-S?

I think so - as the newer model is not (as some manufacturers do) a cheaper, lower spec version of the ‘flagship’ model. 

Given that they were released no more than a year apart, I doubt Leica's camera naming department was taken by surprise by the Leica SL2-S. 

[Svetozar]

Yesterday I wrote to the DJI support because I think it would be great that Leica SL2-S get support by them so that people can use it on their gimbals.

Here is an answer from DJI support:

" Thank you for contacting DJI Technical Support.

We are grateful to assist you with your concern. As the Leica SL2-S camera is not in the RS 2 camera list, we have not tested this camera with the RS 2. Sorry to tell that we cannot assure how it will work with the RS 2. 

We've tested DJI RS 2 with a dynamic payload of 4.5 kg during handheld use. If the your camera meets the above request, it should be physically balanced and stabilized on the RS 2. However, it is recommended that the actual test results prevail. 

While, we have forwarded your feedback to our concern team as a valuable voice of the customer. Hopefully, it can be supported in the near future. If it is released, it will be publicized, please stay tuned on our official website. 
https://www.dji.com/hk-en/support/compatibility?product=ronin-sc 

We really appreciate your kind understanding and cooperation.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us. We are always here to help.
Thanks for choosing DJI. Merry Christmas !

We would like to remind you that during the period of outbreak prevention and control, please avoid visiting areas where the disease is prevalent, and also avoid crowds. Please wear a mask when going out, and keep your hands sanitized by washing and disinfecting them frequently. We will defeat this disease!

Best regards,
Maggie
DJI Technical Support "

 

I currently owe a DJI Ronin RS2 and it would be lovely that DJI make a support for Leica too, hopefully they will.

That will put SL2-S more into cinema game. And also more appealing to a videographers.

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[Radost]

17 hours ago, Steven said:

I’m not a codec expert but I can confirm that the 400mbps footage of Leica is easier and smoother to edit than the 260mbps out of the Sony.  

Can you MEDIAINFO  the 10bit 4:2:2 recording and screen shot it?

I am getting conflicting information. I was told it records prores video.

 

[bilbrown]

On 10/27/2020 at 5:35 AM, tom.w.bn said:

Huge problem? Where? I spent hours on youtube and only found vloggers who have vlogging problems. Where are all the descriptions of real life problems in video?

vlogging is 'real life' for the many, many, that are making a living doing reviews and various other things on YouTube.

[bilbrown]

17 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Not every video user here is a pro feature film camera operator; like still photography, there is a wide gamut of user needs for video, depending on genre, skill/talent level etc. I suspect what I interpret as @Steven's use scenario is what Leica might be aiming at - definitely not for feature films or mainstream video shot with pro teams, but for secondary or casual use, shot solo by someone who knows what they are doing. This more or less matches what I also see as the central target market for Leica still cameras - advanced amateur, not pro, or pros on their days off. (Of course pros can and do use them - but that does not make them the main target market).

I'm definitely at the bottom and amateur end of the skill/talent spectrum in video, but with aspirations to higher things, particularly for amateur drama/music and perhaps documentary shorts. I have the Sigma fp which has one feature I seriously wish the Leica SL2-S had, direct USB output to recording on SSD (e.g. Samsung T5), but otherwise the SL2-S will be a useful companion now that the 30 minute recording limit has been lifted.

I'm just exploring how the SL2-S behaves for video. Last night I found I could record well over an hour (static on a tripod) with a battery that was a bit off full charge (a new battery at that, so not yet at full capacity). It was noticeable that the body got warm after about half an hour, but with no increase in temperature thereafter. It was warm all over with no particular hotspots; it looks like Leica has got heat management for video sorted. I once tried a TL2 for video and it shut down after 25 minutes, quite hot around the battery compartment. The Sigma fp has a very obvious external heat sink for the same reason.

This would explain much... e.g. this camera being for the video (e.g. manual focus instead of AF) market. But I will say, when I have asked Leica about a relationship with Atomos or Blackmagic (hell even RED), they simply shrug... to really get this camera into video it needs:

 

1.  RAW (CDNG, BRAW, R3D, ProRes RAW)
2. a cage that isnt as expensive as the camera, Metaljacket is the only option I believe.
3. DJI compatibility 

Right now.... none of these and no talk of future firmware releases to the like.

 

But hey, for the SL2-S this is firmware 1.0

 

 

 

 

[bilbrown]

On 12/22/2020 at 10:58 AM, SJH said:

Pretty positive review here and I'm definitely warming to the SL2-S now and might well order one, the issue it sort of raises is the the SL2 at the limit of what they can do with he processor, 47mb and the AF performance? He appears pretty positive about the SL2-S AF performance and was pretty realistic about the SL2 when it came out. He also like the colours/IQ as well as the video output. Definitely growing on me....

 

I loved this review as well, but I will say in normal tungsen barely "ISO 3200" low light AF is hunting like crazy on my SL 90-280, Sigma 45, Lumix 24-105. I don't even remember it being this bad on the SL 1. I'm rather confused.

Also, I put the M adapter on the camera and had to remove my coded M lens (Summicron 35 ASPH), then replace it, for the lens to be read. The mount seems also taught/tighter than the other cameras.

[Radost]

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[tom.w.bn]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb bilbrown:

vlogging is 'real life' for the many, many, that are making a living doing reviews and various other things on YouTube.

For those a dedicated vlogging camera is the right choice e.g. Sony ZV1. Why should they use a vlogging setup for thousands of EUR? All the vlogging photographers have a small dedicated vlogging camera so they can film how they use their real camera.

[Slender]

WHERE is the info the SL2-s shoots PRORES  🤓🤯 ???? That saves the price of Ninja5 against a shinobi... where is this?

[MediaFotografie]

Gerade eben schrieb Slender:

WHERE is the info the SL2-s shoots PRORES  🤓🤯 ???? That saves the price of Ninja5 against a shinobi... where is this?

 

as far as I know Leica says nothing about Prores - sorry, no good news

[Slender]

Yeah that would be insanely good news... reason enough to switch for video. Even shell out for a Lockcircle cage and everything else lol

thank you. Hope Leica can do this later tho.

[Steven]

28 minutes ago, Slender said:

Yeah that would be insanely good news... reason enough to switch for video. Even shell out for a Lockcircle cage and everything else lol

thank you. Hope Leica can do this later tho.

How would prores improve our lives ? I’m asking cause I’m not very savant on codecs. 

[Slender]

ProRes is wonderfully optimised for instant replay and easy postproduction with mac softwares. Plays instantly even on phones at 400-750Mbs! Most productions using Arri alexa camera dont even bother with raw, they shoot directly in ProRes (albeit it is ProRes HQ 4444

I tried the Kyno app that was recomended here, it is also very good to turn the Leica SL2 internal recordings on the sd card into ProRes very easily, and apply the lut on top. I am impressed...

Had some more fun yesterday with my SL2 and atomos out for many hours... interestingly the files in ProRes HQ 422 10bits are bigger than I thought (thanks Kyno for detailed infos). Rates go up to 600-750Mbs 😜 from the HDMI output. It varies... whereas when internally recorded there is almost no variations= 400-402 Mbs.

This can potentially mean two things:

• You perhaps do get a bump in quality when using an Atomos...
• But your need for storage+power (and budget) goes higher, in addition to a heavier package. Using the SL+Atomos handheld would be better with a cage/top handle.

As Dominic Nahr says in the (very well made)Leica infomercial video at the Bernina Hillclimb Race, using the dual card slot with 2x256gb cards sounds good when you want it light and discreet.

On the other hand, using the Atomos, you can:

• Preview the whole spectrum of your images, apply luts.
• Nail your exposure and focus with godly accuracy thanks to all the tools the SL lacks for the moment (false colors, zebras you can understand, waveform...).

Other observations I made during my evening out with SL2 and Atomos:

• HLG seems to perform very well in low light situations, even on the SL2. It is just a novelty to grade/edit for me.
• You can trigger the Atomos via the SL2 shutter and you can remove SD cards and cut the rear screen off using the extended EVF option: Camera stays cool, saves battery (no display, no recording work to do). I had it hooked to a power bank (not even PD compliant) and did the whole evening with the same camera battery. More elegant powering solution exists.

Merry christmas everyone!

 

 

[Steven]

40 minutes ago, Slender said:

ProRes is wonderfully optimised for instant replay and easy postproduction with mac softwares. Plays instantly even on phones at 400-750Mbs! Most productions using Arri alexa camera dont even bother with raw, they shoot directly in ProRes (albeit it is ProRes HQ 4444

Thank you for the explanation. I actually already knew that, but it was stored somewhere in my head I couldn't access until you re explained. 

 

41 minutes ago, Slender said:

But your need for storage

Yes, but atomos storage is actually way cheaper than SD v90

 

41 minutes ago, Slender said:

good when you want it light and discreet.

Me 99% of the time. 

 

42 minutes ago, Slender said:

Nail your exposure and focus

Are there any added tools that let you nail focus faster, or you just mean the bigger and brighter screen ? 

 

1 hour ago, Slender said:

HLG seems to perform very well in low light situations

Yes, its way easier to expose than Log, wether in low light or bright light. And its also the easiest profile to grade in my opinion. Best compromise between Log and regular profiles for daily run and gun footage. 

For the record, HLG is also my favourite colour profile on the Sonys, because it gives you nearly the same, max DR, but it looks good SOOC. 

[BernardC]

22 hours ago, Steven said:

Do they mean that it’s an EVF viewfinder solution for scouting or picking lens and composition? Sounds a little cumbersome and over the top.

That's exactly what a director's finder is. Traditional director's finders are optical, with a ground glass calibrated to the format/framing of your project.

They are cumbersome because they are meant for cine lenses, which are huge. You want to use the same lens in the finder and camera so that you see the same flare, distortion, focal length, etc.

As lx1713 exlained, these are pre-visualisation tools that save a lot of setup time: "should we shoot from here with the 28, or step back a bit and use the 32?" Time is money on a film set,  you don't want to pay dozens of expensive craftspeople (and actors) while you figure-out where to put the camera.

[BernardC]

5 hours ago, MediaFotografie said:

as far as I know Leica says nothing about Prores - sorry, no good news

I think someone may have confused ProRes and Quicktime. Both are Apple formats, after all. The SL/SL2/SL2-S do shoot Quicktime (*.MOV).

58 minutes ago, Steven said:

Are there any added tools that let you nail focus faster, or you just mean the bigger and brighter screen ?

You can zoom-in to 1:1 or 2:1 for critical focus.

[BernardC]

12 hours ago, bilbrown said:

to really get this camera into video it needs:

1.  RAW (CDNG, BRAW, R3D, ProRes RAW)
2. a cage that isnt as expensive as the camera, Metaljacket is the only option I believe.
3. DJI compatibility 

RAW isn't a requirement. It's a feature, surely, but most professional work isn't done in RAW.

You are missing the biggest and most obvious requirement: a professional video camera that shares the same look and file format. That's the USP for Panasonic, Canon and Sony: you can use their hybrid cams in the same projects as their A-cams without worry. Or in the case of Sony, with some worry.

Until that happens (and it won't unless Leica makes a deal with Arri), the SL lineup will be reserved for smaller, single-camera projects. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say that it's a sub-par camera. It just isn't something that you would use on a larger project.

[Radost]

7 hours ago, Slender said:

WHERE is the info the SL2-s shoots PRORES  🤓🤯 ???? That saves the price of Ninja5 against a shinobi... where is this?

Leica SL2-S announced, Leica’s 24-megapixel, 4K/60p answer to popular full-frame hybrid cameras (imaging-resource.com)

Leica’s SL2-S trades resolution for speed and sensitivity - The Verge

Like the SL2, the SL2-S has separate photo and video modes, allowing you to customize the camera’s functions and settings for each task and switch between them. It can capture 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 and Cinema 4K ProRES footage up to 30fps to an SD card or up to 60fps to an external recorder through its full-size HDMI port. It also has L-log recording with two built-in LUTs to make it easier to see what the edited version will look like. Leica says it plans to release more LUTs in the future as well.

 

Edited December 25, 2020 by Radost

[Radost]

6 hours ago, Steven said:

How would prores improve our lives ? I’m asking cause I’m not very savant on codecs. 

easy to edit and great to push in post. XAVC is a terrible format.

Edited December 25, 2020 by Radost

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[Steven]

15 minutes ago, Radost said:

easy to edit and great to push in post. XAVC is a terrible format.

The footage from the sl2s at 400mbps has been editing flawlessly on my Mac. Unlike the 260mbps footage from the a7siii, which was better than the R5.