Leica SL2 on Sports & Wildlife Photography

[ccalberti1953]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

On 5/13/2024 at 5:31 PM, BernardC said:

To be fair, each of these systems offers one body with great AF, which costs almost as much as the SL3. I posted a video link a month back from an F1 photographer who told us that the R5 isn't good enough for action (he uses it for video and higher resolution). His peers all use Canon or Nikon.

If that's the level of AF performance that you need, your short list consists of the Z9 and R3. The only other option is to wait for the R1, which may be out in time for the Olympics (but regular punters will need to wait longer).

I'm not sure which lens is missing from the L-mount lineup. Certainly the $10,000+ big-gun telephotos (for which you need an R3 or Z9), but other than that it's a draw. Each system has some exclusives, including L-mount.

Not sure why the F1 photographer has had bad results from the A7R5.  I have an A7R5 which I use for BIF and wildlife, paired with the Sony 100-600, and the results are superb, the best AF of any current Sony full-frame.  I'll consider a Sony A2 if and when it comes out, but it would have to be a major upgrade to spend the money over the R5.  I use the R5 for BIF and wildlife only, and my Leica kit (10-R. SL2, assorted M and SL lenses) for everything else.

[BernardC]

4 minutes ago, ccalberti1953 said:

Not sure why the F1 photographer has had bad results from the A7R5

Canon R5, not Sony a7r5. Nevertheless the result should be similar, F1 cars go over 300 km/h in some sections, and he often does high-speed bursts. 

It's not a level of performance that most photographers need. 

[Printmaker]

On 9/24/2021 at 5:26 AM, ajmarton1 said:

I had the SL and never thought much of its sports/wildlife photography capabilities.

 

I took a SL2S with a 100-400 Sigma to Tanzania and found it a perfect combo. Yes, there were times when the 150-600 might have been more useful. And there were one or two occasions where where a big cat was in a tree and the SL2S autofocus wanted to focus on the leaves and not the cat. But those were two occasions out of thousands. Perhaps the SL3 might perform better. Overall, I am satisfied with the results.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Printmaker]

Lady leopard SL2S 100/400

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[sillbeers15]

On 5/13/2024 at 12:57 PM, alphahydro15 said:

This is my personal perspective:  

Right now, I have an SL2 because for me, based on my personal tastes, the SL2 + 35 APO SL & 75 Noctilux is the combination of camera and lens that best delivers what I want across the set of photos that matter to me. 

When it comes to autofocus+telephoto, for my needs (basically personal use youth sports photography and an occasional moving animal), I have found the SL2 to be more than adequate.

This is not to discount the experience of someone who takes a lot of photos of birds in flight or does sports photography for a living.  I can totally understand that, in contexts that don't apply to my photography, the superiority of the AF systems offered by other brands could make a significant difference. 

I only posted for the benefit of other people like me who might come across this thread and wonder - is the SL2 AF system sufficient for my needs if I want to take casual, personal use sports and wildlife photography?  Do I need a Sony A1 (or even an SL3 or SL2-S) if I want to go on the occasional safari or take photos of my kids running around?  I think the answer for just about everyone is no, the SL2 is just fine.  

Having said that, I would not say the same thing about the Hasselblad x1Dii.  I thought the autofocus on the x1d was so laggy it was something I had to work around for all but the most static photos. 

Regarding your last two sentences, I don't really have an opinion on how many SL lenses Leica should offer or whether they should produce an SL camera with state of the art AF. 

I have owned Leica M, Leica SL, Sony, Fuji, Canon, Nikon, and Hasselblad.  I am not loyal to any brand.  Right now, I have the SL2.  If I preferred M11 images to those from the APO SL primes on the SL2, I would go back to M in a heartbeat, because I prefer the M experience.  If Hasselblad was snappier, I would consider going back to the x series.  If Nikon made a normal and portrait lens I liked better, I would switch to Nikon.  But personally I would never switch to another brand for a better autofocus system because the SL2 meets my needs.  For me, going to Sony for the AF system would be like changing my car for a minivan because the minivan has more seating capacity (which I don't need) or swapping my car for a giant truck with more towing capacity (which I don't need either).  But I understand that people whose needs differ from mine want to buy minivans and trucks.  ought Leica to offer more SL lenses and better AF in an SL body?  should they offer the equivalent of minivans and trucks, instead of focusing on sedans?  I have no idea.  I don't know that much about the camera business. 

I only posted for the benefit of anyone reading this thread, trying to make a purchase decision, wondering about the SL2 AF performance in the normal, non-extreme cases of casual sports and wildlife photography.  I understand that my post may not be relevant to other parts of the discussion. 

cheers. 

I think your post is relevant and welcome as you’ve shared your personal experience. We all are entitled to our point of view and it is through these exchanges we see different perspective. Thanks.

[sillbeers15]

On 5/13/2024 at 11:31 PM, BernardC said:

To be fair, each of these systems offers one body with great AF, which costs almost as much as the SL3. I posted a video link a month back from an F1 photographer who told us that the R5 isn't good enough for action (he uses it for video and higher resolution). His peers all use Canon or Nikon.

If that's the level of AF performance that you need, your short list consists of the Z9 and R3. The only other option is to wait for the R1, which may be out in time for the Olympics (but regular punters will need to wait longer).

I'm not sure which lens is missing from the L-mount lineup. Certainly the $10,000+ big-gun telephotos (for which you need an R3 or Z9), but other than that it's a draw. Each system has some exclusives, including L-mount.

My point was not about who is better. I just feel that the the SL3 should not be too far apart from the current trend of flagship mirrorless cameras. The Continuous High AFC frame rate on AF3 is the Low fps selection on my Z9 for full frame. I am not even comparing the high frame rate of these cameras. Look at Fuji. The 500mm F5.6 (equivalent of a 400mm F4.5) prime lens was just released with subject detection available on their 102MPx GFXll. The SL lenses lacks a proper telephoto prime lens beyond 90mm. Yet Leica is busy producing and selling watches. Hummm…yes, I did buy a $16k Nikon telephoto lens for BIF but I did not included that in my earlier discussion. 
However I still love Leica glasses. I think they’re one of the best money can buy. So I’m no Leica basher please do not hate me for my sharings.

[sillbeers15]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

On 5/14/2024 at 8:13 AM, FlashGordonPhotography said:

And yet none of those cameras match the resolution/IQ potential of the SL3. So you're choosing speed or IQ.

A valid argument is that all the other cameras offer IQ which is more than good enough most of the time. You can counter with the AF capabilities of the SL3 are good enough most of the time.

Sony and Nikon are chasing the speed market, hard. Leica is not. I still don't get how potential buyers don't get this. Buy a Z8 and move on. *If* Leica were evan able to secure a stacked sensor (which Sony and Nikon aren't sharing for now), then we get to keep on with these silly and vague comparisons.

The SL3 is a competitor to the X2D and GFX100II. Not the A9II, R3 or Z9.

Gordon

p.s. And the L mount has double the lenses Canon offer in R mount. Just not the super teles.

You got me wrong. I’m not suggesting SL3 to be in a neck to neck specifications comparison to the mirrorless cameras that offer the best in class. But neither should it be just playing catch up on AF & continuous shooting speed when the pricing position it’s set is way up north. Don’t brag about SL3’s image sensor resolution as well when a similarly priced 102MPx GFXll offers comparable AF & even a 500mm F5.6 prime lens ( equivalent to a full frame 400mm f4.5) which Leica only stops short at 90mm.

I’m no Leica hater but just feel frustrated as a once optimistic SL2 user hitting the wall seeing no sight progress of more SL lenses to come but just a similar capability to SL2 successor with a higher MPx sensor purchased & slap on.

[Don Morley]

On 9/24/2021 at 9:28 AM, jaapv said:

Which just proves that long lenses require skills that the average reviewers lack. 

So very true! Don Morley Former (Pro Sports Photographer).

[Boojay]

I've been wanting to try the SL2 with the Sigma 70-200 at a track event for a while, I did today and I was pretty happy with the results.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Boojay]

Couple more.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

[jaapv]

Yes, but the Sigma 70-200 DG DN is one of the fastest and most accurately focusing lenses in its class. Especially when using subject recognition. 

[Boojay]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

Yes, but the Sigma 70-200 DG DN is one of the fastest and most accurately focusing lenses in its class. Especially when using subject recognition. 

I agree, and I knew it was good on the Panasonic S52 but I wanted to see if it improved my previous experience with the SL2, it certainly seemed to.  I used AFC, Single Point, 6fps, with "Runner" as the AF case, and I was pleasantly surprised.

[Don Morley]

4 hours ago, jaapv said:

Yes, but the Sigma 70-200 DG DN is one of the fastest and most accurately focusing lenses in its class. Especially when using subject recognition. 

Funny thing is every action shot I ever took in my many years as a specialist Pro Sports Photographer was taken on film and totaly manual focus! So believe me almost every AF system no matter who makes it is better than anything the Pro's of my day had available. And by the way well done Jayne I love your pictures. Don Morley Co Founder of what is now Getty Images.

[Boojay]

1 hour ago, Don Morley said:

Funny thing is every action shot I ever took in my many years as a specialist Pro Sports Photographer was taken on film and totaly manual focus! So believe me almost every AF system no matter who makes it is better than anything the Pro's of my day had available. And by the way well done Jayne I love your pictures. Don Morley Co Founder of what is now Getty Images.

Thank you Don - very kind.  Back in the day when it was easier I used to get the odd nice payment slip from Getty so double thanks😉

[alphahydro15]

On 5/19/2024 at 8:48 AM, Don Morley said:

So very true! Don Morley Former (Pro Sports Photographer).

Yeah, as a bit of an update, I discovered this weekend how much more challenging it is to shoot sports at 500mm.  

Hats off to the pro sports photographers.  

First time (other than a few minutes practice) shooting at this focal length.  You def. have to understand the sport and be able to anticipate, because at 500mm, there's no way any AF system is going to be able to guess whose eyes you want to lock onto, etc.  Still, I thought the SL2 was more than sufficient for my needs as a super amateur.   And I was pretty happy with the files.  Sigma 500 5.6 / SL2 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[alphahydro15]

all wide open at 5.6: 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Harout62]

I have used the SL2 with the 90-280 for birds in flight back in 2019 it did a great job I had them posted here on LUF years ago 

last weekend we a had a couple of guests in our yard, so I puled out the old Apo 280 R 2.8 out of the case and here is what I got 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited May 29, 2024 by Harout62

[Shawn30]

SL2 LUMIX 70-300

Texas Bongo

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Boojay]

7 minutes ago, Shawn30 said:

SL2 LUMIX 70-300

Texas Bongo

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Beautiful animal.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[BLeventhal]

My Leica kit will not replace my Nikon gear for wildlife, but if one accepts the limitations and lower in-focus rate, the Leica SL2-S produces some of the nicest color in an FX sensor.

bruce

Nesting Brandt's cormorant w/ 100-400 Vario-Elmar

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited May 30, 2024 by BLeventhal
provided lens info