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Video and stills: SL2-S as a hybrid camera


hansvons

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From time to time, I create social media campaigns on landscape conservation and climate protection. A snippet of my last campaign can be seen below. These gigs are mostly one-man-band endeavours that I really enjoy (often, travelling and tons of hiking involved). In March, I bought the SL2-S for such projects.

Why the SL2-S and not a Sony, Canon or Panasonic camera? First, I'm a skin tone aficionado; and I have a clear idea of what sky blue should look like. For me, Arri is the only manufacturer who nails that convincingly. Their price tag is prohibitive, plus there are millions of other reasons why not to carry such a camera with you. Overall, after looking intensively over half a year into the primary Japanese cameras, I ended up with Leica because Leica's take on colours closely matches my idea of colour. Plus, the SL-line feels unbreakable and shows no issues with inclement weather (following my star, I tend to take my gear to unpleasant places without much thinking).

Secondly, I needed a zoom lens that renders particularly dimensional images, helping to draw the audience into the video's story. I've worked with Canon's and Nikon's offerings in the 24-70 area. I find that they don't have much of a personality besides being sharp. However, the 24-90 Elmarit SL zoom tics the dimensionality box impressively, showing some character. Still, it sports the usual AF-based, dreadful fly-by-wire focusing that makes manual focussing a woeful experience, albeit the adjustable focus-throw settings help a bit. But after some time, I adjusted to the 24-90's manual focusing and stopped complaining. But why is the focus peaking turned down when the camera isn't rolling but works in its full glory (almost too much) when shooting? That should be fixed in a firmware update.

I use Leica's L-log because it offers the broadest dynamic range, leaving no questions. It took me some time to figure out what exactly L-log is. Long story short: L-log is a 10 bit-optimised log curve living in the large HDR Rec 2020 colour space. That's why, without the Rec 709 LUT, the colours are way off in regular SDR HD. But for the best colours and best dynamic range, working in the camera's native colour space Rec 2020 is advisable (could also be ACES). Most NLE support that large colour space; after all, it's the future's video standard.

On the footage side, the Sl2-S delivers footage like a little cine camera. The best dynamic range with a subtle texture can be obtained at ISO 800, my go-to ISO setting for almost everything. At ISO 6400, the footage looks still pretty good. In that area, the SL2-S outperforms Arri and any other cine camera I know. Deliberate underexposed by two stops, video sequences with ISO set at 800 can be brought back without any colour shifts and noticeable noise. Four stops underexposed will show some colour shift in the footage and noise. At 6 stops, the video image is grainy, shows pronounced colour shifts and isn't usable anymore. That is pretty remarkable.

I've shot this video with the SL2-S, including the stills. A few easy to spot stock scenes are included. As I would do with an Arri Alexa, the exposure factored in the sky's bright highlights:

 

 

A wish list for the next firmware update:

 

  • In L-Log, focus peaking when idle as pronounced as when rolling
  • Braw or ProRes Raw recording via HDMI
  • Improved AF-C (in its current state, it's unusable in video mode) 

When thinking about a future SL3-S, I could imagine this:

  • 6K/4K ProRes 444 and ProRes Raw internally
  • Snappy and harmoniously moving AF-C, mimicking manual  focus pulls 
  • ACES IDT and a 12 Bit log curve similar to Arri C-Log.
     

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  • 4 weeks later...

@danielsalazarhopps Thanks for the kind words, Daniel.


Speaking of focusing (pun intended), off and on, I'm thinking to buy a Q2 for travelling light. But I didn't pull the trigger yet because the SLS-S can do video so much better. Probably, I would lose more than I would gain. But for light travel, I'm thinking to buy the Sigma Contemporary 35mm f2 (I'm a 50ies guy but 35mm is the better compromise). It indeed is not the Q2's 28mm Summilux but could be a viable alternative. For me, the only real downside is that the Sigma lens is not weather-sealed. But on the upside, chances are high that the lens shows some character I might like because it's not built with optical perfection.

For filmmaking, I use R lenses on the SL2-S when a classic film look is desired. R lenses flare nicely, especially the 50 Summicron, render flatter and less sharp than modern Leica glass. But a snappy and reliable AF for stills is helping a lot, hence the idea to get the Sigma.

In the end, one camera will free you up from possible GAS, focus on photography and safes money. Sometimes, pros need to bring a second body as a backup (another reason I'm thinking of a Q2). But one year of intensive use tells me that the SL2-S is a very reliable camera. So, I take the risk as I would when travelling with an Arri.

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