First Leica—SL3?

[MakinMemories]

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On 2/24/2024 at 5:10 PM, rangerider said:

The SL system interests me, though, and it looks like the SL3 might make it feasible for my needs.

 Would an SL3 be a good entry point into Leica?

 

Well my 'first' Leica was an SL2 which I bought while traveling in Munich Germany just under two years ago...I love this camera and now have about half a dozen Leica SL lenses including a couple of APO's which are about as close to perfection as it gets!

I am also on the pre-order list for the SL3 and very much looking forward to getting my paws on one!

I say go for the SL3, you will likely be as pleased with Leica as I am.

[hansvons]

33 minutes ago, 52K said:

issue. I've been a fan and user of Leica for many years but the offerings from other manufacturers are leaving Leica behind in the pro-mirrorless arena and hard to ignore.

Yes. Most professional photography is in the fields of weddings, product shoots, and journalism. I have no experience with wedding photomaking but I can speak for the latter two. An expensive Leica bag is only a wise business decision if your clients acknowledge the more costly equipment. 

Leica cannot compete with Canon, Nikon, Sony. Leica has its own distinct clientele and that also counts for the SL line. I’m a prime example in a way. I use my Ms for private and commercial projects and have an SL2-S for those shoots that benefit from IBIS and the sensor’s high sensitivity, plus occasional video. 

[davidmknoble]

23 hours ago, Stuart Richardson said:

I would dispute that it is a rebadged Panasonic... et al

+1 agree.

[davidmknoble]

The competition between brands is what you already have and what you shoot.  The Leica system, for landscape work is incredible and there are studio photographers that also use the Leica system.  It may be difficult to shoot wildlife and sports, but that does not mean the Leica system cannot compete with the Canon, Nikon, Sony, just that those systems might be better for long lens fast focus.  I can tell you Cannon and Sony are not the best landscape systems, when compared to Leica.  It is all in the use one desires. (talking about SL and S systems only).

[Simone_DF]

On 2/25/2024 at 12:00 PM, la1402 said:

The SL is a repackaged Panasonic and never will have the sentimental or collectible value like the M.

If you look at the camera specs for the SL2 and the S1R side by side, you'll see the two are very different. IBIS, sensor and autofocus are the only 3 elements in common. Everything else is different.

[la1402]

50 minutes ago, Simone_DF said:

If you look at the camera specs for the SL2 and the S1R side by side, you'll see the two are very different. IBIS, sensor and autofocus are the only 3 elements in common. Everything else is different.

The EVF is the same as well, the backscreen (except the Panas ability to tilt) and the shutter apparently, too. 

[Simone_DF]

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2 minutes ago, la1402 said:

The EVF is the same as well, the backscreen (except the Panas ability to tilt) and the shutter apparently, too. 

Not really. I tried both cameras, and the EVF in the SL2 simply looks "better" and more real than the one in the S1R. Tech may be the same, but implementation is different.

The backscreen is not the same, you just said it yourself that the Pana can tilt. Hopefully the SL3 will do that too. The shutter I don't know.

[Geoff C. Bassett]

1 hour ago, la1402 said:

The EVF is the same as well, the backscreen (except the Panas ability to tilt) and the shutter apparently, too. 

The glass in the SL2 viewfinder is VERY different. I owned both. The way the sensor is read is also vastly different. The SL2 has worse dynamic range but better skin tones.

[rew]

I wouldn't necessarily be put off by the weight of the Leica SL2 / Leica SL2-S bodies. I'm 75 and have used the Leica SL2-S & the TL 35mm (50mm-e) walking around San Francisco for 2.5 days in December carrying that combination and a hiking backpack with an APS-C body and an additional lens. Walking in San Francisco means lots of up and down steep hills. I didn't find the weight a problem, but I was tired by the end of the day.

I tend to carry the Leica SL2 with a strap over my head and right shoulder and carry the camera mostly on my hip bone. For me, this means the camera weight is not pulling on my neck. Less frequently, I cradle the camera on my left forearm near my elbow.

I too had concerns initially about the camera's weight, but my experience with it makes it a non issue (for me). I regularly photograph with it walking around cities (Paris, Montreal, Amsterdam) for hours at a time.

I hope this helps.

[Manicouagan1]

For a lot of comparisons between flagship cameras is figuring out what the compatible camera is for the different brands.  All of what view as the current flagships (Leica SL2, Canon R3 and R1 in near future, Nikon Z9 and Sony A1) are heavy cameras and are designed as tools to be used by professionals often in less than ideal environments.   When the Olympics come to Paris you are going to see the Japanese flagship cameras all in a row with 3 kg 400mm f.2.8 lenses that sell for at least US$12,000 each.   Leica seems to have chosen to build their system around the optical excellence of its lenses and subtle features of the micro-lenses and filter array in front of the sensor.  In my personal view the SL 24-90 f2.8-4 and the 70-280 f2.8-4 are in a league of there own if fidelity of the images all the way to the corner is important to you.  The SL2 sensor seems to bring the most out of the corners as well.   I  have Canon R3 system for the situations where high iso performance, fast autofocus and 10 plus frames per second are needed.

  My SL2 is for something different.  

[Malabito]

On 2/25/2024 at 1:00 PM, la1402 said:

I had the SL2S and several Ms. The SL is a repackaged Panasonic and never will have the sentimental or collectible value like the M. Results and UI are very good and in many aspects better than the M, though. The APO lenses are great and better than their M counterparts., but very big and heavy. The repackaged Sigma and Pana SL lenses make no sense at double the price for the Leica Logo - then I’d much rather buy the originals. 

I do agree that the SL will never have the same sentimental value as an M; that's also my experience owning an M and SL. But I don't think they are repackaged Panasonics. They might share technologies, but they are far from being the same camera. I had the S1 from Panasonic and now have the SL2S. They behave entirely differently, as does the handling. The only similarities I found are the autofocus capabilities, and that's because both use the crappy contrast detect. And yes, they might share a lot of technologies on the backend, but on the front end, using one or the other feels entirely different.