Do I need an SL3?

[aspherical]

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Leica will give me only 67% of market value on a trade-in, which is not enough with my present economy. I thought, do I really need one? Is 66 megapixels really that much better than 47? I'm attracted, of course, to the putative faster autofocus and the extra knob on the left, but is that enough to make the switch. Just thinking out loud.

[Jeff S]

4 hours ago, aspherical said:

Leica will give me only 67% of market value on a trade-in, which is not enough with my present economy. 

Leica Miami provides 80% FMV for trade-ins. But if you have to ask, seems more a want, or GAS, than a need. Why not rent first and see?  Nobody can answer this for you.

Jeff

[trickness]

There is nothing the SL3 will provide over the SL2 that will make you take better photographs. You don't get that from investing in gear, you get it from investing in yourself. Take a mentorship, a photo trip, a class.

If you want a new toy, then cool, life is short, you don't need to rationalize the purchase. 

The question is what is more important to you? None of us can answer that.

 

[Mute-on]

Nope. Pure GAS. Are you a marketing sucker or a realist?

N.B. Marketing suckers are what keep camera producers in business. 

[jdlaing]

Yes. You need a SL-3

[Photoworks]

7 hours ago, aspherical said:

Leica will give me only 67% of market value on a trade-in, which is not enough with my present economy. I thought, do I really need one? Is 66 megapixels really that much better than 47? I'm attracted, of course, to the putative faster autofocus and the extra knob on the left, but is that enough to make the switch. Just thinking out loud.

you need all new batteries too.

but if you ask yourself all that, it sounds like GAS

Unless you already know what you are doing and you see the benefit in the SL3

I use the SL2 and SL3 side by side and I would be happy with both.

[spydrxx]

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NEED???? Never!  WANT....yeah! definitely a GAS attack. We all get them occasionally....it will probably pass and you can be more rational about what, if anything, it will do for your photography.

[Ken Abrahams]

Yes, sounds like you already made your mind up to get one. Have you made the order yet?

I wanted something to pair with my SL2S and the SL3 does that better than the SL2. The whole repackaged SL (SL3) is very nice and the extra Mpxls is nice too. 

I have all four iterations of the SL model. I didn't plan it like that,. The first SL 601 is a good enough camera however my direction in editing and image making seems to have developed exponentially and the newer cameras are indeed helping my vision to be better expressed. Also the enjoyment factor is real. In my case life was literally going to be shorter. My oncologist initially said I would be gone by now but the buying of equipment has been such a joy and I wasn't ready to go yet.  One of the surgeons wanted dibs on my gear when I passed on, he gave me his number, what a wanker. I chose against the surgery much to everyones surprise and that has proven to be the best for me. So I bought the SL3 and a new iFootage tripod and Acrotech pano head to make a statement that I am not ready yet. Maybe your "statement" is something else? A commitment to be more creative? 

Best

Ken 

[JTLeica]

14 hours ago, aspherical said:

Leica will give me only 67% of market value on a trade-in, which is not enough with my present economy. I thought, do I really need one? Is 66 megapixels really that much better than 47? I'm attracted, of course, to the putative faster autofocus and the extra knob on the left, but is that enough to make the switch. Just thinking out loud.

Yes you do need one. Sell your camera private for 100% of market value? I never trade anything in really.

[JTLeica]

6 hours ago, spydrxx said:

NEED???? Never!  WANT....yeah! definitely a GAS attack. We all get them occasionally....it will probably pass and you can be more rational about what, if anything, it will do for your photography.

Yes occasionally like once a week right?

[LeicaR10]

Aspherical,   I most highly recommend you save your money and keep what you currently own.  Cameras nearly always depreciate the moment you walk out the store or use it.  In Post #3, Trickness is right on the money.  Also, the SL3 has "birthing" issues.  My Leica dealer gave me very sage advice years ago;  Never buy a new model of any camera or lens for at least 6 months to a year.  Rationale:  It takes about 6-12 months for a new model to get debugged and issues addressed.  He is quite correct.  A good example is the M11 and variants.  The cameras have been out for 2+ years and Leica is still working to resolve/fix the bugs.  The SL2 is a very mature, stable camera.  It helps one create beautfiul and amazing photographs.  The only limiting factor is the creative vision of the photographer who masters the camera.  I suggest you do a pros and cons listing and ask yourself;  What is a SL3 going to do for your photography that your SL2 does not allow you to do now?  I think you will find inner answer to be;  Keep your SL2 and master that camera.  Both you and certainly your wallet will be quite happy.  r/ Mark 

Edited June 6, 2024 by LeicaR10

[aspherical]

Thank you, Mark! Excellent advice.

 

Doug

[Viv]

17 hours ago, aspherical said:

Leica will give me only 67% of market value on a trade-in, which is not enough with my present economy. I thought, do I really need one? Is 66 megapixels really that much better than 47? I'm attracted, of course, to the putative faster autofocus and the extra knob on the left, but is that enough to make the switch. Just thinking out loud.

Probably not.

[Eclectic Man]

Take your existing camera(s) and lens(es) and go out and take some photographs with them, for fun.

Then you'll know the answer to your question.

[Photoworks]

10 hours ago, LeicaR10 said:

What is a SL3 going to do for your photography that your SL2 does not allow you to do now?  I think you will find inner answer to be;  Keep your SL2 and master that camera.  Both you and certainly your wallet will be quite happy.  r/ Mark 

the SL2 allows us to dream of an SL3.

when the SL2 came out it was 100% Stable, the best in Leica history lol

But the move to SL3 is a 5% improvement. nothing crazy.

[o2mpx]

Right now the SL3 isn’t even on par with the SL2 from a features perspective —- missing multishot for example, let alone the bugs. Until Leica addresses the initial bugs (likely they will over time) and make the 2 cameras equal functionality wise, the SL3 isn’t a viable compare for consideration of upgrade. 

At the top level it seems there are 5 improvement areas, 60mp, the flip screen, improved low light or overall IQ, autofocus and slightly less weight/size. The power button and top knob might not get agreement that those are substantial improvements. Whether these are enough to spend a few thousand is personal. 

For now, the silver SL2 will do. Since the finish makes it a bit different to warrant it as a keeper, unless there’s a silver SL3, likely will hold off. As it’s not justifiable to keep both, perhaps need to look forward to the SL4. 

Edited June 7, 2024 by o2mpx

[aspherical]

Good

 

[JTLeica]

13 hours ago, Photoworks said:

the SL2 allows us to dream of an SL3.

when the SL2 came out it was 100% Stable, the best in Leica history lol

But the move to SL3 is a 5% improvement. nothing crazy.

To me the quality of the files alone is a large improvement, the SL3, Q3, M11 sensor has very strong and malleable files that can be abused more than the Q2 / Sl2 files, plus the size and weight reduction is great. 

The resolution too, although in reality 47 vs 60 is nothing to worry about.

[tom0511]

Am 5.6.2024 um 19:10 schrieb aspherical:

Leica will give me only 67% of market value on a trade-in, which is not enough with my present economy. I thought, do I really need one? Is 66 megapixels really that much better than 47? I'm attracted, of course, to the putative faster autofocus and the extra knob on the left, but is that enough to make the switch. Just thinking out loud.

I can tell you just my case. I think the swivel-display is a nice advantage, the new sensor is quite good, but I can tell yet my final conclusion how much better it is. And I found the SL2 sensor to be very good as well (Evenhtough I switched to the SL2-S one day)

I think the AF alone is not such a great improvement to go from sl2 to sl3 just because of that. The body feels a little different in the hand, so I recommend to take it in hand before buying to see how good it fits your hands. For my hands its fine but I slightly prefered the larger height of the SL2-S.

In pure value for money I think its hard to beat the used SL2 at the moment. On the other side, we only life once

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Photoworks]

11 hours ago, o2mpx said:

At the top level it seems there are 5 improvement areas, 60mp, the flip screen, improved low light or overall IQ, autofocus and slightly less weight/size. The power button and top knob might not get agreement that those are substantial improvements. Whether these are enough to spend a few thousand is personal. 

to me, there is more.

USB charging during the shoot is big / Touch screen/records every resolution to card/ time code /New card system that is fast/ DR and ISO/

and let's not forget that Leica LOOKS 🤣