Leica SL2 vs SL2s - real world use.

[Oliver Christie]

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At the risk of stirring up a hornet's nest again...  I am looking to purchase an SL2 or SL2s but am not sure what to go for. 

My use case is a mix of environmental portraits, studio-based portraits with strobe, and some travel. I already have a Q2, but don't need to match that output.

I will be printing at a large scale, so the SL2 seems a better match. However, I am occasionally going to be in lower-light situations where the SL2s make sense. This is my dilemma. 

For those who have used both, what do you prefer and why? Or should I not worry too much and just shoot?

 

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[Printmaker]

I have both and I find that the difference between them is small. I like the extra dynamic range of the SL2S and the higher ISO can be quite useful. When I run the files through Gigapixel at 2X the results are very similar.

That said, I picked up a Leica Certified Pre-Owned SL2 a few months ago for the extra resolution. I still shoot the occasional painting for artists and the multi shot function provides great results. And having a second body is cheap insurance - especially at the current price.

My personal preference is the SL2S simply because it is more versatile. But you won’t go wrong with either camera.

[Jeff S]

No better way IMO to assess real world use than to use the gear yourself in the real world.  As I typically suggest to US based customers as yourself, if you can’t easily demo from a dealer, rent the gear for a few days.  Both of these cameras are available from Lensrentals.

Jeff

[tom0511]

I also had both, I find the SL2S high ISO great "freedom", but I slightly preferred color from SL2 (other won't agree).

I now moved to SL3 with hope to get both high resolution and pretty good high ISO.

By the way ISO 3200 or 6400 Is not that bad with the SL2.

And you have a lot room to crop, if you shoot sports or wildlife...

If you only shoot low light occasional and more often landscape where you like resolution maybe the SL2 is the better choice for you? But only you know your preferences.

 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

How big are the prints? Big or really big? For general travel photography you’ll be more than fine to about A2 with a 24MP sensor. Bigger than that, depending on the subject, more resolution helps. It’ll come down to a couple of options.

1. If you *mostly* are interested in larger prints you get the SL2 and use DXO or Lightroom’s AI NR, which is remarkably effective, for your low light prints.

2. If you’re in lower light a lot you get a SL2-S and use high res shot on a tripod or something like gigapixel for modest increases in resolution.

3. You get an SL3 and have both. Or get a SL2 and SL2-S. Or get an SL2 and a S5/S5II.

As someone who prints very big (A0 is common) I value resolution. I like detailed prints that can be enjoyed at various distances, even close up, with few artifacts from interpolation. So I use the SL2/SL3. Mostly noise is not an issue for most applications and above ISO6400 DXO gives me an impressively clean file. The thing is to pay more attention to getting good exposures on the SL2. It’s not keen on underexposed raw files. I’ll often bracket images but rarely need to use any HDR combining of them.

Gordon

Edited June 15, 2024 by FlashGordonPhotography

[Oliver Christie]

All these replies are just what I was looking for, and really helping in making my decision. 

Thank you all. 

[Stuart Richardson]

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I also print large on a regular basis and use both bodies. They are very complimentary, but if I were to have just one, it would be the SL2, no question. I would rather have the high resolution for all my photos, as I shoot a lot more at lower ISO than I do past 3200 or so. I did not notice any real difference in dynamic range at the time of capture, but the SL2S can be pushed around more in post processing. But the SL2 is still good for it, with the caveat that the shadows can get a bit grainy if you lift them too far and are not shooting near base ISO. At the extreme high end of ISO, the SL2S is ahead, so if that is very important, I would advise going that route. But I did not find the SL2 to be a particularly poor low light camera, in contrast to what the prevailing dialog is.

[Olaf_ZG]

I recently added the SL2 to the 2s. The SL2 is my portrait camera, low iso, nice room for cropping, and mostly used with strobes and the 50lux.

The 2s is use when photographing horses, needing at least 1/1000 on the zooms. Here, I want not to worry about the iso (especially in the stable), so the 2s is the camera here.

They are really complimentary as @Stuart Richardson said.

For travel, I would take the 2s though.

 I guess my answer isn’t really helpful, you need both 😇

[LocalHero1953]

I shoot mainly indoors in low light (theatre/music/dance) and value the high ISO performance of the SL2-S: I will go to 25,000 as an upper limit combined with Lightroom AI noise reduction. For the purpose and audience for my photos, the brilliant colours and skin tones, even in low light, are priceless. But if I was looking for a camera for outdoor landscape and urban it would be the SL2 (which I owned for 4 months before swapping for the -S).

I also use the SL2-S for video. At launch, it had better video settings than the SL2, although the latter has caught up with firmware updates - I haven't checked how much. 

Edited June 16, 2024 by LocalHero1953

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, Olaf_ZG said:

They are really complimentary as @Stuart Richardson said.

 

Not unless they’re free, or they say nice things to you.  Complementary.

Jeff

[andybarton]

Let’s not get too pedantic about minor spelling “mistakes” please. There are many folk here for whom English is a second or even third language. 

I’d hate to think how I’d get on in a Croatian forum. 

Sumnjam da mi ide jako dobro.

[Almizilero]

vor 19 Stunden schrieb Printmaker:

I have both and I find that the difference between them is small. I like the extra dynamic range of the SL2S and the higher ISO can be quite useful. When I run the files through Gigapixel at 2X the results are very similar.

That said, I picked up a Leica Certified Pre-Owned SL2 a few months ago for the extra resolution. I still shoot the occasional painting for artists and the multi shot function provides great results. And having a second body is cheap insurance - especially at the current price.

My personal preference is the SL2S simply because it is more versatile. But you won’t go wrong with either camera.

Very much my experience as well. I did some tests with the AI denoise and supersize options. Long story short, both work very well, but supersizing SL2-S files gave me better results than denoising SL2 files at higher ISOs.

In the end, get the camera that covers your usecase better. To me, that sounds like the SL2. If you take a lot of low light, the SL2-S is invaluable and the files can be resized with very good results for large prints.

[Olaf_ZG]

1 hour ago, Jeff S said:

Not unless they’re free, or they say nice things to you.  Complementary.

Jeff

With current prices they are almost complimentary… but you are right, I misspelled. Sorry. Won’t promise it will not happen again though 😇

[Olaf_ZG]

40 minutes ago, andybarton said:

Sumnjam da mi ide jako dobro.

Dobro ti ide 😎

[Jeff S]

6 minutes ago, Olaf_ZG said:

With current prices they are almost complimentary… but you are right, I misspelled. Sorry. Won’t promise it will not happen again though 😇

Sorry, comment was intended to be lighthearted, not arrogant.

Let’s get back to dealing seriously with gear minutiae, not language amusement.

Jeff

[Olaf_ZG]

2 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Sorry, comment was intended to be lighthearted, not arrogant.

Let’s get back to dealing seriously with gear minutiae, not language amusement.

Jeff

No offense taken at all, don’t worry.

and didn’t read it as arrogant either.

Edited June 16, 2024 by Olaf_ZG
Added second sentence

[Jeff S]

57 minutes ago, andybarton said:

Let’s not get too pedantic about minor spelling “mistakes” please. There are many folk here for whom English is a second or even third language. 

I’d hate to think how I’d get on in a Croatian forum. 

Sumnjam da mi ide jako dobro.

I’m well aware, and envious of more multilingual abilities.  This was meant as humor, not criticism or arrogance.  Maybe a smiley would have helped (or not in your view).  Btw, I wouldn’t even begin to write in Icelandic.

Jeff

 

[andybarton]

20 minutes ago, Olaf_ZG said:

Dobro ti ide 😎

Google prevoditelj je 👍

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Hallo,

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[andybarton]

Just now, Jeff S said:

I’m well aware, and envious of more multilingual abilities.  This was meant as humor, not criticism or arrogance.  Maybe a smiley would have helped (or not in your view).  Btw, I wouldn’t even begin to write in Icelandic.

Jeff

 

English people are terrible at learning languages. 

[Jeff S]

Or wanting to learn.

Jeff