Noticeable Resolution Detail Improvement SL3 vs SL2?

[o2mpx]

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For those who’ve upgraded from SL2 to SL3, purely from a resolution detail perspective between the 2 sensors, not from a color or low light, UI, weight or any other criteria, is there a material improvement?

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[Photoworks]

I still use them side by side, the resolution changes from 47 to 60, and it is hard to notice, if at all. But the noise will be noticeably different in some situations.
If you can generate a good exposure with SL2, you may not see much of a differance.

[goodbokeh]

02mpx I would recommend investing $40 in a 1 year subscription to Reid Reviews. He has several articles on the Leica SL3, the Leica SL3 Compared to SL2: Studio Tests, and Leica SL3 & SL2: Rangefinder Lenses. He does very thorough and well regarded reviews for years and will give you a solid bottom line. Many other interesting Leica reviews also.

https://www.reidreviews.com/subscribe.asp

Edited August 3, 2024 by goodbokeh
Typo

[Geoff C. Bassett]

No. Resolution difference is minor and would not be noticeable unless your comparing directly side by side. 

Dynamic range and ISO performance on the other hand is a massive step up, and the image quality difference between the two.

I would not buy if the resolution jump is your main motivation. 

Edited August 3, 2024 by Geoff C. Bassett

[goodbokeh]

Geoff, I own the SL2, M11-P and Sony A7R5 (60MP). Characterizing the 60MP sensor's dynamic range and ISO performance as a massive step up is an exaggeration. I experience around 1/2 f-stop. That's not a big deal.

[Photoworks]

11 hours ago, goodbokeh said:

Geoff, I own the SL2, M11-P and Sony A7R5 (60MP). Characterizing the 60MP sensor's dynamic range and ISO performance as a massive step up is an exaggeration. I experience around 1/2 f-stop. That's not a big deal.

there is a difference from SL2 to SL3. Under normal circumstances, you don't see much.

If you have to shoot darker to preserve highlights you will quickly notice that the dark part of the images is much cleaner when recovering 2-3 stops of exposure.

In one way you can say that the resolution is directly related to how much noise the image has.

The sensor of the SL3 is backside illuminated. 

[goodbokeh]

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In terms of ISO noise I again would recomend that the OP go to the Reid Reviews site and judge the extensive SL2-SL3 ISO testing results for himself.

For me I use my high resolution cameras to benefit from their high resolution and that means limiting the ISO range. Accordingly, for my GFX 100S, A7R5, A1 and SL2 the ISO limit is 1600, 3200 in an extreme situation. Within those ISO boundaries my experience is that above ISO 400, the 47MP front side illuminated sensor of the SL2 is about 1/2 stop behind the back side illuminated sensors, and very close to the A1's stacked sensor.

A positive attribute of the SL2's sensor is less sensor flare (caused by the phase detect pixels) when shooting in harsh backlight. Colors are just so subjective, a real rabbit hole. That being said I like the colors of the SL2's raw files the best of any of my cameras. I don't know why, I just do. 

[SrMi]

6 hours ago, goodbokeh said:

In terms of ISO noise I again would recomend that the OP go to the Reid Reviews site and judge the extensive SL2-SL3 ISO testing results for himself.

For me I use my high resolution cameras to benefit from their high resolution and that means limiting the ISO range. Accordingly, for my GFX 100S, A7R5, A1 and SL2 the ISO limit is 1600, 3200 in an extreme situation. Within those ISO boundaries my experience is that above ISO 400, the 47MP front side illuminated sensor of the SL2 is about 1/2 stop behind the back side illuminated sensors, and very close to the A1's stacked sensor.
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Are you comparing at pixel level or at the same output size?

[goodbokeh]

I will usually downsize all my files to a 8K size (4320 pixel height) for my uses. So how much downsizing actually occurs will vary because of cropping.

Edited August 4, 2024 by goodbokeh