Leica SL3-S Incoming?

[Dr. G]

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1 hour ago, jaapv said:

How often do you REALLY need a super fast readout? In stills virtually never, in. video slightly more often but a pro will simply use a more suitable camera for the shot. 

I need to find a head and shoulders portrait I took with the SL3 with electronic shutter where my subject was moving her head.  There is noticeable distortion from rolling shutter on the lower half of the face.  So maybe not necessarily super fast readout, but faster readout speed would be appreciated. 

[tomasis7]

3 hours ago, BernardC said:

24MP is very convenient for video because you don't need to resample/process much for 4K and 6K. The next step up is around 40MP for 8K. Anything in-between isn't a big-enough step for stills, and a step back for video.

I wonder where Blackmagic gets their sensor for the Ursa 12K. CineD measures it at 5.5ms at 8K, and 12ms at 12K. That's nearly 100MP equivalent. Cine cameras use a lot more power and have a lot more cooling, but surely some of that performance would still be available in a mirrorless form factor.

Related: has Leica finally implemented onboard Blackmagic Raw? That's the only thing really missing from the SL2-S.

i love the look of videos coming out from Ursa 12k. The video shot in Arizona from the website looks amazing! CineD said that 12k came pretty close to Arri.

you prob get such quality in SL5-S lol

Edited January 13 by tomasis7

[jaapv]

29 minutes ago, Photoworks said:

🤦‍♂️

you find many people that disagree with you on this question.

Silent shooting and rolling shutter!

Quite. You need subject speed as well.  How can one disagree on a question?  Normally it would take a statement. 

[jaapv]

35 minutes ago, LBJ2 said:

Often. And I'll leave it at that 😎

In that case I hope that the SL3S will be a suitable tool for you. Knowing that the sensor is the same as the S5Ii and assuming that the digital pipeline has been upgraded the readout should be about 15-20 Ms. 

[Genoweffa]

1 hour ago, helged said:

Handheld Multishot is new to Leica. Multishot is available for SL2/SL2-S on tripod only: https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2020/06/leica-sl2-firmware-v2-0-with-187mp-multi-shot/. 

Multishot isn't available with SL3 (yet), but will apparently become available with SL3-S, also handheld. 

ha...looks like did not spend enough time looking under the hood...my sl2 already have this on

have to check it out, hopefully w/o crushing my ssd/hd

[BradS]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

... or moving wheels? ...

 

I'm thinking of those newspaper photos of a motor car race taken with a 4x5 speed graphic in the early 20th century. The "problem" has been around for a while. Some now think of it in terms of creative effect.

 

...but yeah, I can see where it can be annoying - the RBG theater lighting example above especially.

Edited January 13 by BradS

[algrove]

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I put myself on the SL3S list. 24MP is nice to have in today's high MP count world. I could care about video, just fat pixel size.

Edited January 13 by algrove

[LocalHero1953]

12 minutes ago, BradS said:

 

I'm thinking of those newspaper photos of a motor car race taken with a 4x5 speed graphic in the early 20th century. The "problem" has been around for a while. Some now think of it in terms of creative effect.

 

...but yeah, I can see where it can be annoying - the RBG theater lighting example above especially.

Yes - it’s not just where you want to stop motion, but also when you must be totally silent. The Q series is an alternative option given that the leaf shutter is just a whisper, especially now the Q3 43 is not far behind the SL2-S in low light performance. 

[LBJ2]

8 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Yes - it’s not just where you want to stop motion, but also when you must be totally silent. The Q series is an alternative option given that the leaf shutter is just a whisper, especially now the Q3 43 is not far behind the SL2-S in low light performance. 

A play on the old chicken, egg causality dilemma...which came first in digital, fast sensor readout speeds or silent shutter. In my case I'll definitely take and enjoy both as silent shutter alone is only half the success story ! 

[cdnchris]

Am I the only one hoping the AF updates come to SL3?

[ALScott]

Just now, cdnchris said:

Am I the only one hoping the AF updates come to SL3?

NO!  I hope this spurs a very quick update.

 

[LBJ2]

1 minute ago, cdnchris said:

Am I the only one hoping the AF updates come to SL3?

Not at all 😎

But also Panasonic/Leica are Very new to Hybrid PDAF--IMO going to take some time I think to catch up to the mature PDAF competition. 

Edited January 13 by LBJ2

[ALScott]

5 hours ago, jaapv said:

 

 

Indeed - it sounds very much like a Leica-fied S5ii. A very good camera as I can testify, but if one does not need a few of the extras that it offers, like hand-held high resolution, PDAF, etc. the S2S is the camera I prefer.

Genuinely curious here...  But wouldn't just the AF improvement make it much better than the SL2-S, especially for animals.  On my first trip with the SL3 I struggled with the SL3 and animal focus.  Plus, AFc is huge with animals, really anything.  All AF cameras should be able to shoot in AFc just as well as in AFs IMO. 

[LBJ2]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

In that case I hope that the SL3S will be a suitable tool for you. Knowing that the sensor is the same as the S5Ii and assuming that the digital pipeline has been upgraded the readout should be about 15-20 Ms. 

As a Leica SL APO Prime aficionado, I am much more the SL2/SL3 type aka heavy on the Megapixels. However, I am more than thrilled to see another SL system camera in 2025! While not seemingly the camera for me, and as already commented, the SL3-S gives me hope for the longevity of the SL system. 

[jaapv]

50 minutes ago, ALScott said:

Genuinely curious here...  But wouldn't just the AF improvement make it much better than the SL2-S, especially for animals.  On my first trip with the SL3 I struggled with the SL3 and animal focus.  Plus, AFc is huge with animals, really anything.  All AF cameras should be able to shoot in AFc just as well as in AFs IMO. 

I never had trouble with any AF system for animal photography. But then, I started long before AF existed. Bushcraft is far more important.  And timing. Nature is not a racetrack. I always marvel at those guys with their Canikon gear on full auto and maximum burst rate, eye glued to the viewfinder, never observing what is actually out there. Not a single decent shot in the thousands they have recorded…

Sit, observe, anticipate and get a single shot perfectly all right. AF will never give you trouble. AFC has a very minor place in my method. 

[Photoworks]

11 minutes ago, jaapv said:

I never had trouble with any AF system for animal photography. But then, I started long before AF existed. Bushcraft is far more important.  And timing. Nature is not a racetrack. I always marvel at those guys with their Canikon gear on full auto and maximum burst rate, eye glued to the viewfinder, never observing what is actually out there. Not a single decent shot in the thousands they have recorded…

I suppose there is no need to talk about all the shots you missed?!?

Let's be clear, in many occasion the AF from leica is 💩,, in some, it works quite well, but contrast AF is still not great in any lowlight or fast situation

[jaapv]

Everybody misses shots, AF or not. Given that the shutter is open a fraction of a second, everything outside that is missed. That it 99.999% of the time that you are photographing,

Wildlife is a specialism, many of the techniques used are in common with hunting. You don't see a hunter racing through the bush with a machine gun blasting away.
He observes and more importantly knows what he is observing and chooses the right moment.  I regularly don't even use AF, manual serves me better in many cases. For one thing, I know what to focus on, and when. The camera doesn't. 

[ALScott]

8 minutes ago, jaapv said:

I never had trouble with any AF system for animal photography. But then, I started long before AF existed. Bushcraft is far more important.  And timing. Nature is not a racetrack. I always marvel at those guys with their Canikon gear on full auto and maximum burst rate, eye glued to the viewfinder, never observing what is actually out there. Not a single decent shot in the thousands they have recorded…

I started before AF too and I agree max burst and AF doesn't guarantee a great shot, but it sure helps.  I also know that it has given me some outstanding shots I would have probably missed with MF.  I still shoot like I have 36 frames, as I hate editing piles of files.  It would have been nice if it were a bit better on a running bison.  I don't want to always only shoot static, still animals.  I do shoot a little sports and would like something more hearty there too.  Just saying I would like a top IQ brand to have top AF to go along with it and I hope the SL3-S brings some of that.

[CptSlevin]

Never had an issue with Leica SL2S CDAF since 2023, latest update of 2024 even improved AF (use all sigma lenses, fast and accurate for reportage and portrait)

as of now people who have SL2 S have no reason to upgrade, only if they manage to make SL3S record internal 12bit raw as Sigma FP.

People here call SL3S evolution, to me it’s just Mark II, it’s frustrating

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[jaapv]

37 minutes ago, ALScott said:

I started before AF too and I agree max burst and AF doesn't guarantee a great shot, but it sure helps.  I also know that it has given me some outstanding shots I would have probably missed with MF.  I still shoot like I have 36 frames, as I hate editing piles of files.  It would have been nice if it were a bit better on a running bison.  I don't want to always only shoot static, still animals.  I do shoot a little sports and would like something more hearty there too.  Just saying I would like a top IQ brand to have top AF to go along with it and I hope the SL3-S brings some of that.

Well, I we do shoot different animals, mostly I can anticipate action. As for Buffalo, where I do my shooting if they start running you better start running as well. Standing your ground and photographing them would be giving in to a death wish.
I am nearly always on AFS,either spot or field, depending on the situation, as AFC gets distracted too easily by something in the fore- or background. AFC  will come in handy for, say, a Wild Dog or Cheetah hunt, but those are extreme rarities and if you get to see one it usually is in an unphotographable position. I still would use single shot and not continuous though so Leica’s AFC could probably keep up  The only time that I wish for better AF is BIF. Tracking focus does not really work. So I am training myself with a dot sight and single shot/ Field AFS. That is, if I don’t grab the S5Ii and set it to bird recognition/tracking. The SL3S should be similar to the S5Ii which I have as a second camera. So I have no reason at all to spend money on the SL3S.