From M11 to SL3 or SL3-S?

[Jan1985]

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Hi, I'm actually owning an M11. I am photography weddings and other things since 10 years with an M companioned by different M-lenses. But as much as I love the M sometimes its limitations are frustrating when doing serious work.

So I think about moving to the SL system to still be able to use M lenses but also SL lenses. With the M11 I have up 61mpx. Mostly I use the 37mpx mid option. Now I am guessing what would be the best decision. To go straight for the SL3 or the SL3-S with it 24mpx max.

What would you recommend?

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[Jeff S]

A used SL2 or SL2-S is readily available used now, for bargain prices (near $2k US). You could keep the M11 (or buy a used M10 iteration since you don’t need 60MP), and have both, including a backup for weddings.

[vkdev]

+1. keep m11 and try sl2s. then you can make your own decision. also you dont have to have leica lenses. so this purchase wont be painful for your pocket.

[Jan1985]

Found a SL2-S Reporter for 2300€. Is that a good deal? 

[Photoworks]

I like high MP for my work,  so i am in the  SL2- SL3 camp.
if you are looking at SL2 or SL2s and are happy with 24mp, the SL2s is a bit easier to focus with M lenses.

 

[jaapv]

All SL cameras are robust workhorses but for your purpose you would be perfectly happy with an SL2S which are quite cheap right now.  

[Jeff S]

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On 6/18/2025 at 12:53 PM, Jan1985 said:

Found a SL2-S Reporter for 2300€. Is that a good deal? 

I would buy from a reputable dealer with warranty and return policy, and not sweat a few bucks; depreciation has already occurred to a large extent.  

[Jan1985]

Got an offer for a second hand SL2 with just 5.000 shutter count in excellent condition for 2.000 bucks.

[LD_50]

1 hour ago, Jan1985 said:

Got an offer for a second hand SL2 with just 5.000 shutter count in excellent condition for 2.000 bucks.

How do you get the shutter count?

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Having shot hundreds of weddings with M’s and SL’s I’d personally go with the SL3. The flippy screen and improved low light AF would be enough, for me. I also prefer the handling and the colour palette. I never liked having the play button on the left of the screen. It makes a quick focus check via the EVF a PITA on the run. That was the biggest downgrade from the SL to SL2 and it was fixed on the SL3. Having said that I shot over a hundred weddings on the original SL and latter SL2 with no issues. They were hard working and reliable. It took a bit to tame the flashes but that’s improved now with Godox and Prophoto support. The SF60 is stupidly overpriced but actually worked without any hassle for several years. And they’re also able to be used wireless at a pinch. I’d likely grab the new 28-70 and a 70-200 and be done. Maybe a 50 1.2 if you’re into that kind of thing.

If you have use other systems (Canikony) you’ll need to adjust a bit to the SL2, which has no PDAF. For AF you’ll get used to finding an edge for the AF to grab on. After that it’s easy. For dancing shots an M lens and zone focus was just less hassle. The SL’s are excellent wedding cameras. Just have some spare batteries on hand.

If you don’t need longer glass you could also consider the Q3 or Q3-43. If there was a Q3-90 those 3 would be all I ever needed at a wedding.

Gordon

[Jan1985]

vor 14 Stunden schrieb FlashGordonPhotography:

Having shot hundreds of weddings with M’s and SL’s I’d personally go with the SL3. The flippy screen and improved low light AF would be enough, for me. I also prefer the handling and the colour palette. I never liked having the play button on the left of the screen. It makes a quick focus check via the EVF a PITA on the run. That was the biggest downgrade from the SL to SL2 and it was fixed on the SL3. Having said that I shot over a hundred weddings on the original SL and latter SL2 with no issues. They were hard working and reliable. It took a bit to tame the flashes but that’s improved now with Godox and Prophoto support. The SF60 is stupidly overpriced but actually worked without any hassle for several years. And they’re also able to be used wireless at a pinch. I’d likely grab the new 28-70 and a 70-200 and be done. Maybe a 50 1.2 if you’re into that kind of thing.

If you have use other systems (Canikony) you’ll need to adjust a bit to the SL2, which has no PDAF. For AF you’ll get used to finding an edge for the AF to grab on. After that it’s easy. For dancing shots an M lens and zone focus was just less hassle. The SL’s are excellent wedding cameras. Just have some spare batteries on hand.

If you don’t need longer glass you could also consider the Q3 or Q3-43. If there was a Q3-90 those 3 would be all I ever needed at a wedding.

Gordon

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. That's really a wealth of experience. Yeah the SL3 seems to be the option. Especially with the flip screen and the improved AF. But could you still recommend the SL2-S or the SL2 in 2025? Which one of them would you choose?

[Jeff S]

I held a friend’s SL3, and preferred the ergonomics of my SL2.  Others feel the opposite; best to try first if you can.  I also prefer the SL2 menus as well as the simple on/off switch. 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

8 hours ago, Jan1985 said:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. That's really a wealth of experience. Yeah the SL3 seems to be the option. Especially with the flip screen and the improved AF. But could you still recommend the SL2-S or the SL2 in 2025? Which one of them would you choose?

I would always choose the high res option.

There’s a myth that the low res sensor has less noise. That only holds true if you enlarge to pixel dimensions. If you output the *image* at the same size noise is virtually the same. The higher res sensor suffers less from moire (useful) and can be cropped more effectively (at the expense of said noise). The only advantage of the SL2-S is if you plan on using the electronic shutter a lot. I only used it during ceremony where things don’t really move, and it was fine. But during prep and reception it’s too slow. Like the M11.

Yes, I’d be absolutely fine shooting with the SL2, if I hadn’t retired. And as Geoff rightly mentioned above, some prefer how the SL2 feels in hand over the SL3. I prefer the latter, by a lot but some found the new grip shape (it’s subtle but strangely noticeable) less comfortable. Also the shutter sound is better on the SL2, for weddings. I had a priest say the Sl shutter was the *nicest* he’d heard, whatever that’s worth. Same with the power switch. I think the SL3 is a downgrade. And the new dial is absolutely useless. There is one caveat… If you decide on the SL2 don’t try the SL3.

The SL3 has the best image quality of any small format sensor I have ever used. Somehow Leica have managed to eeek a bit more out of it than the M11 or even Sony’s A7R5. The files are more malleable and I really really like the colours, which hold up at higher ISO’s. We’re talking maybe 5%. Unfortunately weddings is exactly where you’ll see that 5%. It’s as close as I’ve seen to a larger sensor in small format.

Oh, and the APO’s. Don’t try the APO’s. Unless you want three of them and you’re prepared to drop your M altogether…. They are like crack.

Gordon

[Jan1985]

Thats really interesting. I guess these are just myths with the lower noise on the SL2-S. 

As you said. It‘s always good to have some more megapixels for cropping. And in wedding photography you need this option because you can not always make the best shot because of lack of time and how fast some things are happening.

At the moment I think about going the SL2. So I could keep my M11. Or I sell the M11 for the SL3. But then I would keep 35mm APO-M to use it on the SL.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

4 hours ago, Jan1985 said:

Thats really interesting. I guess these are just myths with the lower noise on the SL2-S. 

As you said. It‘s always good to have some more megapixels for cropping. And in wedding photography you need this option because you can not always make the best shot because of lack of time and how fast some things are happening.

At the moment I think about going the SL2. So I could keep my M11. Or I sell the M11 for the SL3. But then I would keep 35mm APO-M to use it on the SL.

If you look at each pixel, the SL2-S has less noise, for sure. But if you look at output size, they’re pretty much the same. It’s a matter of how you measure the noise. Per pixel or at image size. Those that look at images at 100% will of course, see a cleaner image from the SL2-S. But ultimately we look at the whole image upon output. Cropping of course, leads to some noise response as you’ll be enlarging more for output.

To see any significant differences you’d need to use a larger (or smaller) sensor or change the bit depth. At the same sensor size things mostly stabilised after the A7R3 42MP sensor.

Finally, there’s software. Modern NR software is vastly improved. It’s definitely worth re-processing older images as programs like PureRaw have changed the game entirely.

Gordon

[Ken Abrahams]

On 6/19/2025 at 12:53 AM, Jan1985 said:

Found a SL2-S Reporter for 2300€. Is that a good deal? 

Sounds like a good deal to me. I love my reporter or SL2S. Since you mentioned shooting weddings and wanting to use Leicas, I would probably use the SL3. The SL2S although capable and very robust camera it will slow you down somewhat. I use my SL2S with certain lenses and creative work which I find works better for me on the SL2S than either of the SL3/S's. 

Ken 

[Photoworks]

I like to share my experience, from someone who has been using this camera for many years in many practical situations.

 

I have been working on SL2 for about 5 years, and to me, a bit of noise is fine. Many events are shot at 3200 with it.

 

If noise is your only question, then SL2-s is probably better.

If you're considering AF, in low light where you use a zoom lens, the contrast AF is terrible and you will find that you have to take 3-5 shots to have 2-3 in focus and refocus every time.

That is quite frustrating and that is why I added an SL3 to my collection, but AF in single mode is still contrast only, so if you want better AF make sure you use AFc, many in combination with back button focus.

 

SL2s to SL3 in noise, the SL3 is cleaner, and retains better colors when pushed. To me a no-brainer to use SL3. I have not used SL3-s.

 

Flash photography with SF-60 is frustrating; sometimes it works, and sometimes it does not. Make sure you have a backup, and sometimes use manual settings.

I have replaced 3 SF-60 already and I always have 2 with me.

 

Recently added a S1RII, it is only 40MP, it is a very low noise camera, it takes a long time to learn, and you find yourself trying to remember to change one setting all the time.
You can use the godox V1Pro flash, and it works great. Keep in mind that it always does 2 preflashes in TTL.

The articulating screen is fantastic, and I find myself using it all the time for low and high angles.

S1RII with M lenses are not so hot, I would stick with Leica cameras.

 

 

Bwt the SF-60 on an M11 is great, it always delivers a balanced shot!

[Jon Warwick]

On 6/18/2025 at 3:30 PM, vkdev said:

+1. keep m11 and try sl2s. then you can make your own decision. also you dont have to have leica lenses. so this purchase wont be painful for your pocket.

Exactly what I did recently as an M11 (and M11M) owner. After a short time with an SL2 many years ago, I was curious to dip into the SL series again and found a barely used SL2S for c £2k. Since my original experience, what I have discovered so far is the introduction of eye detect (which didn’t exist when the SL2 initially came out) has been incredibly useful for my needs. Also, that I really like the smaller LUMIX 50mm 1.8 (or non-APO 50/35 Summicron ASPHs) that make for a much more compact and lighter set-up versus the initial SL lenses. By the time I’ve stuck a Visoflex and grip on the M11s, the weight difference is starting to shrink, especially against the SL3 series (which are c 70g lighter than SL2 series).

Edited July 29 by Jon Warwick

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[o2mpx]

Instead of adding a M11, decided to trade out CL kit for a used SL3 body to complement a M10r for use with M lenses. Don’t plan on adding any native L Mount lenses to prevent GAS and use SL3 only with M lenses.