SL2-S to SL3-S or SL3: what differences would I notice?

[hoolyproductions]

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I owned both the SL2-S (since 2021) and SL2 and now have the SL3-S and SL3. I've also had a Q3 43 for about a year and his has been a bit of a game changer in situations where I am just going out for some casual photography.

During most of this year I have used the Q3 43 for casual photography and holidays. As a result the SL3 has not seen a great deal of use - although winter is now coming - foul weather and the opportunity to shoot winter landscapes mean I am excited to use it more often again.

For my music photography I exclusively use my SL3-S and here are my main impressions compared to the SL2-S. These are of course my subjective impressions, others might see differently

• The resulting files are very similar. SL3-S does have a small edge in very poor light. The autofocus is noticeably better also in very poor light - less hunting, to the extent that I have started using AF-S and AF-C instead of back button focus because it usually locks on reliably
• The tilt screen is great and I have gotten a handful of great overhead shots that would not have been possible otherwise. I also highly appreciate having the same button layout etc (on the right of the screen). Overall I prefer the look, ergonomics, haptics and menu over the SL2 cameras (am aware that not everyone agrees with this). Unlike the poster above, I do not really find the difference in weight significant (although it is noticeable it is still a robust, weighty camera)
• Yes the SL3-S has multishot, I have hardly used it but am glad it is there. Am hopeful this will be implemented for the SL3 (but not holding my breath)

Regarding the SL3, knowing some of your style of photography I would be a little concerned about whether the AF can keep up as well as the SL3-S - but I can't give any advice on this because I have mostly used the SL3 for outdoor landscape. I did shoot some gigs with it before I got the SL3-S, but it was many months ago - I think the AF was fine and probably same or better than SL2-S, but others could give better advice on this. I was amazed how much better the high ISO performance was w.r.t the SL2. IMO the SL3 has signficantly better low light performance than the M11 and Q3 43 - which is quite the feat given it is the same size sensor. With LR noise reduction it is not too far away from the SL3-S.

I am not totally happy that I have ended up with three high end cameras in the rotation (from a certain perspective it is a joy to be able to use them, but I would be happier if I could somehow merge the best of the 3 and 3-S into one camera). But the SL3-S is so fantastic for my music photography and I also really enjoy having a high MP camera for landscape and other daylight photography (whilst being aware I don't really need 60MP, at least not if I have the right lenses with me). I could certainly 'survive' with the SL3-S and Q3 43 for this reason, but will stay as I am for the time being.  

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[LocalHero1953]

Thanks, Frank - I suspect we have similar wants for music and performance photography, so your comments are helpful. I don't do landscape so much except with the Q3 43 while out walking, or with large format film, so the high resolution would be less valuable for me.

[hoolyproductions]

At the risk of fuelling your GAS, I am really glad I made the switch to SL3-S. Individually they are all minor gains but as a complete package I really like the camera and I get a lot of pleasure from using it.

As an aside I rented an X2Dii over the weekend in the hope that it could put my occassional Hasselblad GAS to bed. I really enjoyed using the camera but (for reasons I won't get into here, I'll make a separate post about it when I have time) mission accomplished: it is not for me and has resulted in me appreciating my SL3-S and SL3 even more.

[LocalHero1953]

12 minutes ago, hoolyproductions said:

At the risk of fuelling your GAS, I am really glad I made the switch to SL3-S. Individually they are all minor gains but as a complete package I really like the camera and I get a lot of pleasure from using it.

As an aside I rented an X2Dii over the weekend in the hope that it could put my occassional Hasselblad GAS to bed. I really enjoyed using the camera but (for reasons I won't get into here, I'll make a separate post about it when I have time) mission accomplished: it is not for me and has resulted in me appreciating my SL3-S and SL3 even more.

I can blame thank you and all the others who replied with positive comments (and informative negative ones) for the fact that I've just placed an order for a 'like new' SL3-S from MPB! I shall ship my SL2-S back to them as soon as it arrives.

I look forward to reading your comments about the X2Dii - it sounds attractive, but I'm pretty certain it's not for me. 

[BernardC]

16 hours ago, helged said:

Re SL3-S read-out speed, somewhere 21-25 ms apparently (too slow for me; sub 10 ms is generally fine).

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19.3 ms according to CineD.

[LocalHero1953]

It arrived today.

First impressions: slightly smaller in the hand, not significantly so. A different grip, but I doubt I'll notice the difference after a few weeks. An extra dial (what will I do with the button previously custom set to ISO?). A different on-off switch - I'll also forget the change after a few weeks. Shutter sound lower in pitch, but similar sound level. I have one CFe card already, usually in my Blackmagic video camera, so I'll need to get another one.

I've set it up more or less like the SL2-S but there are some things I'll need to look at the manual for: video settings, customising the quick menu.

I now have three BPSCL4 batteries and two BPSCL6. Every time I put an old one in it tells me certain functions won't work, which is irritating (it only needs tell me once). I may have to order a couple of the new ones as replacements. (Yes, 5 batteries is excessive for one camera, but they are used for the Q3 43 as well. Four would be enough, but I bought an fifth a while ago by accident). 

[LeicaRFan]

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Congratulations, have fun with the great camera !

Best regards 

Christian 

[leica_kh]

On 10/13/2025 at 2:16 PM, LocalHero1953 said:

Thanks to all who have commented.

A couple of questions:

• does the SL3-S have multishot? I use it for digitising large format negatives, so I would miss this.
• what's the sensor read-out speed of the SL3-S?

I agree the animal AF in beta is embarrassing, but I don't normally shoot animals.

The SL3-S does have multishot and it's handheld now instead of requiring a tripod. That's a significant upgrade imho. You get a 96MP file. Really nice imho. 

The sensor readout is supposedly 20.6 ms. Best of the SL line but overall not great. So you will get some warpage in some action sequences. The SL3-S should have had the hybrid stacked sensor of the Panasonic S1 II. I suspect that will be in a future release. 

I've personally used the Animal AF and it's not bad at all, imho. See the attached image for reference. 

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[leica_kh]

7 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

It arrived today.

First impressions: slightly smaller in the hand, not significantly so. A different grip, but I doubt I'll notice the difference after a few weeks. An extra dial (what will I do with the button previously custom set to ISO?). A different on-off switch - I'll also forget the change after a few weeks. Shutter sound lower in pitch, but similar sound level. I have one CFe card already, usually in my Blackmagic video camera, so I'll need to get another one.

I've set it up more or less like the SL2-S but there are some things I'll need to look at the manual for: video settings, customising the quick menu.

I now have three BPSCL4 batteries and two BPSCL6. Every time I put an old one in it tells me certain functions won't work, which is irritating (it only needs tell me once). I may have to order a couple of the new ones as replacements. (Yes, 5 batteries is excessive for one camera, but they are used for the Q3 43 as well. Four would be enough, but I bought an fifth a while ago by accident). 

Congrats. Sorry I'm behind on the responses. I agree about the battery warning message. I have a couple of the SCL4 batteries just for backup. I did get an extra SCL6 and I rotate through them with my Q3 as well. One of my negatives on the SL3-S (and my former SL2-S, too) is that they deplete batteries like crazy. 

[LocalHero1953]

A few other differences I have noticed while setting up the SL3-S, creating user profiles, custom buttons etc.

With the BP-SCL6 battery, I get almost exactly the same record time for video as I did with the SL2-S with the BP-SCL4: almost 2 hrs of C4k 25fps. The time varies with other settings, but these were identical. It gives me hope that the newer battery will counteract the higher power consumption in other areas as well.

It's nice now to be able to record to external SSD, but with a 1Tb CFe card it's not really needed.

The video settings menus have been totally redrafted, and for the better. It is much easier to choose compatible settings and then change them on the fly. A lot of thought has gone into this. I can now have a User Profile for 'Video', and then select one of 5 custom video formats. With the SL2-S I had to allocate separate User Profiles for each video format.

The custom quick menu with new icons takes a bit of getting used to, but is an improvement. 

I'm already getting to the stage of forgetting what the SL2-S couldn't do that the SL3-S now can!

Edited Saturday at 11:57 AM by LocalHero1953

[harbelot]

User profiles on the SL2-S is a mess, good to read it's improved on the SL3-S.

[LocalHero1953]

2 hours ago, harbelot said:

User profiles on the SL2-S is a mess, good to read it's improved on the SL3-S.

The user profiles themselves don't appear to have changed. What has changed is that you can select a separate set of video profiles, which cover just video format, resolution, codec etc: now I have one user profile for video, and as part of that I have a quick menu icon for selecting a video profile. I don't need separate user profiles for 25fps, 50fps or UHD/FHD.

I didn't find user profiles a problem on the SL2-S except that there weren't enough of them; that's less of a problem on the SL3-S.

Edited Monday at 10:42 AM by LocalHero1953

[MediaFotografie]

ok, I'M a little bit late here, sorry. In my eyes SL3-S versus SL2-S:

• much better AF (PDAF), now really good
• a little bit better High-ISO - but they are both outstanding and new AI methods are gorgeous
• flip screen
• smaller body, a little bit lighter
• I think the sensor is nearly the same, Sony IMX410
• Configurable main menu
• but: there's only SL2-S in Reporter edition...   🙂 

for me, SL3-S is the best Leica camera, absolutely overlooked

 

 

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Edited Monday at 12:19 PM by MediaFotografie

[Photoworks]

sounds like i am to late to the comment

6 years of SL2 user and 1 year of SL3 user.

to make it short.

SL3 PRO

+ USB speed transfer 
+ tether Live View high-res
+ USB PD
+ tilt screen
+ AFc improved
+ BSI CMOS
+ CFExpress
+ All video resolution to card recording
+ Leica Looks LOL
+ ISO wheel
+ new icons (touch)
+ Beta firmware
+ Sensor cleaning shake
+ Reduced size and weight
+ New menu and UI remove the need for the Favorite menu.
+ Higher resolution
+ Multi-resolution output

SL3 CONS

- L-Log green cast in blacks
- Lost support for anamorphic lenses
- The front button can add Waveform but does not remove it
- Audio meters are incorrect when using 2 mics
- Flash crashes camera
- Play sluggish
- ISO wheel implementation needs a lock
- Lost Favorite menu
- card management option too limited
- Video frame is cropped in all settings
- missing open gate
- Some icons on the screen have touch, while others do not.
- Lens firmware needs to be a prompt, not auto-update
- battery warning 
- no multishot in fw 1.0
- AFc animal beta
-Startup time / wake up
- rear wheel not customizable
- no lens menu in quick profile
- Favorite menu can be available to all profiles
-EFCS (Electronic First Curtain Shutter)

 

 

BUGS

 

video:

L-Log green tint in black

WAVE form is not going away

Audio meters don’t work with 2 mics

Missing open-gate

remote view of exposure setting

external monitor remote camera support over USB

 

Photo

Flash stops working

Lens update keeps coming up

Play sluggish

need more card management options. Video on CF and images on SD

Missing favorite

ISO wheel lock

Change auto update lens behavior

Lumix lenses AFc often don't work in low light.

 

 

[PhotoCruiser]

Am 16.10.2025 um 16:20 schrieb LocalHero1953:

First impressions: slightly smaller in the hand, not significantly so.

Yep!
When i bought my SL2 i hold also the SL3 and found the SL3 a tad more comfortable to hold.

Chris

[nax_gt]

Tilt screen is the biggest upgrade. SL3 = higher-res stills; SL3‑S = better low-light and video. For floor shots and tripod work, tilt wins.

[helged]

3 hours ago, nax_gt said:

Tilt screen is the biggest upgrade. SL3 = higher-res stills; SL3‑S = better low-light and video. For floor shots and tripod work, tilt wins.

I agree that the til screen comes in handy. I didn't expect this, but Q3 and SL3 have convinced me (& missing it on SL2).

Re 'degrade' on SL3 vs the earlier SL-bodies: The ISO-wheel on the top-left has irritated me; if I set the ISO to 100 (or Auto or whatever), I want it to remain there, not to be changed by random touch by hand or bag. It took me some time to understand why photos were taken at eg ISO80, since I never use that ISO...

Edited Tuesday at 05:06 PM by helged

[LocalHero1953]

Given that so much of Leica is about usability, haptics and 'getting out of the way to let you take photos', the new ISO dial on the SL3/SL3-S is a puzzle. My normal left hand placement is weight-bearing and wrapped around the lens from underneath, nowhere near this dial. To use it, I have to transfer the weight to my right hand and release my grip with the left hand - it's just not a natural way for me to use a camera control. Does anyone else find it more usable?

Edited Tuesday at 05:27 PM by LocalHero1953

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[Chris Nebard]

17 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Given that so much of Leica is about usability, haptics and 'getting out of the way to let you take photos', the new ISO dial on the SL3/SL3-S is a puzzle. My normal left hand placement is weight-bearing and wrapped around the lens from underneath, nowhere near this dial. To use it, I have to transfer the weight to my right hand and release my grip with the left hand - it's just not a natural way for me to use a camera control. Does anyone else find it more usable?

Thanks for your objective and honest observations (and that of others - very informative). I’ve looked at the SL3–S but will stick with my SL2-S. I have never understood the placement of the new ISO dial and not many of the improvements would convince me to change.  I’m probably in the minority as far as that’s concerned but the appeal of the SL line - to me - is the simplicity of use. I like the SL 2/2S as it is.  
Having said all that, I do really envy the tilt screen. That would be very useful. There is no perfect camera, obviously, and the SL3/3-S will undoubtedly prove to be superb. Enjoy your upgrade and I look forward to seeing more performance and concert shots from your SL3-S! 
Cheers 👍

[LocalHero1953]

I use AutoISO for most of my shots, so, given that the left dial does not turn automatically away from Auto (you have to confirm it with a joystick press) it is unlikely to get accidentally shifted. For portraits with flash, copying film, and video, however, I use fixed ISO, so that would be irritating.