Is the SL3 faster autofocus than SL2-s ?

[Eliseo]

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Hi, Switched from Nikon t L SL2 and I’m a little disappointed by the autofocus.

i bought the Sport version thinking it was going to be to be faster. I used a sport long lens for polo shots and half of the photos came a little bit blur. It seems it is not fast enough.

Does anyone knows if that is something in the SL3 has improved?

[jaapv]

Good question. The system should be faster and the high MP should slow it down. I would say that you need an Sl3S to find a real difference or better still one of the Panasonic S cameras. 

[LocalHero1953]

Curious: what's the Sports version? I don't remember that one. Or a Sport long lens.

Edited 13 hours ago by LocalHero1953

[jaapv]

If he means the Sigma 60-600  Sports or 150-600 Sports, those are not amongst the fastest lenses. The 70-200 Sports is a lot faster. 

[SolarChronicle]

The SL2-S uses contrast-detection autofocus, while the SL3 adds phase-detection autofocus. Phase detection is generally faster than contrast detection.

[jaapv]

Yes but a high MP count will slow AF down, especially if it does not have an overly powerful CPU 

Don't think that AF is a simple 1:1 story.

The designer has to decide on a compromise between accuracy and speed and has a choice of five technologies
DFD, DPAF, CDAF, PDAF and PD/CD hybrid. And then AI comes in for subject detection. 

Even worse,  it depends on sensor design and specifications, MP count, CPU capacity and finally on the implementation in the lens. 

So it is impossible to judge by one single parameter.

Without testing myself I would think that the SL2S and SL3 should be approximately similar. The fastest SL is the SL3S. But there are faster brands.

[Ken Abrahams]

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I have little to none empirical details that would suggest that the SL2S autofocus is faster than the SL3 autofocus. I like what Jaapv says above, his outline on the matter and other things.

The SL2S in my experience with the other SL units is about equal in autofocus quickness when compared to the SL3.   I love using the SL2S and I have always been happy with its performance and the way it "pushes above its weight". 

On the other hand, one cant go past the SL3 and the 60 mp sensor size. I have been using this camera more often that the SL2S. The SL3S however, is the fasted autofocus SL with all the same Leica SL IQ and colour and button layout. It made sense to me that I would probably be using the SL3 and SL3S alternatively because of the convenience of the mirrored controls. 

I would wonder then, why I keep reaching for the SL2S regardless of easiness of using the SL3 with the SL3S? Maybe it's nothing? Could be its Reporter green"? Working the files over time, there are specific trade offs when using each camera and sacrifices must be made when choosing one camera over the other two. The nuances are subtle and "choosing" is definitely an uplifting problem to have.   

I have come to realise that the SL3 AF is not far off the speed of the SL3s when set up specifically for your typical shooting scenario.

 

Ken  

Edited 58 minutes ago by Ken Abrahams