Leica has unveiled its latest full-frame mirrorless camera, the 24-megapixel SL3-S with improved performance and video compared to its predecessor, the SL2-S. It's more like a photo-centric 60-megapixel The SL3 was announced in March last yearbut aimed at hybrid users who shoot stills and video. Spec-wise, it resembles the Panasonic $2,200 S5 IIX mirrorless cameras and may use a similar sensor.
The L-mount SL3-S has a chunkier body than the Leica rangefinder cameras you're used to. It offers front and rear dials to control basic functions, along with a pair of mode dials, a joystick and many more buttons. However, it lacks some controls found on models like the S5 IIX — so you may have to wade through menus to change some settings.
Fortunately, the rear touchscreen is large and very high in resolution (5.7-million dots), although it's only tilted and not fully articulated which is unfortunate for a hybrid camera. The electronic viewfinder (EVF) offers 5.76-million dots of resolution, which is solid but a bit low compared to similarly priced rivals.
The main improvement is faster autofocus, thanks to the updated 24-megapixel full-frame BSI CMOS sensor. That allows burst shooting at up to 30fps with continuous phase-detect AF, with relatively long acquisition times thanks to support for fast CFexpress Type B memory cards. The company also promises 15 stops of dynamic range which should allow for fine adjustments when shooting RAW files.
Another major new feature is on the video side, with 6K 3:2 “open-gate” capture (5,952 x 3,968 to be exact) recording, or 5,888 x 3,312 RAW 10-bit (in a external recorder), including 4K 60p . The SL3-S also supports ProRes recording to a USB-C device or CFexpress B card. (It's not clear if internal RAW video recording is supported, though a spec sheet from B&H Photo Video shows that to be the case.) Those video specs are close to Panasonic's S5 IIX, though the latter lacks a CFexpress card slot.
The main benefit of a Leica camera is the sharp (and expensive) Leica lenses, although the SL3-S can also use glass from L-Mount partners Panasonic and Sigma. The only major advantage the S5 IIx has is the addition of a CFexpress card slot, but otherwise the two models have similar specs — so whether the red Leica dot is worth the extra $3,100 is up to buyers to decide. Leica's SL3-S is now on sale for $5,295 at B&H Photo Video and elsewhere.
