Leica has introduced its latest full-frame mirrorless camera, the 24-megapixel SL3-S with improved video performance compared to its predecessor, the SL2-S. It’s very similar to the photo-centric 60-megapixel SL3 that was unveiled in March of last year, but it’s aimed at hybrid users who shoot both stills and video. Specifically, it’s similar to Panasonic’s $2,200 S5 IIX mirrorless camera and may use the same sensor.
The SL3-S mount has a lot more body than the Leica rangefinder cameras you may be used to. It offers front and rear dials to control key functions, as well as a mode dial, a joystick and a few other buttons. However, it lacks some of the controls found on models like the S5 IIX – so you may need to go into the menus to change some settings.
Fortunately, the rear touchscreen is large and very high resolution (5.7 million dots), although it is only tiltable and not fully clear which is unfortunate for a hybrid camera. The electronic viewfinder (EVF) offers 5.76-million dots of resolution, which is solid but a little low compared to similarly priced competitors.
The main improvement is the fast autofocus, thanks to the 24-megapixel full-frame BSI CMOS sensor. That allows burst shooting up to 30fps with continuous phase AF, with longer shooting times thanks to support for fast CFexpress type memory cards. The company also promises 15 stops of variable width that should allow fine adjustments when shooting RAW files.
Another important new feature is on the video side, with capture of 6K 3:2 “open gate” (5,952 x 3,968 to be exact) recordings, or 5,888 x 3,312 RAW 10-bit (depending on the external recorder), and 4K 60p . The SL3-S also supports ProRes recording to a USB-C device or CFexpress B cards. (It’s not clear whether internal RAW video recording is supported, although B&H Image’s video spec sheet indicates it is.) Those figures video capabilities closely match Panasonic’s S5 IIX, although the latter lacks a CFexpress card slot.
The main advantage of a Leica camera is Leica’s sharp (and expensive) lenses, although the SL3-S can also use glass from L-Mount partners, Panasonic and Sigma. The only major advantage over the S5 IIx is the addition of a CFexpress card slot, but other than that the two models have the same specs – so that red Leica dot costs $3,100 more for buyers to decide. Leica’s SL3-S is now on sale for $5,295 at B&H Photo Video and elsewhere.