Leica’s top-end mirrorless model gains major updates, with a 60MP sensor, tilting screen, and phase detection autofocus. Andy Westlake gets hands-on
Tilt screen
The 3in, 2.1m-dot rear screen now tilts up and down, but there’s no additional hinge for portrait-format shooting.
Storage
Leica has included two card slots, one for CFexpress Type B and the other for UHS-II SD.
Autofocus
AF is dramatically improved by the addition of both phase detection and subject recognition for humans and animals.
Variable resolution
The camera is capable of outputting both JPEG and DNG raw files at 60MP, 36MP, and 18MP.
It can be easy to forget that Leica was one of the earliest proponents of full-frame mirrorless, with its original SL appearing back in 2015. This was a camera built for professionals, with robust build and streamlined operation, supported by superb optics. The new SL3 maintains the same philosophy, but gains many of the updates that we saw last year in the firm’s lovely Q3 full-frame compact. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the camera for a couple of days prior to its launch, and it’s an impressive piece of kit.
Let’s take a quick spin through the key features. The SL3 employs a 60MP full-frame sensor which, for the first time on a Leica camera, includes phase detection for autofocus. It provides a standard sensitivity range covering ISO 100-100,000, with ISO 50 also available at the expense of highlight range.
Continuous shooting is available with continuous autofocus at up to 5 frames per second, or with focus fixed at up to 15fps using an electronic shutter. Uniquely, Leica shows unambiguously what you’re getting at each speed in terms of AF and raw bit-depth. Timed shutter speeds as slow as 60 minutes are provided, which is great for landscape or astrophotography. The fastest speed is 1/8000sec with the mechanical shutter, or 1/16000sec with the electronic shutter.
Thanks to the inclusion of Leica’s latest Maestro IV processor, the SL3 adopts subject-recognition autofocus. This borrows from Panasonic technology thanks to the firms’ L2 alliance, with human and animal detection available. It’s not as sophisticated as the systems on rival cameras, but it’s a big leap forward compared to the current SL2.
In-body image stabilisation is built in, promising 5 stops of shake suppression. Video can be recorded at 8K resolution and 30fps, 4K 60fps, or Full HD 120fps, with an entirely separate video-optimised interface. Microphone and headphone sockets are provided, alongside full-size
