The best camera Leica has ever made – even if it does lack the soul of its rangefinder siblings
1 The Leica SL3 is slightly smaller and lighter than its predecessor.
2 The 60.3MP sensor has medium formatlike colour depth and dynamic range.
3 Weather sealing is IP54 standard and Leica says the SL3 still works at -40C/-40F.
The Leica SL3 is the first mirrorless camera from the brand that I’ve fallen T in love with. I love using the M and Q cameras, but the SL series never did it for me – it certainly didn’t help that they were disturbingly similar, apart from the price tag, to Panasonic’s S cameras. However, the Leica SL3 knocks things out of the park in ways its predecessors never managed. While it lacks the soul of an M11 or even the Q3, this beautiful slab of sculpted black metal is a spectacular imaging machine.
With a 60.3MP sensor that delivers gorgeous stills and supports 8K 30p video, the Leica SL3 is the best Leica camera ever. In fact, it’s so good that it isn’t just the best camera from Leica, it’s one of the best mirrorless cameras full stop – demanding attention, not just from the red dot brigade, but from anyone seeking ultimate performance.
Key features
The Leica SL3 takes a number of technological cues from the Leica Q3, such as its triple resolution 60.3MP image sensor and phase detect autofocus – the latter being nothing short of transformative for the SL series. Let’s start with the sensor. Depending on your resolution and workflow needs, you can set the camera to capture a large, medium or small image, clocking in at 60.3MP (9520 x 6336), 36.4MP (7392 x 4928) or 18.5MP (5280 x 3504). On a similar note, the sensor also has a crop mode should you want to shoot in APS-C or Super35 format with a 1.5x crop factor.
The resolution makes the SL3 capable of 8K video up t
