LEICA SL2 LUMIX S1R - FINAL COMPARISON

If you are on the go to buy a full frame hybrid L Mount camera and you hesitate between the Leica SL2 and the Lumix S1R, watch this video before.
This is the first video I recorded last year when I decided to compile the comparison data and summarize it in order to share it and allow you to make an informed choice.
Therefore, when I viewed all the takes, I gave up publishing a single video that would have been too long.
I then made the 5 smallest that you know :
• LEICA SL2 vs LUMIX S1R...
• LEICA SL2 vs S1R #2 Ho...
• LEICA SL2 vs S1R #3 Bu...
• LEICA SL2 vs S1R #4 my...
• I have to LEAVE... but...
Nevertheless I wanted to honor this original version by publishing it.
The timeline allows you to navigate according to the subject you want to see.
6:06 Design comparison and major differencies
8:03 The screen
9:36 The PROs of the SL2
13:28 The limitations of the SL2
13:51 The Joystick
15:32 Moving the Focus Point
18:09 Back buttons layout
21:02 Display Modes
24:10 Custom Menu (favorites)
25:47 Locking the screen
27:14 Spot metering
30:47 Depth of Field Preview
32:40 Setting Minimum Shutter Speed in Auto ISO Mode
35:03 Using NON LEICA R or M manual lenses
40:15 Display and EVF refresh frequency rate
40:47 Zooming in - Focus assistance
42:40 TOP screen display
43:12 Naming your Custom Profiles
44:38 AF-ON Back button
47:56 On screen displayed informations
49:49 Auto ISO Min shutter speed limited range
50:39 Saving Aperture in user profiles
52:59 Conclusion
Good viewing and above all, leave me your comments, I will answer them with great pleasure.

[@JasondePlater]

Thank you for your hard work. This was very useful. You talked about a lot of features that most people don't bother to mention but are important.

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Thanks a lot for your appreciation Jason. Yes it’s a lot of time to spend to go that far into details but I like a lot to do that. Discover a new camera and see the details and functions. I think most people from the Leica world don’t bother with these details as coming from the M system they don’t even know spot metering for instance. The M11 introduces matrix metering and they say it’s a revolution 😂🤣

[@JasondePlater]

@@DidierMOULINPhotography Haha that's true. Loving the M system is like being under a spell. I love my M2 but a digital Leica can be a love hate relationship.

[@melbango1]

Thank you so much for this video. I own a Lumix s1R and a tiny Sigma fp. I am a complete amature and I do not have to many people to talk to about these cameras.

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

You’re welcome Carlos ! I’m sure you have a lot of fun using your gear and you are happy with your pictures. Don’t hesitate to watch my videos about the L mount cameras on my channel

[@jackeason1537]

Charming, logical and very useful. Thank you.

[@mauiflyingdress2178]

Incredibly detailed analysis. Well done.

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Thanks for your comment I’m glad you have enjoyed this long term comparison review Have a great day

[@JavierGutierrez-yl2fs]

Very honest review! I prefer the lumix s1r. I think the apo sl leica lenses would work very well in the lumix s1r. I respect the people who buy leica and pay the "luxury leica tax". It is not for everyone. Thank you for the review!

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

You’re welcome Javier. Thanks Yes I’m always the most honest I can be when I talk about the gear I own. Since I sold the SL2 and came back to Nikon DSLRs system

[@laurentbouchard6897]

Merci ! Et c'est la première fois que je comprends aussi bien une vidéo en anglais !

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Génial 👍 peut être que les vrais anglophones ne comprennent rien 🤣🤣

[@theomaksor851]

Thank you so much Didier for 'saving my day' as we say here in Australia. I had a used Leica SL for a few months this year June / July , but had to return it to the seller as it developed a serious fault. Not repairable and got my money back. I loved the whole design and image quality , used my old Leica R lenses with Novoflex adapter. --- And indeed found that I had to assign a new lens every time in the menu. But then it did not show up very well in the EXIF data in Lightroom. Just no lens data at all even if I selected it in the camera. --- As far I know this is also still the same in the SL2 : When a HDMI monitor is setup on the camera the HDMI data is only transferred to the monitor when the camera is in Video mode. I wanted to use that little monitor during portrait photos but all it does is show a Leica logo. --- I like to add a custom prefix to my file names. I use several cameras and use 3 characters to define what camera I use - very efficient. NOT possible on the Leica SL and as far I know the same on the SL2 - all one can do is edit a single character prefix of the filenames. For instance I would do : SL1-1234346789 or SL2-123456789 or S1R-123456789 , not possible in Leica land. --- Noise reduction: in the SL it is always on - impossible to switch off , if I am correct it is the same in SL2 , ridiculous! During a long astro photo session I want to photo graph as fast as possible , the Earth does not wait rotation for me to do a Noise cancelling 'shot'. Essentially doubling my astro photo session and loosing the Milky Way half way. Stupid Stupid Stupid Leica !! (Sorry I am very upset about this crazy 'feature'.] Yes it is a beautiful camera. I compare it with a luxury electric vehicle : it can drive you from A-B , but do not take it into my Australian Bush - it will get stuck and no-one ever will be able to rescue it. Thanks again for your great videos - and by the way : I LOVE your great French accent - great emoires about long holidays in France !!

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Thanks a lot for your time watching the video and your points you mention in your comment. I confirm all you say I bought a SL recently just for the pleasure it offers in use and in hand and because I consider it as a pioneer like the Nikon D3S was for instance. But contrary to the D3S the SL is far from being perfect and it shows lots of lacking features like the one you mention for instance. Leica gives the impression that they develop cameras without use in mind. But for less than 2k€ I accept thoses limitations which I wouldn’t for 6 or 7k€ And I’m pretty sure the SL3 will be even worse !

[@wraith29A]

On the SL2, you can turn off LENR. I agree though, the inability on to turn it off on the SL601 is a serious disadvantage. It was asked for years on the Leica forum, yet never implemented. The option on the other hand appeared on the SL2/SL2S.

[@noeggi]

Everything you lay out is right and true. I own a S1R myself and it's a great camera. If you invest a bit time at the beginning to set it up, it becomes a real powerhouse 💪🏻 by the way, if you use back button focus on the S1R or any other camera, it makes sense to keep the focus mode always on continuos. If the subjectt is still, just hit the button once, done. If your subject moves, you keep your thumb on the button and it follows subject if changes the distance to you 👌🏻 you don't need to switch between single and continuos. The SL is a different camera and Leica wants it that way and thats fine. I own a Leica SL Type 601 and i adore that one too. Both systems are great in their ways.

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Great comment thanks a lot. I had to sell my SL2 for economical reason. If not I would have kept it just for my M lenses which I sell also now. Yes, I agree with in the theory of Continuous focus and back button. But the continuous AF in the L Mount is a bit strange with the behaviour of never seeing your subject in focus as the AF is going forward and backward constantly if I remember well the last time I used it.

[@anasrida3454]

How is the autofocus on the s1r after the updates? Is it able to track people well? And is eye af good? Thank you

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

@@anasrida3454 it works surprisingly well. I recently made a shooting with the 35mm f/1.2 sigma in AFC Human detection ON and I could see the cross on the eye following the subject perfectly well. In some occasion it looses the subject and I think Sony Canon and Nikon are doing better but better of something that looks good doesn’t mean that the S1R is bad! I have a lot of nice pictures all in focus and I was happy after this trial of the 35 f/1.2 Since I ordered the 85 1.8 Lumix on second hand market to complete the 35, it’s so good that I keep it in parallel with my much heavier Nikon set up.

[@frankwieczorek5112]

Hi, I currently own the SL 601 too, beside an A9, my plan eas to sell the A9 and get a Fujilim Gfx100s instead, but recently I'm thinking to get a S5 or a SL2S Which would you prefer? The EVF on the S5 is not as good and i don't think I like the new buttons on the SL2S, but apart from that???

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

@@frankwieczorek5112 well these 3 cameras are really different ! In terms of user interface the SL2S is the same as the SL2 so if you check all my videos about S1R vs SL2 you will have a good view on this subject The S5 is the smallest and I am pretty sure its sensor is nearly as good as the one of the SL2S. EVF is far behind. The GFX100S is the best but the lenses choice is less but if you find your choice in the list then you are happy and no need to look elsewhere !

[@yanxie857]

Very nice video! I am troubled by the purchase of these two cameras. This video helped me solve 99% of the problems. The only thing that is not clear is that the EVFs of the two cameras have the same resolution and refresh rate. What are the subtle differences? Except for the problem of diopter adjustment.

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Thanks for your comment Happy this video helped you in your decision process. Both are excellent EVF The Leica has a little more clarity but the difference is small Nevertheless, I came back to the DSLR world because I definitively prefer the optical viewfinder of my Nikon’s. I love so much the Nikkor lenses too. By the way, my S1R will be on sale this weekend, I decided this morning to get rid of all my L mount gear

[@CodyMarion01]

Thank you for the video! Do you happen to know how to remove the white square that sits in the center of the viewfinder frame on the S1R? I can not find a way to remove it and prefer to see nothing obfuscating the composition. I believe the square is related to focus magnification. Thanks!

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Hello I tried to find but I didn’t. I thought it was the option Menu/Monitor/Display 1/ AF Area display OFF but this doesn’t hide the white corners of the AF area. I don’t even know what this function is if it’s not this. Sorry I couldn’t help.

[@CodyMarion01]

@@DidierMOULINPhotography Thanks for trying! So silly there isn't an option.

[@lp8140]

Avez-vous trouvé que les objectifs M, les objectifs R et éventuellement des objectifs vintages donnaient un meilleur rendu avec le SL2 par rapport au S1R? Leica Allemagne affirme de manière récurrente que le capteur du SL2/SL2-S est optimisé pour un rendu parfait avec les optiques M et R . Merci.

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Oui c’est une vérité en effet pour les grands angles seulement A partir de 35mm les optiques M passent très bien Mon 24mm ELMAR M n’est pas top du tout sur les bords, j’ai pu faire des essais et effectivement le S1R n’est pas optimisé.

[@ahmadshaarawy1224]

First, thank you! .. Now 2 questions please .. Does the SL2 create the same moiré level of the S1r? .. And .. Speaking of the GFX system .. Can photos of the 50sII with a GF lens be noticeably better than an S1r with an S Pro/Sigma Art lens?? .. Thanks in advance!

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Hello! Thanks for your appreciation Regarding moiré, both S1R and SL2 share the same sensor. There is something special on the SL2 to handle M lenses. Does this make a difference with moiré ? I can’t answer you. I’ve had a 50R and yes image quality is a little bit better. Same resolution but larger sensor… color science is better with the GFX system But the lens assortment is not as interesting as the L mount.

[@ahmadshaarawy1224]

Hi .. Ok, 50R shots are a little bit better. So then pixel shift on the S1r can have a slight advantage on a 50sII, i believe! .. Normal Jpegs or RAWs will have more moiré i know. Would you pick an S1r over a 50sII for architectural photography? .. The SL2's fixed screen put it off for me even if i can afford it! .. Thanks very much for your fast reply !:)

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

@@ahmadshaarawy1224 Well, if you can afford a SL2 then get a GFX100S Great sensor, great AF… Between the S1R and 50Sii I would grab the S1R for its lower price and superior versatility

[@ahmadshaarawy1224]

@@DidierMOULINPhotography That sums it for me. Thank you very much. 🙏

[@dandan1364]

Not a single picture? Seriously?

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

This video is not ment to share pictures for once. It’s really technical If I find the time I’ll make a side by side quick video with pictures from both cameras. Sorry for this one.

[@dangir1783]

leica use panasonic elettronics its the same camera

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Say that to a Leica fan 🤣🤣and you are banned 🤣🤣 That’s why I bought both of them to have a totally unbiased opinion !!! Which ended up to sold the Leica as quick as possible 😊 As I bought it on the second hand market I didn’t loose a single euro!