Photographing with the Leica SL2

Akademie Instructor Nick Rains discusses his recent experiences of photographing with the Leica SL2 full fame mirrorless camera and how he uses it to its full potential.
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Check out our four new Adobe Lightroom E-Courses. Over 100 videos exploring Lightroom from a totally practical point of view. Leica Akademie Instructor Nick Rains has been using Lightroom since 2007 and it has become the hub of his entire photography and publishing business. Nick will share, in great detail, how he uses the software day-to-day taking the the point of view of 'getting stuff done' efficiently and quickly.
Full details here:
leica-akademie.com.au/applied...

[@1946gsp]

I e just acquired a used SL2, and am anxious to start shooting. Your excellent instruction and explanation in this video are just I needed. Thank you very much!

[@S.h.i.n]

Wow, those images are impressive, all have its own narratives in effective compositions. Thanks for sharing Nick

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

My pleasure!

[@goldfinch2283]

Hi Nick, I have come across your channel and I must say that I really enjoy the content you produce; thanks! I use, amongst other Leica cameras, the SL2 and I agree to your praise of the camera. It is such a great camera. There is nothing quite like it. Again, thanks for your great videos!

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Hi Martin. You are very welcome. Glad you enjoy our humble efforts - tell your friends!

[@ingridhendriksen7356]

Absolutely love the SL2 so easy and fast to operate!!

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Agreed!

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

16:00 gorgeous image. Very well done!

[@NetGawker]

I don't own a Leica camera, but I want one. Despite that, I could listen to this man for hours.

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Thanks! Tell your friends...

[@jimwelsh844]

Unbelievable pictures!!! This is challenging me to do more with my SL2

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

You should!

[@tonyvokey7607]

Exquisite photos, great video, very informative as always. Thanks!!!

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Glad you like them!

[@subeeshMeenatheril]

Dream Camera 📷✴️

[@wilbuzllf5057]

Great video, I've recently found this channel and it's very inspiring even for a none Leica user, images are superb and you're very easy to listen to, please keep them coming :-) Also, any possibility of you going through your really interesting image stitching process? Not so much the actual software process of it but the thinking and execution in the field how you get the 90mm Boat shot and the 90mm "large format" shot of the two men? Thanks!

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Hi Rasmus. Good idea, I may very well do that. Thanks.

[@markwaldhoff]

Great video! Can you tell me which strap you use? It looks great and seems like it’s fitting the square holes on the SL. 👍🏻

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

It's a custom-made strap by a friend of mine here in Australia. www.leatherheds.com.au

[@CodyMarion01]

Great video! Thank you. Which brand ND filters do you use?

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Hi Cody. I have a Hoya ND400. Seems to work fine.

[@benedictus111]

What’s your setting advice to use SL2 and 90-280 to photograph flying birds? Thanks.

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

I have found that AFc and the Zone focussing area works well. Medium speed drive mode, not high speed, seemed to be best for me, so the AF can keep up. Photographing birds in flight is very hard and even 280mm may not be 'long' enough. Consider cropping your shots later, back to 24MP.

[@dublinphotography]

Hi Nick whats your opinion on the low light capability hence the big Megapixel. Im having mix feeling on getting the Sl or Sl2 as i sometimes shoot in low light conditions. Hows the file shooting at this type of situation? Please advise. Im currently a rangefinder shooter and loving the M10p, M240 and the M9 now thinking of going into the SL world please advice.

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Hi Mervyn. The Multishot mode works amazingly well in low light, the reduction in noise is substantial. But as I said in the videos it's only for static subjects. The SL2 is better than the SL in low light for general shooting (as you'd expect) and is very comparable to the M10-P. I find most cameras excellent in low light - the CL in particular surprises me in this regard. For me, handling and performance is the key rather than chasing the last tiny bit of IQ.

[@jklphoto]

Lovely images Nick. Putting the 10XND to use in a whizzing boat shows that although having an amazing camera helps, having a brilliant idea or concept to illustrate is the more important bit. #IBIS BTW, I assume you were using the 90mm Summicron-SL when mentioned, not the Summicron-M?

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Hi JK. Yes, 90mm Summicron-SL, although the 90mm APO-Summicron-M would do (almost) as good a job!

[@loredanamantello8264]

but the pictures are post produced!!!

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Hi Loredana. You make that sound like a bad thing! All images are post processed - jpegs in camera and raw images in something like Lightroom. It's necessary.

[@wilfredshum3703]

Knowing you had been to Antarctica, I would like to get your recommendation of whether bringing the SL2 or SL2S for the 24-70 mm Vario-Elmarit f/2.8 SL lens. Thanks.

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

I'd take both - one as a spare. My primary would be the SL2 though.

[@wilfredshum3703]

@@LeicaCameraAustralia Many thanks for your input, but carrying two for a senior like me is a bit too heavy to walk in Snow Hill. I will bring my SL2 and a M as the spare. Still haven’t decided on focal length.

[@Peter-df1br]

Enjoyed your video and pics. As for M lenses on the SL2, I'd like your opinion for using my existing Leica M lenses. With my M10, I use the Leica 21mm Super-Elmar-M ASPH f/3.4, Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH II, Leica 90 MM F/2.0 APO SUMMICRON-M and the Leica APO-Telyt-M 135mm f/3.4. I also have one non-Leica lens, the Voigtländer 50/1.2 VM Nokton ASPH. Any opinion or thoughts of any of these lenses with the SL2 would be appreciated.

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Hi Peter. The M lenses work so well on the SL - easier in fact than on the M10. With mechanical lenses you just click the joystick on the camera's rear and it magnifies the EVF view to 100%. Nailing focus is effortless. I use my 18mm Super-Elmar-M on my SL2 all the time.

[@filibertkraxner305]

@@LeicaCameraAustralia That's good to hear. When weddings start happening again in (hopefully) several months, I might have to invest in a second body (to my M262). Because I love the results of my 90mm but focusing is not ideal with the rangefinder, I was thinking about the SL2. I was just a bit afraid of corner performance with M wideangles. But if you're happy with your 18mm on there, that doesn't seem relevant.

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

The 90mm Apo-Summicron-M is really good on the SL2 - I used it on my SL quite a lot too. To be frank, the 18mm is only just up to the full quality of the SL2, but it's close enough for most purposes. The 28mm Summilux-M is superb on the SL2. I'm also looking forward to the upcoming wide angle Summicrons (which are on the SL roadmap).

[@tamayo_fotos]

Awesome camera but still waiting for a full ttl and hss compatibility with profoto flashes, I don't understand why Leica Doesn't want

[@cirke1477]

This is my main problem with Leica ... the flash system I won’t use profoto but godox ... instead of that stupid Nissin

[@jb.random7681]

Hows its performance in low light?

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Very, very good. 6400 is great.

[@michaelwilson6584]

Dumb-ish question but what’s the leather strap you are using?

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Hi Michael. Not a dumb question at all... It's a one-off strap made by a friend of mine who does specialist leatherwork for medieval reenactment groups.

[@rahulkapoor3574]

i am still confuse which is best: Leica SL2 or Lumix S1R

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Clearly the Leica SL2... 😉

[@rahulkapoor3574]

@@LeicaCameraAustralia Thank you.

[@rumporridge1]

Using the S1R as a backup to my SL2. Quite a nice set up for me.

[@rahulkapoor3574]

@@rumporridge1 Thank You

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

Hi, always very nice video but let me tell you some points : Yes it’s good not to have too many buttons but NO you can’t address whatever you want to all the button of the SL2 : instant Spot metering is not existing, depth of fields preview isn’t existing neither... Back AF button is something that exist since more than 20 years on any Nikon camera... did you miss something ? AF with back button is so powerful, I’m glad at least you discover it. Later is better than never! ;) Speaking of the 90-280 with birds what are the parameters that give you good hit rate? I’m eager to learn about it as I own both the SL2 and the 90-280 and coming from Nikon pro reflex DSLR I’m disappointed with the auto focus performance I have to say

[@LeicaCameraAustralia]

Yes, rear button focussing is nothing new and I, too, have been using it for decades. It is new to many people and they are often pleased at how effective it can be once you get used to it. I particularly like the way it is implemented on the SL cameras, incorporating the joystick for focus point selection, very elegant. Regarding AF for birds, I used the Zone AF selection combined with AFC and it did a pretty good job. I'm no bird specialist so cannot comment on how that compares with high-end dSLRs. There will always be something better out there, but for me it's about a good balance of features and abilities which, IMO, the SL2 and SL2-S has.

[@DidierMOULINPhotography]

@@LeicaCameraAustralia thanks for your honest answer. Yes the implementation is elegant and in this case, half pressing the shutter button is locking the exposure which is good also. I definitively agree on your last point

[@Check-it-out]

Does it come with a Rolex ?

[@andreacamplani2143]

"what else could be asked ?" to be a little more affordable.-.for example...:-)

[@GuiorPhotography]

It's Leica haha