Red Dot Forum Camera Talk: Leica SL3 - A First Look

In this special installment of Red Dot Forum Camera Talk, David Farkas and Josh Lehrer will discuss the brand new Leica SL3, which was just introduced today. The third generation SL professional mirrorless camera gets some big upgrades:
- 60 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor with Triple Resolution Technology and 15 stops of dynamic range
- Hybrid autofocus combining the speed of phase detection with the accuracy of contrast detection and the smarts of depth-based object detection
- New Maestro IV processor with 8GB buffer
- CF Express Type B and SDXC UHS-II storage options
- 10x faster MIMO wireless and ultrafast USB-C connectivity
- Tilting 2.2MP touchscreen
- Entirely new user interface
- 5.2mm narrower, 3mm shorter and 70g lighter than SL2
- Additional top dial for complete control of exposure elements
- High-speed in-camera charger over USB-C
They'll be discussing all the changes and improvements, explore the new UI, compare with the SL2, show off all the new accessories and take questions live on air.
Watch our hands-on overview video: • Leica SL3 Hands On Ove...
Read our in-depth overview of the SL3: rdf.to/SL3-Intro
Visit reddotforum.com for the latest Leica news, reviews, technical articles and more.
Support the channel by shopping at leicastoremiami.com.
Check out David's personal work at / davidfarkasphotography
Travel with David on Leica Store Miami Photo Workshops: lsm.to/4qzlz
Where to buy
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Pre-Order the SL3 here - lsm.to/SL3
New SL-System - lsm.to/SL-System
Used SL System - lsm.to/Used-SL
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[@GastonShutters]

Can’t stop looking at Josh’s wrist. Anyway back to the SL3..😅

[@crissignori7482]

never once noticed it

[@gewglesux]

goes with the territory. more of a sub/gmt. man ma self

[@swcblad]

yours is the best review of sl3 on the web, way better than others’ script reader.

[@RedDotForum]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@michaelhaimburger9903]

Thank YOU for your effort and all the fist infos... great Job as always. Michael from Zurich

[@RedDotForum]

Much appreciated!

[@peterlund4501]

Thanks for the presentation

[@eirikkittelsen9787]

Fantastic first overview of the new camera. I was very impressed. my camera har arrived at my local Leica store in Norway!! can't wait!! It look very very impressive! And the new camera feel fantastic in the hand.

[@RedDotForum]

Very cool!

[@jeffreytotaro7051]

+1 for Eric and Charlie at Wind Vintage! Oh yea, SL3 is cool too.... Enjoy that Daytona Josh.

[@user-ms8qg2rz5s]

What if SL3 allow 1:1 corp with TL lens ? Diagonal of 1:1 corp for, FF CMOS are just few % longer then APSC cmos

[@madtom67]

Is it correct that the lens firmware for the SL 24-90 and 90-280 is ver. 3.0 and not 4.0 as for all other SL lenses? Any hint?

[@jayocotube6483]

Any idea what the waitlist will be like?

[@peterlund4501]

What about the lag in video with the app? We could use the app as monitor

[@lorenzoporras6558]

Great overview of the SL3. In reviewing the online manual, I noticed there is a dedicated connection point for a remote shutter release in between the headphone and mike connections. Will there be a new shutter release or the RC-SCL6 work with the SL3. Thanks again.

[@RedDotForum]

The same remote release works on both the SL2 and SL3. The connector hasn't changed.

[@FBFanZone]

I am waiting for SL5. I heard that It's going to be Awesome.

[@RedDotForum]

Can't wait! 😂

[@markrobinson215]

The Anker USB charger Dave was talking about for using on the SL3 - can it also be use to charge the battery in the Q3?

[@RedDotForum]

Yes, you can use it for the Q3 and M11 as well.

[@peterlund4501]

But how long will the battery in the camera last? (With the usb cable charging the camera) will it last a night outside when I shoot timelapse?

[@michaelacedeno]

Plug into an external power source if you’re doing that, can’t think of any mirrorless cameras that will actually do that.

[@peterlund4501]

I will definitely tell Leica that you got me started on pixelshift 😆🤣

[@neilgandhi7517]

Do SL2 batteries work on the SL3?

[@BrandonTalbot]

Yes, but you'll need the 2200mah ones to shoot all of the video resolutions and codecs

[@jackytsang4646]

Thanks red dot team for great content as always, I wanna ask 2 questions I haven’t found answers to 1: can the sl3 record open gate? 2: does the new af improves af speed (less hunting) for S lenses? Thanks as always

[@jackytsang4646]

If it cannot record open gate, is it possible to unlock this with future firmware or is it hardware reliant?

[@jaycochran2983]

Will the new usb-c wire work the same with the M11-p?

[@RedDotForum]

Absolutely!

[@jaycochran2983]

Do you know when it’ll be available on your website?

[@peterlund4501]

Internal memory is not about the size. It’s more about having it for the case that you need it or you forgot something. It’s an addition that you don’t max out. Well I would not. But I would love it for the case I forget something …. And I am guessing that the customers of this segment are going to be older and older. Maybe m switchers because of worse getting eyesight. That’s where I would see this feature.

[@chouandsherrie]

Any enhancement on assisting manual focusing? The Nikon zf eye detect manual focus function for instance was an amazing feature there

[@hellatightdude]

According to Hugh from 3BMEP there’s no manual focus assists other than focus peaking. None of the niceties Nikon has added, unfortunately.

[@crissignori7482]

I never knew Nikon had this and it certainly is a great feature. In the case of the new SL3 with its fabulous viewfinder and focus peaking maybe it will still be quite adequate. Could this come in a firmware update?

[@RedDotForum]

Our favorite feature using manual focus lenses on the SL2 and SL3: a single press of the rear joystick magnifies to 100%, allowing precise focusing in the EVF wherever your focus point is located. We personally prefer no focus peaking since this blocks image details and find it unnecessary since you can easily see when the image is sharp or not.

[@crissignori7482]

@@RedDotForumAll very cool and thanks for the tip. This camera will be my intro to the SL system as I ordered mine yesterday. I already have six M lenses and an M3. Now all I need for the icing on the cake is a Q3 ..... Then I'll have the M3, SL3 and Q3. 😀👍

[@MB-ru1ud]

It's interesting that Leica didn't bother changing the Panasonic AF interface. No issue with them using it but a little tweak to at least give the system it's own identity would have been nice. Of course purely cosmetic but still would have been nice to not feel exactly the same.

[@ralfferfi2860]

Cool camera, but I have the impression that they offer too many configuration options. Hopefully they won't develop into a feature overloaded monster machine. It's already too much for me. I‘m still happy with my M11 and the SL2-S.

[@johndukekisch1111]

"modernity" is the word you're looking for 1:10:30

[@peterlund4501]

😊😊😊o uu

[@louis5352]

As usual great video. After actually racing at Daytona multiple times (two times in the Ruf Yellowbird) I think I should also own a Daytona watch too-Right Josh? You know my mailing address. Lou F.

[@richardellishk]

Really not enough to justify upgrading from the SL2/SL2-s, similar to the Q2/Q3.

[@RedDotForum]

The SL2 is already such a fantastic camera. If you don't need any of the new features, stick with what you have! The SL3's biggest advantages are in high ISO performance at high resolution (like a combination of SL2 and SL2-S), phase detect AF, the titling screen, faster storage and much quicker wireless and wired connections. The new UI is also really nice, but not a reason to upgrade alone.

[@earvinquero2037]

SL Monochrom.Hopefully!

[@Biosynchro]

Good point. I have been wondering why they never made a monochrom SL. I mean, Pentax now has a monochrome DSLR. So...

[@cavb748]

Who would love a monochrome version of the SL3?

[@earvinquero2037]

Me!

[@Biosynchro]

Not Leica, apparently!

[@Old-School-Liberal]

The video features are disappointing I need to replace my older Nikon. I’d rather have 6K with more frame rates. My Blackmagic 6KFF is too big. Maybe when the SL3-S comes out.

[@RedDotForum]

We'd have loved to see 4K120 rather than 8K on the SL3. Will have see what Leica comes up with in the future, whether hardware or firmware.

[@BrandonTalbot]

Same. Do you know if the 4k60 or the 8k has a crop?@@RedDotForum

[@tamilhoward9708]

Does anyone think there will be an SL3-S?

[@TomWangArt]

Not sure how you came to the conclusion that changing resolution doesn’t have any effect on sensor performance. I’m clearly seeing a difference in noise of about 1 stop when switching from 60 to 36 MP on the M11.

[@RedDotForum]

Maybe this has been improved since we first tested the M11. But generally, beyond just the OOC noise performance, having more/smaller pixels at roughly the same noise allows for more/better noise reduction in Lightroom without sacrificing detail. Thus, you get a better net overall performance at 60MP. We will definitely take a fresh look at noise and sensor resolution for our upcoming 3/23 episode.

[@jlehrer1890]

Have you downsized the 60 MP file to 36 MP and compared it to the 36 MP out-of-camera file to see if there's a real noise advantage?

[@TomWangArt]

​@@jlehrer1890 I might do this at some point just out of curiosity but don't see any reason to create overly huge files and most importantly complicate my workflow with additional steps when not necessary, as the camera apparently has been designed for exactly those different use cases, so why not take advantage of it. Bottom line is that I would never go over ISO 800 when exposing freeze frames for blending when I'm creating fine art urban landscapes and the camera is glued to the tripod and full 60MP resolution and image quality is cruicial for the outcome, while I'm getting roughly the same performance up to ISO 1600 or even slightly above that at 36MP when doing street photography and 60MP are not needed at all. I have created dedicated user profiles for both scenarios so switching between them is just a matter of pressing a single custom button in my case.

[@jlehrer1890]

@@TomWangArt I'm glad you have a workflow that gets you what you need, and am not trying to get you to change that, but you said you were “not sure how we came to the conclusion that changing resolution doesn’t have any effect on sensor performance.” If you perform the test I suggested, you will learn how we came to that conclusion.

[@karimnasser9226]

I think the power button was a bad design, power buttons should not only a physical switch, but they should also be stiff. The current power button is too easy to turn on unintended, in the bag, on your body, by holding the camera, etc..

[@RedDotForum]

The new power button is recessed slightly. You really need to be intentional in pushing it with a finger or thumb.

[@braaji]

Leica an expensive name

[@Kat.2x]

Still too heavy and big

[@PSYCHIC_PSYCHO]

You must literally have baby sized hands.

[@Funktrainer]

Still no GPS in such a high-end stills camera but a stupid timecodeport on the top that nobody needs as it will never be a video camera. Waiting for the SL4...