By Jonathan Slack
Introduction
So, here we have Leica’s
upgrade to the SL, or so I thought, but it isn’t quite that simple.
I have been looking back
at my Lightroom catalogue and it seems that I first shot with the Leica SL on
June 1st 2015. Since then I’ve photographed lots of events, seven weddings and
hundreds of landscape, environmental and wildlife images (and even some street
photography).
Nearly four and a half
years on, my camera has been through hell and high water, Rain and sweat and
dust and seaspray, it’s been banged against walls and pulled onto the floor by
children. It has performed flawlessly, and I know it better than any camera I
have ever used. I have no idea how many pictures I’ve taken with it, but I have
around 20,000 saved images (and I’m really very brutal about culling) I would
estimate well over 200,000.
Hansome Stag
ISO 320 1/800th 280mm APO
Vario-Elmarit SL
The SL still fulfills all
my requirements, and I’m still in love with the interface. So why would I want
something different, and let’s be honest - how often does one really NEED 47mp.
Added to which the strap lugs on the SL2 stick out, and it only has 3 buttons
on the back (rather than the 4 on the SL), and they have writing on them!
Worse than that, they’ve
replaced the beautiful Bauhaus brutalism with a kind of soft edged version, all
the edges smoothed out and finessed.
But it’s my job to test
these cameras, so I have, and my thoughts are below.
As usual I should stress
that my remit is to test cameras, not to write reviews, and if I find something
wrong, then my duty is to tell Leica about it (not you) . . And I certainly do
tell Leica! Having said that, I would never knowingly miss out a fault (like
the sticky out strap lugs), and I will do my very best to convey my honest
feelings about the camera. Leica never try to influence my writing, although
they do have the opportunity to fact check what I write.
Sadly I’m not a video
photographer, but I’m going to spend
more time on the video features as they seem to be much more significant
in the SL2.
I really hope you enjoy
this article. I have perhaps been a bit more descriptive than normal about the
functions / operation and menus as I feel that there are quite a lot of
innovations and that they’re worth the time and effort, and I’m hoping that the
article will be a good companion for those who have just received the camera
(or are waiting for it).
Morning Glory
ISO 100 f3.8 1/200th Leica
Vario Elmarit 24-90 Asph @ 60mm
Body and Design
The design of the SL was a
bit ‘Marmite’, some people (including me) loved it for its functional brutality
and its nod to the Bauhaus. Others were not so impressed and simply thought it
was ugly (and uncomfortable). Many thought it was too big and heavy and there
was some discussion that the SL2 might be a lot smaller:
The SL is 147mm wide, 104mm high and 39mm deep,
weighting 860 gms
The SL2 is 146mm wide,
107mm high and 42mm deep, weighing 928 gms
So it actually isn’t any
smaller than the SL, although it does seem to look quite a lot smaller. The
slightly higher viewfinder lump and a deeper grip, together with the softer
lines make it kinder on the eye and feel lighter in the hand! I don’t think the
actual 68gm weight difference is going to make much difference to anyone
(weights include battery).
I’m aware that some people
felt that the sharp edges of the SL made it difficult to carry for long
periods. Personally I never did find this a problem, but Leica have addressed
these concerns with the SL2. The corners are now slightly rounded off and the
grip is deeper, with an indent on the inside for the fingers to rest. It
definitely doesn’t hurt so much when I whack my hip with the bottom corner!
The SL2 is more
conventional looking than the SL and I think that most people will consider it
to be a handsome camera.
Guelder Rose
ISO 100 f2 1/2000th Leica
APO Summicron SL 75mm
Controls and Ergonomics
I have to confess to
loving the 4 button rear layout on the SL. However, it’s clearly sensible to
standardise the interface across all the Leica system cameras, and the 3 button
layout of the SL2 is another step in this direction.
The Short press / Long
press methodology of the CL and the SL has been retained, but with the SL2
there doesn’t seem to be a menu option to limit the long press option for the
individual buttons (all options are shown with the long press). At first this seemed
like a step backwards, but actually it isn’t something one wants to change all
that often, and it’s nice to have all the options available without having to
go back into the Customise menu.
There are 6 function
buttons: I currently have them set as follows:
- The rear Fn button toggling Info Display (like the bottom right on the SL)
- The top left Fn button is set to Exposure Metering
- The top right Fn button is set to ISO
- The front top Fn button is set to Magnification
- The front bottom button is set to AF Mode
- The EVF button is set to change EVF/Display mode (still the best in any camera I've seen)
Chrysanthememums
ISO 100 f2.8 1/500th Leica
APO Summicron SL 75mm
ISO 100 f2.0 1/2500th
Leica APO Summicron SL 50mm
The Camera Back
Superficially the rear of
the SL2 looks very similar, but now there are three buttons on the left of the
display marked
- Play
- Fn
- Menu
The Play button works the
same way as the SL, the Fn button is described above.
The Menu button has 3
press settings:
- 1st press brings up the Status Screen (more later)
- 2nd Press brings up the Favorites menu (configurable in the menu section)
- 3rd Press takes you to the Main Menu (more later).
If you have been in the
main menu in the current session then the 3rd press will take you to the last
selected option, if not it takes you to the first menu page.
There are no buttons on
the right hand side, but just like the SL there is a dedicated EVF/Display mode
selector button and the same excellent joystick.
The rear Display / LCD
panel has had its resolution increased from 1,040,000 to 2,100,000 and is s
touch screen as per the SL, but the size has increased from 2.95" to
3.2".
The EVF has also had a
hike in resolution to 5,760,000 at
120fps (the SL was 4,400,000 at 60fps). The magnification is now 0.78x.
This is a significant improvement all-round and Leica seemed to have reduced
the contrast a little so that the shadows don’t block out so easily.
The Top Plate
The SL2 has lost the
plastic GPS lump on the left hand side of the viewfinder, and this is now plain
metal. The right hand side has the same 1.28” excellent monochrome LCD (but
this still shows the Exposure compensation as + or - rather than a specific value.
The top plate still has two function
buttons (but they are black rather than silver).
The Front Plate
The SL2 has two function
buttons aligned vertically (rather than the single button on the SL - which
makes up for the loss of one of the four buttons on the back plate.
The Right Side
The SD card door seems to
be the same as that on the SL (nothing wrong with that!). However, the SL2 now
supports two UHS II type SD cards. You can choose various options for the
second SD card (backup / jpg / continuation).
The Left Side
There are two rubber
covers, the top cover reveals Audio In and Audio Out 3.5mm Jack sockets
together with an HDMI 2.0b socket. The small lower socket has a USB-3.1 Gen 1
Type C (USB-C) socket which can also be used for charging the camera: When
connected to an external power supply it will either charge the battery (when
the camera is on standby or off) or else it will power the camera when it is
switched on.
The Base Plate
The base plate is not
identical to the SL due to a different body construction. The shape is slightly
different and the positioning and construction of the contacts is different due
the space limitations inside the camera. This means that there is a different
handgrip for the SL2.
Dignity
ISO 6400 f2.0 1/60th Leica
APO Summicron SL 75mm
The Status Screen
The Status Screen is a
quick menu which comes up automatically on the first press of the menu button.
This is really nicely thought out and has links to all the most frequently used
functions on the camera. It also controls switching between Photo and Video.
The top part of the screen
shows the current settings and the whole screen is touch enabled. You can use
touch to pick the settings, but I’ve found that it’s better to tap the function
you need and then select the option using the rear dial. Alternatively you can
use the joy stick to navigate the menu and select the options. Each of the
settings in the lower two rows have a description of the chosen setting above
it.
In Photo Mode
The options in the top row
are:
- PMAS Mode
- Aperture
- Shutter Speed
- ISO
- Exposure Compensation
The shutter speed and
Aperture become enabled or disabled depending on which PMAS mode is chosen
(Program / Manual / Aperture Priority / Shutter Priority)
The options in the middle
row are:
- Drive Mode
- Focus Mode
- AF Mode
- AF Profiles
- Exposure Mode (normal Multi-Point, centre weighted and spot options)
- White Balance (an expected number of options)
The options in the bottom
row are:
- File Type (DNG and/or JPG: large (46.7mp), medium (24mp) or small (12mp)
- Card Format
- User Profile (Default + 6 user profiles with up to 10 character names)
- Lock
- Wifi / Bluetooth connection shortcut for Connection to Fotos.
- Main Menu
Sweetwater Beach
ISO 100 f5.6 1/320th Sigma
Art 14-24 f2.8
Some of these options are
worth further description
Drive Mode
Options are:
- Single Shot
- Continuous - Low Speed: 3 photos per second
- Continuous - Medium Speed: 6 photos per second
- Continuous - High Speed: 12 fps (without AFc, AE, AWB)
- Continuous - Very High Speed: 20 fps (with electronic shutter no AFc, AE, AWB)
- Self Timer 2 sec
- Self Timer 12 sec
- Interval shooting
- Exposure Bracketing
Focus Mode
Options are:
- iAF (intelligent AF which switches between modes depending on subject)
- AFs (AF single)
- AFc (AF continuous)
- MF (manual focusing)
Goats Head
ISO 100 f2.8 1/80th Sigma
Art 14-24 f2.8
AF Mode
Options are:
- Multi Field
- Spot
- Field
- Zone
- Tracking
- Face / Eye detect
AF Profiles
This is an interesting new
concept for AF. There are a series of Focus profiles, each of which can be
configured to suit your individual requirements.
The profiles are:
- Children / Pets (Standard Movements)
- Teamsports (Fast and unexpected change of direction)
- Runner (Constant Movements)
- Wildlife (Sudden appearance and change of direction)
For each of these 4
profiles you can change 3 components:
- Depth Sensitivity
- Field Movement
- Shift in Direction
- Each component can be shifted from 0 (fix) to +2 Responsive)
I’ll deal with the
implications of these settings in the focusing section below.
Peaceful Easy Feeling
ISO 100 f2.2 1/6400th
Leica APO Summicron SL 50mm
In Video Mode
The options in the top row
are:
- PMAS Mode
- Aperture
- Shutter Speed
- ISO
- Exposure Compensation
The shutter speed and
Aperture become enabled or disabled depending on which PMAS mode is chosen
(Program / Manual / Aperture Priority / Shutter Priority
The options in the middle
row are:
- Focus Mode
- AF Mode
- Exposure Mode (normal Multi-Point, centre weighted and spot options)
- White Balance (an expected number of options)
- File Format (Mp4 or MOV)
- Resolution, formats and frame rates (see video section below)
The options in the bottom
row are:
- Microphone level
- Headphone Volume
- User Profile (Default + 6 user profiles with up to 10 character names)
- Lock
- Wifi / Bluetooth connection shortcut for Connection to Fotos.
- Main Menu
Clicking the Menu button a
second time will bring up a user configurable Favourites menu which works in
just the same way as the SL (if one has been configured). Otherwise it will
take you straight to the 6 page menu section (5 pages for the video menu), as
will a third click if it has been configured.
ochs und junior
ISO 100 f4 1/800th Sigma
Art 14-24 f2.8 @24mm
The Menu System
On of Leica’s unique
selling points is simplicity. The designers constantly seek to keep menus
simple, and to offer what you need rather than allowing menus to expand into
impenetrable and complicated mazes. It really is a unique point as well - Other
manufacturers menus are either more or less well designed, but without
exception they are huge and confusing.
Having worked with Leica
for 10 years, I realise that it’s very difficult to listen to customers on the
one hand and to keep things simple on the other. Many other companies pride
themselves in listening to customer requests, and implementing them. This might
seem good theoretically, but it does end up with too many options, some of
which are contradictory, and many others badly thought out.
Boo
ISO 100 f2.0 1/800th Leica
APO Summicron SL 50mm
I get many many emails
from photographers requesting their own personal feature, some of these ideas
are good, lots of them reflect on their not having fully understood the options
already available and even more suggest that they haven’t applied lateral
thinking to their particular issue (this is a speciality of mine!).
However, Leica do listen -
and they do implement sensible changes. For example, the two most commonly
requested features I’ve had with respect to the SL are:
1. The ability to switch
off acceleration for manual focus on L mount AF lenses
2. The option to switch
off Long Exposure Noise reduction (Dark Frame Subtraction).
Both of these have been
implemented in the SL2
There are 6 pages of menu
options (5 for video), the layout is very similar to the SL, CL and M10 I’m not going to go
through all the details (I’m sure the manual will do a better job) but as with
the Status Screen above I will go into a few options which caught my attention.
Teazle
ISO 100 f5.6 1/800th Leica
24-90 Vario-Elmarit SL @68mm
Auto ISO Settings
Leica have always been
very good with auto ISO settings, and I’ve always been very fond of the option
to set the maximum exposure time as 1 times 1/2, 1/4 of the focal length. The
SL has options
- Maximum ISO
- Shutter speed Limit
- Maximum ISO with Flash
- Shutter Speed Limit with Flash
What has changed is the
Shutter speed limit - the options are a list of shutter speeds and Auto. The
argument is that with In Body Image Stabilisation the Auto option will choose
the best shutter speed in any situation, but of course, IBIS cannot judge the
amount of movement in the subject, I would very much like to see the 1 1/2 1/4 F/L options back again, having found them
invaluable when shooting Weddings and especially concerts.
Growing Dolmades
ISO 100 f2.8 1/250th Sigma
Art 14-28 f2.8 @24mm
Camera Settings
This option is on the 5th
page of the menu options, and has some interesting changes.
The options (which cover
three pages) are:
- Capture Assistance (with sub menu)
- Touch AF (on/off)
- Touch AF in EVF (on/off)
- Focus Limit (Macro)
- AF Assist light (on/off)
- Power Saving (sub menu)
- USB Charging (on/off)
- Lens Profiles
- EV Increment
- USB - Mode (mass storage, PTP or select on connection)
- Distance Unit
- Date and Time (which has a ‘via smartphone’ option)
- Edit File Name (irritatingly, like the SL, you can only change the first letter)
- Reset Image Numbering
Hatitude
ISO 100 f2.0 1/160th Leica
APO Summicron SL 75mm
Capture Assistance is
interesting
There are 4 separate info
profile settings, each of which can be switched on and off, and each of which
can contain any of the following (with on/off switches):
- Info Bars
- Grid
- Clipping / Zebra
- Focus Peaking
- Level Gauge
- Histogram
I think this is useful and
elegant, however, of course, you have to assign one of the function buttons to
“Toggle Info Levels” as the camera no longer has a dedicated info button
(bottom right on the SL!).
Power Saving is also
relevant
There are two options
- Auto Power Off
- All Displays Auto Off
The SL2 uses the same
battery as the SL, it uses the Maestro III processor rather than the Maestro
II, and it has 47mp rather than 24mp. My recommendation is to leave on the
default limits for Auto Power off and All displays off. I’ll discuss this
further in Battery Life.
Red, Green and Yellow
ISO 100 f2.8 1/160th Leica
APO Summicron SL 75mm
Battery Life
I like to be able to shoot
immediately, and so the first thing I do normally is to turn off “Auto Power
Off” and to turn “Auto Display Off” to the longest period, and that’s what I
did with the SL2 when I first got a body.
Initially I was horrified
with the battery life, and on a long walk (about 4 hours) I only managed to
take 176 shots before the battery needed replacing. I complained about this to
Leica, and it was pointed out that the faster processor and bigger files
together with the stunningly fast write times made this inevitable.
Then I got to thinking
harder about this, and reset the power saving settings. I then spent a few
hours taking pictures in batches (as you might do at a wedding or event). In
this perfect situation I managed to get 1085 images from a single charge. Which
of course is fine.
My current feeling is to
leave the defaults for power saving (see above), set ‘pre-focus’ to off; and under such circumstances I would expect
to get about 350 images on a hike or country walk, and perhaps 650 images when
shooting an event or a Wedding, and more if shooting a sports event (not that I
often do that!).
It’s also worth mentioning
that the ability to plug in a power pack (which will power the camera when on
and charge the battery when off) can be a serious help when shooting for
extended periods.
towards Aghios Pavlos
ISO 100 f8 1/320th Sigma
Art 14-28 f2.8
Video
The Leica SL2 Offers
really excellent video facilities;
Video Gamma: Rec. 709,
L-Log Rec. 2020 (V-Log), HLG Rec 2020
MOV files for all formats,
MP4 for 4K and Full HD
All formats support frame
rates of 29.97p, 25p and 23.98p to cover PAL and NTSC.
At all but 5k it also supports frame rates of
59.94p and 50p
Slo Motion is available for Full HD at 180fps,
15o fps 120 fps and 100 fps
Audio Format for both MOV
and MP4 is 2ch 48khz / 16bit
5k at a resolution of
4992x3744
200mbps at 4.2.0 / 10 bit directly to SD
Cine 4K at 4096x2160 &
4K (UHD)
24p, 25p and 30p 10 bit at 400 Mbps 4.2.2
directly to SD card
8 bit at 150Mbps (60 &50 fps) 4.2.0
directly to SD
0 bit 4.2.2 is also supported but on an HDMI
recorder only
4k at 3840x2160
4.2.2 / 10 bit directly to SD card
Full Hd
4.2.2 / 10 bit directly to SD for all but the
100fps and above (8 bit).
Sfakian Dawn
ISO 250 f3.2 1/40th Sigma
Art 14-28 f2.8
This is much more
impressive than the Panasonic S1r. indeed it includes everything in the paid
update for the S1 except the waveform display. The logic for this is that
anyone likely to need this would be using an external HDMI display.
Also, there is only one
standard Look Up Table. However if a movie maker has already defined the ‘Look’
of the movie it is possible to make a specific LUT, and can implement that in
any current external recorder or monitor that supports import of LUTs.
The SL2 improves on the S1
in allowing bitrates up to 400mbps (directly to SD card as well as via an HDMI
recorder). One might argue that it’s more in the range of the new Panasonic S1H
for shooting video. Indeed it is more or less at the same level, although the
SL2 did not have room for a built in fan, which is why there is a limitation of
video to 29 minutes.
Manual focusing with the
SL2 allows you to change the behaviour of the ‘focus by wire’ focus rings on most modern L mount lenses (by
Leica and by Panasonic and Sigma). You will be able to choose whether these
operate by ‘acceleration’ (in the same way as the SL) so that if you turn the
ring faster the focusing is incrementally increased. Or ‘Static’ in which case
there is a linear relationship between turning the focus ring and the change in
focus. This may not be implemented in the initial firmware as it also requires
some changes to the firmware of the Leica lenses, but it should be available
very shortly afterwards
Those Creten beaches are
so Crowded
ISO 100 f10 1/200th Sigma
Art 14-28 f2.8
Focusing
I have to admit to being
easily confused by AF options on digital cameras, but I’ve found the new AF
options in the SL2 to be easy to understand and quite logical. I think that the
new options for Depth Sensitivity, Field
Movement and Shift in direction, together with the AF profiles are a really
good idea.
For example, I was finding
that shifting from a snap of the dog on a walk, to shooting a plant close up,
sometimes the camera was reluctant to go so close. Increasing the depth
sensitivity sorted out this problem.
Choosing Wildlife Mode and
then Tracking has proved to be a good solution to shooting birds in flight.
Sadly I’ve not had any sports events to shoot, so I haven’t been able to try
out the sports mode.
In more general terms I’ve
found that the AF is very fast, and more importantly is very accurate,
whichever mode you choose. It also works very well with the Panasonic and Sigma
lenses I’ve tested with the SL2.
Sfakian Sunset
ISO 100 f5 1/2500th Leica
APO Summicron SL 50mm
In Body Image Stabilisation
This is one of the big
attractions with the SL2, but it’s rather difficult to talk about! The zooms I
generally use with the SL already have Optical Image Stabilisation and I didn’t
find too much trouble with the SL. The little TL 55-135 actually is a real gem
on the SL2, and of course the IBIS is a great help here. I’m sure that it will
be an asset with all the TL lenses
Lots of Leica users I know
have the SL for use with the Leica M Noctilux and Summilux lenses. Of course
the SL2 will work just as well (better as the EVF behaves better in low light)
and of course it is a real asset to have IBIS for use with these M lenses,
What I can say is that I
haven’t had any real issues with camera shake with the SL2, and I’ve shot a lot
in really poor light. So I think IBIS must be working well!
Stabilisation
ISO 100 f2 1/5000th Leica
APO Summicron SL 50mm Asph
Image Quality
I haven’t done many
detailed tests of image quality, but the SL2 images are attractive with good
dynamic range, the high ISO seems to be a slight improvement over the SL when
examined at 100%, but of course this translates to quite a big improvement when
you consider the extra resolution.
I didn’t encounter any
problems with the higher resolution (above a requirement to be a bit more
careful to avoid camera shake).
Things are more
complicated by the fact that Adobe do not yet have specific support for
the SL2 DNG files, apparently these should be available when the
camera is shipping. You should bear this in mind when looking at the images
here.
My experience is that the
DNG files look great using the Adobe standard profile, the detail is stunning
and the colour accurate and good.
If this section seems
short, it’s because I feel that image quality is really a given with modern
cameras - I’m sure that lots of others will do exhaustive tests at 5.3 metres
of a carefully consistent scene, at all ISO levels, and of course DxO will do
their sensor test.
I’m certainly not
criticising this useful information, but I do feel that whilst extremely
important 10 years ago it’s beginning to look increasingly like examining
angels dancing on the heads of pins, and that the scene you’re photographing
and the lens you are using together with your technique and post processing is
going to have a much bigger effect on your images.
Stormy Sfakian Sunrise
ISO 100 f5 1/800th Leica
APO Summicron SL 50mm Asph
L Mount Lenses
I have thoroughly tested
the SL2 with the following L mount lenses
- Leica 55-135 TL
- Leica 50 APO Summicron SL
- Leica 75 APO Summicron SL
- Leica 24-90 Vario Elmarit SL
- Leica 90-280 Vario Elmarit SL
- Panasonic 70-200 F4
- Sigma 14-24 F2.8
Apart from the fact that
the Accelerate / Linear manual focus option is not available yet pending lens
firmware updates. All of these lenses worked really well, producing images
sharp to the corners at all apertures.
The SL APO-Summicron
lenses, which are so perfect on the 24mp SL lose nothing on the SL2. Indeed,
the zoom lenses don’t seem to reveal any vices with the higher resolution.
I was also very impressed
with the two non-Leica lenses, and I’m planning to write a bit more about them
at another time. They don’t draw the same way as the Leica lenses, but they are
both very sharp with fast AF. I think it bodes very well for the future.
Personally I’d prefer to use Leica lenses, but for lesser used focal lengths
it’s great to be able to have a lighter / more economical option.
More than that the AF
worked well and consistently with all the lenses, and there really didn’t seem
to be any downside to using the lenses from Panasonic and Sigma.
Contemplation
ISO 6400 f4 1/200th Lumix
70-200 f4 @ 200mm
M Mount Lenses
I used the SL2 with the
following M mount lenses
- WATE (Wide Angle Tri-Elmar)
- 28mm Summilux M
- 35mm Summilux M (FLE)
- 50mm Summilux M
- 50mm APO Summicron M
- 75mm APO Summicron M
I also used the Leica 60mm
Elmarit R Macro with the adapter
Everything worked as it
should, and the results for all of these lenses were excellent, but I didn’t
have any of the older and more troublesome wide angle lenses to test, and I
guess that as with the SL, they will not do quite so well as they do on the M10.
On the other hand I would imagine that all the very fast mid focal length
lenses would be great (Noctiluxes etc.).
All the 6 bit coding was
picked up properly and adjustments were made (apparently correctly).
I didn’t have a chance to
use the camera with any non-Leica M lenses, but I would imagine that it would
perform just the same as the SL.
The First Seasquill
ISO 100 f1.4 1/1000th
Leica 28mm Summilux M Asph
Leica Fotos
At the time of writing I’m
using beta versions of Leica Fotos, but the connection to the SL2 is
straightforward and works very well. It also seems to be well remembered, so
that all you need to do is to turn on the camera and open Fotos on your phone
and reconnection is effective and simple.
The Low Power Bluetooth
option for tagging images with GPS information is not yet ready, but having
used it with both Fuji and Panasonic with success I’m sure it’ll work well with
the SL2 (but I’ll still miss the inbuilt
GPS of the SL).
I’m aware of exciting new
developments with Fotos, which Leica are taking very seriously, these advances
also rely on future updates with Lightroom for Android and iOS. Which I have
just received today - but not had time to look at.
Personally I’ve spent a
lot of time developing a workflow using Lightroom on an iPad pro for initial
selection and editing of images and I’m pretty sure that Fotos will become an
integral part of this workflow.
Mo Gleaming
ISO 6400 f2.0 1/50th Leica
APO Summicron SL 75mm
Wedding/Event Photography
When shooting any event, I
try to get a selection of images up on to the web the same evening, before
people start thinking about anything else! This means that it’s vital to be
able to select and process images fast, and to push them up to the internet,
even with a mediocre connection.
For the last year I have
been using Lightroom on an iPad pro; it works really well: You can do the
initial selection fast and create galleries using smart previews while the DNG
files are pushed up to Adobe cloud more slowly. When you get home they will
download to Lightroom Classic for printing / books etc.
To my mind the Leica SL
was the perfect camera for this, I have been using it together with an M camera
for more than 4 years for weddings and events. The AF is good, and the 24mp DNG
files hit the perfect balance between resolution and manageable file size and
post processing speed.
I was very worried that
the SL2 would spoil this by having so much more resolution. It isn’t so much
the issue of the file size, but 47mp makes processing in the current version of
Lightroom much slower than 24mp files.
Oh Yeah?
ISO 4000 f2.0 1/160th
Leica APO Summicron SL 75mm (shot as 24mp jpg file)
Obviously it’s good to
have the extra ‘crop-ability’ of the 47mp files, and the SL2 does offer
slightly better high ISO than the SL, but that doesn’t really help when trying
to get a first batch of images out quickly.
Then I broke the habit of
a lifetime (well, 10 years feels like a lifetime!). I experimented with using
jpg files. My first reaction was rather an epiphany, the 24mp jpg files looked
really really good, especially in the kind of low light situations one is so
often forced to shoot in. Trying to do extensive post processing on the jpg
files rather moderated my enthusiasm, but I have worked out a really good modus
operandi for event shooting with the SL2:
1. Shoot DNG on one card
and 24mp jpg on the second card
2. Import the jpg files to
the iPad pro for selection and minor processing
3. Create lightroom
gallery / push files to lightroom for fast internet use
4. When I get home import
the DNG files to Lightroom Classic for more serious work.
This involves a little
more work, but it has advantages in that the big DNG files don’t take up space
on Adobe Cloud, and you have the opportunity of using the higher resolution
files for the final images of the event.
Absolutely!
ISO 3200 f2.0 1/160th
Leica APO Summicron SL 75mm (shot as 24mp jpg file)
Landscape Photography
I can’t claim to be a
formal landscape photographer, my allergy to tripods and hanging around for
hours on chilly dawns makes me a bad candidate! On the other hand I am often
around at dawn (usually with the dog), and I very often shoot ‘landscape’
images.
The SL2 really excels
here, the Image stabilisation works excellently for those of us not using
tripods and the higher resolution almost moves the camera into Medium Format
territory, with the added advantage of smaller body and more versatile lenses.
One of the criticisms of
the SL (and some other Leica cameras) was the inability to turn off Long
Exposure Noise Reduction (dark frame subtraction). This has been rectified in
the SL2.
Fen Sunrise
ISO 100 f4.5 1/250th Leica
24-90 Vario-Elmarit SL @71mm
Travel and Street
Photography
I have always loved
shooting the SL on my travels, usually with the 24-90 to cover all bases and a
standard prime for low light work in the evenings or indoors, perhaps with a
Wide Angle Tri-Elmar (WATE) tucked in the
bag for the rare moments I need something wider.
Since traveling with the
SL2 I’ve found myself much more likely to carry one or two of the SL Summicron
primes together with the WATE and perhaps the 28 Summilux M. The extra
crop-ability makes carrying a zoom less important, and of course it makes the
load a lot lighter.
This autumn on our trip to
Crete we managed three weeks with only Ryanair hand luggage!
I was really pleased with
the results from the SL2. My most used lens was the 50 APO Summicron SL, in
fact I used only 3 lenses:
Sigma 14-24 F2.8 DG
Leica 50mm APO Summicron
SL
Leica 28mm Summilux M f1.4
M
Cornish Street (looking
over Pedney)
ISO 100 f6.3 1/800th Leica
24-90 Vario-Elmarit SL @73mm
Conclusion
So this isn’t really an
‘upgrade’ of the SL, it’s a complete rethink with reference to 4 years customer
feedback and an infinity of discussions and meetings, both internally and with
photographers and film makers, and with the wisdom that competitors releases
confer. My satisfaction with the SL really isn’t the point in this context but
its taken quite a big effort of will on my part to take a step back.
The competition seem to
have decided that there should be 2 (or 3) full frame mirrorless cameras specialised
for different situations:
- Lower Resolution for PJ or Events (that’s me!)
- Higher Resolution for Landscape and enthusiasts
- Video directed camera for serious movie shooters.
This philosophy is
reflected in the recent offerings from Sony, Panasonic and Nikon (and to a
lesser extent Canon).
With the SL2 Leica have
decided to roll these three cameras into one versatile camera which can cover
all the needs of every serious photographer, and in my opinion they have very
largely succeeded. Personally I’m even tempted to delve into the world of
video!
Of course, Leica cameras
have a reputation for being prohibitively expensive, but the SL2 is being
launched at a price €1,000 less than that of the original SL. Certainly it’s
more expensive than the direct competition, but when you consider it’s really 3
cameras rolled into one, and you look at the secondhand prices for the SL, it
begins to look like a real bargain.
Quoit
ISO 100 f2.0 1/10000th
Leica APO Summicron SL 50mm Asph
The SL2 is a ‘no nonsense’
camera which seems to me to deliver on every level, whether you are a
videographer, a landscape shooter or an serious amateur. The new Status Screen
is a real joy to use, the images are excellent and the menus are minimal whilst
still containing everything you should need.
Testing the camera and
writing this review has represented something of a journey for me, and I’ve
tried to describe that journey in this article. The SL has been my constant
working companion for 4 years and I have come to love its idiosyncrasies; sometimes
it’s hard to acknowledge the new kid on the block!
But whereas the SL might
have been charmingly idiosyncratic the SL2 is much more of a mainstream camera,
but without actually losing any of the things which made the SL such a good
workhorse.
There are many obvious
improvements, especially with the inspired interface - it just works really
well, and Leica have even made the subtleties of AF seem comprehensible! The
video options are sophisticated and well thought out.
When I started this journey
I didn’t think that the SL2 would replace the SL in my bag, but it’s become
increasingly clear that the SL2 will be my primary camera for a long time to
come.
There's a force 10 gale
blowing through my equipment bag
ISO 320 f4 1/160th Leica
24-90 Vario-Elmarit SL @90mm
Acknowledgements
As always, to Emma, who
has to put up with my tantrums and enthusiasms, and spoiled walks whilst I’m
trying to get to the bottom of something!
To Stephan Schulz who has
been really valuable in providing reality and reality checks. Thank you so much
for your time and for being so pleasant and patient (especially with the video
stuff!), I hope it’s been worth it.
Also to Stefan Daniel and
Steffen Rau at Leica for help with information and support and for checking for
technical errors.
To Sean Reid at
readreviews.com. Sean has published a
field review and, in the near future, will be be publishing several articles
about the SL, SL2 and Panasonic S1R tested side by side. He’ll be looking at
color rendering, high ISO performance, highlight headroom, native ISO and
performance with various L mount and rangefinder lenses. Take a look, it’s
worth every penny.
To David Farkas at Leica
Miami for friendship, a wonderful day long discussion at the 50th anniversary
of the LHSA in the bar at the Hotel Leitz in Wetzlar (and yes David, you owe me
on the 41/48mp bet!). He will have a review up on the RedDotForum site in the
next few weeks.
Oh Yes - and to Chats and
Hari for real friendship and for lots of laughs.
Finally to Matty the dog -
she has always been a poser!
Leaving in the rain
ISO 5000 f2 1/160th Leica
75mm APO Summicron SL
© Jonathan Slack November
6th 2019