Gadget Review: Leica SL3-S full-frame camera makes a visual statement
Well begun is half done, it is said. And with photography being perhaps the most accessible of art forms, you can begin without any special training – you only need to equip yourself with the right tools and then give free rein to your imagination. A tool such as the new Leica SL3-S.
The art of photography is also all about the image. And with a legendary name such as Leica in your hands, you convey the right one, both in the pictures that you take and in the intent that you project. An intent of style and substance in equal measure.
Connoisseurs of the art of photography know the significance of the storied Leica brand. The legendary German camera maker has been the purveyor of fine photographic equipment for exactly a hundred years now. Along the way, its cameras and lenses have been used by some of the most iconic photographers to ever pick up a camera. Think greats like the genius Frenchman Henri Cartier-Bresson or, more recently, Steve McCurry, the eye behind much of National Geographic's fabled images.
While the indisputable numero uno of cameras in the age of film, Leica has extended its excellence into the digital age as well, keeping step with the changing times and developments of the photographic art form - and its extension into videography. And this year, as it turns 100, the brand has introduced the SL3-S, a 24-megapixel, full-frame system camera that builds on its SL system, combining photography and videography in a unique way.
With fast autofocus and enhanced video functions, the SL3-S builds on the full-frame system based on Leica's L-Mount standard, which has firmly established the brand in the world of professional audiovisual production.
According to Leica, when developing this camera, the process centred on the high demands of professional photography and videography. The key focus was on speed, flexibility and versatility. And it shows. What this camera offers is combination of the highest image quality for both photography and videography with optimum working speed and reliability.
But let's start with the look and feel – things that the Leica legend is based on. If you have ever held a Leica in your hands, you can appreciate balanced ergonomics and know what premium quality feels like. The camera is also noticeably light and compact, falling beautifully to your hand with a feel that is 'just right'. The premium materials – metal and rubber – are all great to the touch, both satiny and sturdy in equal measure and securely protected by an IP54-certified solid all-metal body, which give ample hints from the get-go as to how Leica achieved its reputation for quality that lasts generations.
When you take your eyes off the display and look through the viewfinder, your subject is crystal clear for you to compose a shot perfectly thanks to the sophisticated optical systems from a manufacturer that has become the benchmark for optics. The function buttons are all in the right places ergonomically and are freely assignable, while optimised touch interaction throughout the camera menu allows for intuitive and convenient operation. When taking photos and filming, the entire user interface of the SL3-S aligns itself in landscape or portrait format according to the camera position.
When it comes to shooting your shot, a new BSI CMOS full-frame sensor with 24-megapixel native resolution, 48- and 96-megapixel multi-shot modes, and a new auto focus system form the core of the SL3-S. Leica combines the strengths of three focus technologies here: the latest generation in phase detection autofocus (PDAF), depth map (object detection AF), and contrast detection autofocus, which enable continuous shooting at up to 30 frames per second with full auto focus support.
While this is still a notch down from the professional kit standards of the big-three camera makers – Canon, Nikon and Sony – this makes the SL3-S the fastest Leica system camera ever built. And seriously, you buy a Leica primarily as the brush to paint your photographic dreams into reality, not to take that shot of an airborne Premier League goalie for the next morning's sports pages – although with how capable the SL3-S is, even that is possible given its dynamic range of up to 15 stops and an impressive ISO range of 50 to 200,000. The SL3-S delivers excellent-quality photos and videos in all shooting conditions.
And when you do produce that award-winning shot, you also get to put your indelible stamp on it with the SL3-S, so no one else can claim it in this age of digital piracy. The SL3-S is also the first camera in Leica's SL-System to be equipped with content credentials technology in accordance with the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) for photos. Each image can be signed with tamper-proof metadata, such as the camera model and author information, as well as creation and editing data. In order to prove authenticity with verifiable image content and to make edits transparent, the content credentials can be checked using freely available verification tools.
The Leica SL3-S's EyeRes viewfinder has a painstakingly produced optical system of glass lenses. It displayed the subject crystal clear at all times, with up to 120 images per second and a resolution of 5.76 million pixels. Thanks to the live preview, there is full control over the exposure and composition of shots even before the shutter is released. Another new feature of the SL3-S is the tilting 3.2-inch high-res touchscreen with a high-quality tilting mechanism, which makes it even easier to take photos and videos from different angles.
Hits:
- Build-quality
- Lens family
- Imaging features
Misses:
- Autofocus not the fastest on the market
Price: Dh19,800
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