Photography News issue 27

Camera test 38

Photography News Issue 27 absolutephoto.com

Leica SL

Specs

Price £5050 body only, £3150 Vario- Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 ASPH Sensor 24-megapixel CMOS sensor, IR filter, no low-pass filter. Through Leica Maestro II processor with cleaning Sensor format 24x36mm, 6000x4000 pixels, in APS-C 10 megapixels 3936x2624 pixels ISO range 50-50,000 Shutter range 60secs to 1/8000sec with flash sync at 1/250sec, time exposures up to 30mins Drivemodes Single, continuous up to 10fps Metering system Multi-zone, spot and centre- weighted Exposuremodes PASM Exposure compensation +/-3EV in 0.3 and 0.5EV steps EVF 4.4-megapixel SXAG, 100% coverage, eye sensor Monitor 2.95in touch screen Focusing Contrast AF with AF-S, AF-C, manual, touch AF, static, face- detection, dynamic tracking Focus points 37 or 49 AF points, point, field and zone (nine fields) Video MP4, MOV formats, 4K (4096x2160) at 24fps, 4K 3840x2160 at 25 and 30fps Connectivity Wi-Fi, GPS, USB 3.0 type B, HDMI type A, 3.5mm audio out Storagemedia SD, 2GB internal memory enough for 33 DNG files Dimensions (wxhxd) 147x104x39mm Weight 847g body only Contact uk.leica-camera.com

The SL is the biggest, most expensive mirrorless camera out there, but its maker’s photographic heritage is second to none so it deserves serious consideration

Review by Will Cheung

Big, chunky, minimalist, sweet and magnificent were five adjectives used when I passed the Leica SL around the Photography News editorial team. It certainly prompted a response, positive and negative, so it is very much aMarmite camera. Me? I like its look even accounting for that plinth on the left-side top-plate. The body houses a 35mm sensor (probably the same as the one in the Leica Q, but Leica won’t confirm that) and it’s a large camera when compared with other mirrorless cameras. It dwarfs the Sony A7R II, also tested in this issue, for example. Overall body design is very clean. It is not festooned with controls and buttons and the only control that has any indication of its purpose is the on/ off switch on the back. And the only controlwithany indexmarkings is the eyepiece dioptre-correction control. Leica’s attention to fine detail extends to the battery compartment. It has no cover – the cover is the battery end itself – and releasing the battery means operating the silver switch next to the compartment. This frees the battery from the body but it still can’t be removed from the body until you gently push the battery back into the body to release a catch. Going mirrorless from a camera maker’s perspective makes sense. No instant-return mirror probably means lower costs, the chance to save space and potentially, in the longer term, greater reliability. It’s too early to comment on the last named but Leica seems not to have embraced the two former possible benefits. More lenses to fit the SL will be announced in due course and

adapters will also be available to fit other Leica lenses including M-fit rangefinder lenses. Meanwhile the lens that we were supplied with was a Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 ASPH standard zoom. The 24-90mm is a hefty zoom, especially if you consider that it has a variable maximum aperture – it weighs 1136g which compares with the 805g of Canon’s constant aperture 24-70mm f/2.8. Fitted on the SL and you have a combination weighing in at over 2kg, so this is a seriously hefty outfit

comparable to a 35mm DSLR with fast zoom. You certainly know it’s around your neck; have the camera up to your eye for too long and your camera-liftingmuscles get aworkout. The image sensor is a full-frame 24-megapixel CMOS unit providing 8-bit JPEGs and 14-bit DNG Raws. There isno low-pass filter tomaximise detail resolutionandasensor cleaning system is built in. LeicamakesmuchofitsEVFandits 4.4 million pixel resolution. The view is indeed very good and the image is highly detailed but I’m not convinced it is the brightest I’ve seen, although that is difficult to tell without direct comparison. The image seemed rather cool too. There was some flickering evident inmy test sample. Highly detailed or not, it proved good to use and the image is nice and big. The big eyepiece helped too. The right-side handgrip is good and while not exactly ergonomic, ie. it’s not contoured in any way, it does the job well enough. A vertical grip/ spare battery holder will be available soon and no doubt will be joined by a more basic grip in due course. I wouldn’t say the SL’s handling is intuitive, certainly not to start with. That’smostlybecause the only control on the back plate marked is the On/ off switch and either side of the large LCD monitor are four anonymous push tabs. Themenusystemstructure could be better; the main menu is just a long list of items – a simple systemof pages as used by other brands would improve thingsmarkedly. The relative lack of customisation potential is a shame but it makes initial set-up

quick because there is not much you can playwith. Of course, familiarity and practice soon speed handling up and in not muchtimeat all, using theSLbecomes a pleasure even accounting for its heft. The top-plate command dial is large and very good to use, and the LCD info panel is handy for checking settings quickly. Positioned for the thumb, the joystick is good to use too and, for example, makes moving the AF point around the 37 or 49 zones a speedy, precise process. Autofocusing is swift, responsive and accurate to make the most of the 24-90mm zoom. The exposure and white-balance system perform with credit, delivering lovely pictures with not much fuss at all. I shot mostly in aperture-priorityandprogrammodes using multi-segment metering with exposure compensation used to fine- tune shots. If you want to shoot JPEGs, the SL happily delivers good pictures straight out of the camera. I shot Adobe Raws in concert with full- frame JPEGs – there are five other aspect ratios available including 16:9 and square. The sensor can be set to APS-C format too. All round, I enjoyed my SL experience. True, by price alone it is a relatively exclusive camera but leaving the issue of money aside, the SL is a fine camera, beautifully engineered and very capable, too. It has its handling quirks – in that respect it’s typically Leica – but if you can make this serious investment the SL will pay you back handsomely with great pictures.

Exposure and white-balance performwith credit, delivering lovely pictures

Right The SL’s body design is very clean, with minimal controls and markings, just on the dioptre control and the on/off switch.