On Monday I received a phone call that surprised me Master Camera: my order would be here. Surprising because I'm probably the first person with a Leica SL2 who didn't order until after it went on sale. When the camera was introduced last month, I initially didn't have any time. And because I had no desire for a new camera, I didn't look at the Leica SL2 until days after it was officially presented. However, I found that I was immediately captivated by her. Nevertheless, I only spent the following weekend doing intensive research before I finally ordered it. And now I hold it in my hands.
I recently explained in detail why I am moving away from this Leica M adopted in digital form have. That's why owning a Leica SL2 comes as a surprise to some people - including me. In fact, the consistent reduction in operation without missing anything at Leica fascinates me just as much as the amazing quality of the optics. That's why I didn't even sell my most frequently used M optics.
When I held the Leica SL2 in my hands, I immediately felt at home again. Added to this is the loving technical masterpiece that gives you the feeling that the camera was not designed by a computer specialist, but by a photographer. The feel and use of a Leica is simply unmatched.
This becomes clear, for example, when changing the battery. The battery is not hidden behind the usual plastic flap. The change is initiated with a small lever on the floor and is still secured against uncontrolled falling out. This makes changing the battery quick and completely controllable, even in a hectic situation.
Of course the Leica SL2 is not a sports camera and it shouldn't be for me - that's why I have Sony. Although the Leica SL2 can record 20 frames per second, the continuous autofocus only works at up to 6 frames per second. For me, the Leica SL2 is a consistent further development of the Leica M. The body is also only around 200g heavier. Of course larger than an M, but with a sensational viewfinder image, no more problems with adjusting the rangefinder and an excellent image stabilizer. By the way, with comparable optics, the dimensions of the Leica SL2 are hardly larger than a Nikon Z or Sony A. I admit, however, that the joystick is set a little far inward, so I can imagine that smaller hands than mine, could have a problem in use. Should people try it out...
Yesterday I finally had an hour to try out the Leica SL2 for the first time. The Hamburg Dom is a great place to test the autofocus under less than ideal conditions. First, I was impressed by the image stabilizer. I would say that the IBIS of the Leica SL2 is one of the top performers on the camera market. I had no problem maintaining an exposure time of one second with the 35mm lens I used. I didn't stabilize myself anywhere. I just stood there.
The autofocus of the Leica SL2 is limited to contrast autofocus. On paper, this makes it worse than the combination of phase and contrast autofocus often used by other manufacturers. However, in yesterday's tests on the cathedral I had absolutely no misses. The autofocus was always spot on. Here is an example with lots of reflections.
The use of the so-called "person detection" is a bit confusing. Other camera manufacturers call this AF function "Eye AF" or eye autofocus. With Leica, it is person detection. Rectangles swirl wildly across the viewfinder. It looks strange, but it works absolutely perfectly. The person standing in the green rectangle is focused on. And of course, if several people are detected, I can use the joystick to put the person I want in the green rectangle.
So for a first quick test with the Leica SL2, I'm very satisfied. Especially because the colors – very Leica-like – are right straight away. I have not edited the images on this page - as long as they come from the Leica SL2 (i.e. the cover image is different) - no further processing. Just straightened out a little every now and then, slightly cropped and reduced in size for the web. The lighting conditions on the cathedral are not optimal.
After all the adulation, I noticed three negative things. The battery capacity is not the best. However, I also operated the viewfinder at 120Hz because I really wanted to check the optimal performance of the EVF on the cathedral in the evening. And he's really good. You can even set the camera so that you only see the image in the viewfinder - i.e. no additional information such as exposure time and aperture. It's a bit unusual at first, but it's incredibly great for concentrating on the subject.
The second negative is the number of characters for the Exif data to enter my email address. It's too short for my address. This is a pity. (Fun fact: someone recently wrote to me nicely because he now has my old Leica M10 and he noticed that my name is always in the Exif data.)
And then there is the Leica Photos app. The connection works perfectly and is really easy. But the most important functions are not yet implemented. So I can't have GPS data written to my Exif data and I can't transfer images from the camera to the iPhone. EDIT on December 6.12th: I know better now. The GPS data is transmitted, but only in WLAN mode. In my opinion this is only for emergencies. Because this means that I have a WiFi connection between the iPhone and the camera all the time. This is battery draining and as soon as I get an email etc, the connection has to be reestablished. I read in the forum that Leica wants to switch to transferring GPS data to the usual Bluetooth connection. I was ultimately able to display the images in the Photos app. All I had to do was use brand new SD cards and format them twice in the camera. The transfer of the DNG files then went smoothly, even if the file size took some time to transfer. There is a button for Lightroom under each image and opening it in the Adobe app works perfectly.
Nevertheless, the test period for the paid part of the app is limited to 7 days. (Yes, the price of €54,99 is of course debatable.) It would have been a nice gesture if buyers of the Leica SL2 could use the app free of charge for the first year, for example.
Finally, a trick for people who are fans of the back button focus method. Operate the Leica SL2 in manual focus, but set the autofocus to the joystick.
Of course, an hour on the cathedral is not enough to put the camera through its paces. That comes with the time. I deliberately chose this heading. Conclusion: I will report. But the start has already been successful.
