Michael Markey
Veteran
Last time that I checked the reaction to it on LUF was pretty similar.
The Leica SL: What is Leica thinking?
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Last time that I checked the reaction to it on LUF was pretty similar.
Tijmendal
Young photog
The Leica experience is shooting film!
ktmrider
Well-known
Have NO plans to purchase this camera at all/ever.
Sid836
Well-known
This strongly reminds me of the leicaflex SL. It seems that the guys at Leica are either new or forgot of past failures.
Dralowid
Michael
...and the response on the internet, if such a thing had existed at the time would likely have been similar...
Lss
Well-known
There are important qualities to this camera that do differentiate it from the competition. For example, the Leica SL shares much of the well-liked Leica S UI. It's simple but allows configuration. It also works well with M lenses according to the first reports.
For M lens use, I don't see real problem regarding the camera size without actually handling the beast. The same, of course, goes to confirming that the UI liked by many others really fits my needs. On paper, it looks pretty good. The weight increase is some 40% over my M8, which is significant and mostly unwelcome. I was certainly hoping for a smaller overall footprint, but this is based on Leica Q specs and the requirements of an M lens user. These obviously were not the driving principles of the Leica SL design.
It seems the initial price rumors were quite correct, and I must say I factored them into my expectations to some degree. Otherwise, again based on Leica Q, I was hoping for about 1000-1500 euro less for the body. Even that would have been a steep price for anyone who is specification-shopping among the competition.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Ok .... I was prepared to be a little reticent until I saw this pic over at FB.
They have to be kidding .... it's the Edsel reborn! 😱
They have to be kidding .... it's the Edsel reborn! 😱
Godfrey
somewhat colored
The SL is Leica building the next generation, professional grade DSLR—only it isn't an SLR anymore. The body is within mm the size and grams of the Leicaflex SL. All of us with R lenses now know what camera to use them with, and we can take advantage of M, T, and S lenses too, never mind new lenses for the SL.
The price is right in line with what I paid for an M-P, and Leica seems to be having no difficulty selling M-Ps, so the price isn't very shocking. I have about a dozen excellent R lenses worth in the neighborhood of $40,000 (and no, I didn't pay that for them ... 🙂, so $8000 for the best body to use them with seems a reasonable deal.
Leica USA does not have the equivalent of NPS at present, but they've always supported me very well indeed when I needed a hand. That said, my kind of professional photography is rarely well served by Professional Services anyway. Those packages are best targeting sports, news, and other high stress, high failure rate, fast turn around kinds of photo work, none of which describes my bent in doing professional photography.
I feel this new camera will sell very well. I'll be in the market for it in about two years, when I'm sure production will have hit its stride and it will be a well-established piece of equipment supporting a diverse audience of both pro and advanced amateur photographers.
Meanwhile I'll be using my lenses with my Leicaflex SLs ... 🙂
G
The price is right in line with what I paid for an M-P, and Leica seems to be having no difficulty selling M-Ps, so the price isn't very shocking. I have about a dozen excellent R lenses worth in the neighborhood of $40,000 (and no, I didn't pay that for them ... 🙂, so $8000 for the best body to use them with seems a reasonable deal.
Leica USA does not have the equivalent of NPS at present, but they've always supported me very well indeed when I needed a hand. That said, my kind of professional photography is rarely well served by Professional Services anyway. Those packages are best targeting sports, news, and other high stress, high failure rate, fast turn around kinds of photo work, none of which describes my bent in doing professional photography.
I feel this new camera will sell very well. I'll be in the market for it in about two years, when I'm sure production will have hit its stride and it will be a well-established piece of equipment supporting a diverse audience of both pro and advanced amateur photographers.
Meanwhile I'll be using my lenses with my Leicaflex SLs ... 🙂
G
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
And my reaction to this latest creation from the company that made my beautiful M240, my Leica 1a, my M2 and my jewel like 1933 Leica ll .............
lcpr
Well-known
They're trying to be the first to put together a pro mirrorless system (and it's the direction I see Canikon going if they were to do a full-frame mirrorless camera):
- A bigger body that balances well with larger primes and zooms
- Big EVF that would make it very easy to manually focus lenses
- A initial lens lineup that covers the most used focal lengths and is stabilised
- What seems, on paper, to be fast AF and fast operation in general
- A video mode that isn't gimped to protect a dedicated video camera lineup (see: Canon). I bet Leica have asked Panasonic for advice on video as well. Assuming that the quality is up to GH4 standards, 4:2:2 10-bit output, 4k30 and 1080p120, stabilised Leica zooms, weather sealing, zebras, mic-levels, and the ability to mount almost every kind of lens would make for an amazing video setup. Of course, there are many other factors in what makes for a good video camera, but it looks promising.
On the other hand, Sony could simply announce a larger version of the a7, say an a9R/a9s, and the SL would be dead before it even gets the pro mirrorless bandwagon going.
- A bigger body that balances well with larger primes and zooms
- Big EVF that would make it very easy to manually focus lenses
- A initial lens lineup that covers the most used focal lengths and is stabilised
- What seems, on paper, to be fast AF and fast operation in general
- A video mode that isn't gimped to protect a dedicated video camera lineup (see: Canon). I bet Leica have asked Panasonic for advice on video as well. Assuming that the quality is up to GH4 standards, 4:2:2 10-bit output, 4k30 and 1080p120, stabilised Leica zooms, weather sealing, zebras, mic-levels, and the ability to mount almost every kind of lens would make for an amazing video setup. Of course, there are many other factors in what makes for a good video camera, but it looks promising.
On the other hand, Sony could simply announce a larger version of the a7, say an a9R/a9s, and the SL would be dead before it even gets the pro mirrorless bandwagon going.
TennesseJones
Well-known
Ha! Running towards it? Or away!
And my reaction to this latest creation from the company that made my beautiful M240, my Leica 1a, my M2 and my jewel like 1933 Leica ll .............
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
In terms of this camera's looks ..... my D4 is an ugly lump but it has a proven track record and performance that makes it's appearance easier to tolerate.
Maybe this will be a great camera also .... we can hope! 😀
Maybe this will be a great camera also .... we can hope! 😀
Vobluda
Well-known
Big EVF does not means that MF will be easy.
But big EVF means that you have to have great eyesight even only to look through it for MF.
But big EVF means that you have to have great eyesight even only to look through it for MF.
lcpr
Well-known
Have you tried a recent EVF yet? They're more than usable, and I have poor eyesight myself.
An EVF gives you an exact representation of what the sensor sees through the lens (without having to rely on a perfectly aligned mirror and ground glass), and with focus peaking and magnification it's a lot easier to achieve critical focus.
I'm still a fan of optical viewfinders, but EVFs will eventually be the norm especially once their resolution and refresh rates hit a point where it'll be hard to discern from an OVF. Haven't looked through an SL yet but from what I've read it looks promising.
doolittle
Well-known
It does highlight that the electronics in the M240 are outdated or at least poorly implemented. It might not matter to many current M240 owners, in that the camera performs to their brief admirably. From Leica's point of view it is a sales success. However the live-view experience and video on the M240 are sub-par. It would be nice if the next generation gets a trickle-down boost from the SL.
I would like to see Leica get rid of video and live view from the M now that they have an alternative. Bring it back down to the size of a film M as well.
pgk
Well-known
Actually Leica has by far the best 'pro' service that I've ever used. You will need to contact Leica and prove pro status and if you then have a problem its dealt with very speedily (only used it a couple of times and repair turnaround was within a week I think - I was away one time and the camera was back before I was).
BillBingham2
Registered User
Yes, but the SL2 was beautiful.
Perhaps there is hope.........
but I doubt it.
B2 (;->
giganova
Well-known
I think the design is stunning -- pure minimalism! Absolutely love it. 😀
It is expensive, of course, but the top of the line Canon and Nikons cost little less and have about the same size.
You have to give them credit for pushing the boundary of what is possible: a pro mirror-less DSLR.
It is expensive, of course, but the top of the line Canon and Nikons cost little less and have about the same size.
You have to give them credit for pushing the boundary of what is possible: a pro mirror-less DSLR.
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