Review: Leica SL2 Full-frame Mirrorless Camera

The ultra-luxurious Leica SL2 features fantastic usability, image quality and handling, as well as an ever-growing selection of top-tier lenses through the L-mount alliance. And it feels great to hold in your hands, too. Keep reading to find out more about the Leica SL2.

Pros

• Incredible build quality and handling

• Fantastic Image quality

• L-mount lens options

• Improved resolution

• Five-axis image stabilization

Cons 

• Heavy

• Expensive

• Non-tilting screen

Leica: A Brief History

Some background first. Leica have manufactured digital cameras for some time now, from medium-format behemoths to sleek point-and-shoots. But they’re most famed for their iconic M-series rangefinders. Since the 2008 release of the Leica M8 Black, Leica have arguably been at the forefront of the mirrorless camera revolution. However, the M-series aren’t adept at all types of shooting and—their biggest drawback—they lack autofocus. So, in 2016, Leica brought us the original Leica SL Typ 601. 

Standout Features

Built from a solid chunk of aluminum, the original Leica SL feels amazing in your hand. And, using decades of expertise, it benefits from great lens design—albeit with a small, but growing, range of lenses. 

Four years later, Leica released the SL2. This camera built on everything that was great about its predecessor, and added quite a bit more. And how does it feel in hand? As expected,  just as good—it feels somehow more solid and certainly more refined. 

The knurled finish on the body looks stylish but also hides finger marks and dirt much better, keeping the camera looking better for longer.

Leica has increased the resolution to 47 megapixels—up from 24 megapixels from the original SL, bringing it closer to recent mirrorless releases from Canon, Sony and Nikon. 

The electronic shutter gets a bump up to 1/16,000, if shooting fully open in any condition without ND filters is your bag.

Continuous shooting is increased to 20 frames-per-second, at 47-megapixel RAW. That’s up from 9 frames-per-second on the SL. This lightning-fast shooting speed and rugged dependability makes the SL2 a bonafide pro shooter for photojournalists. The five-axis image stabilization works wonders too.

Shooting Video

If you’re looking for video functions, you’re better off looking at the Leica SL2-S. The vanilla SL2 isn’t terrible at video—offering 5k and 4k options, but with the high bitrate on external recording. The Leica SL2 is a premium stills camera, and would still be a great camera if it only shot stills. However, the omission of a tilting screen is a bit odd in this day and age.

Image Quality

So what about image quality? As expected, the Leica SL2 doesn’t disappoint. Beautiful, crisp images, aided by the excellent L mount alliance lenses. Here, for example, we used the Sigma 45mm f/2.8 DG DN L, Panasonic 50mm f/1.4 and Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN L.

The dynamic range stands at 15 stops, which puts the camera in line with Sony’s sensors. And it’s no surprise that the highlights are easily kept in check throughout otherwise high-contrast scenes.

In-camera autofocus and functionality was great, especially the super-flexible spot. It extends far out into the edges of the frame, allowing us to hit autofocus at a specific point without needing to reframe.

Black and white conversions are important to many Leica shooters, and the SL2 doesn’t disappoint. Punchy with great contrast but aided by fantastic dynamic range, means tons of options to create the look you need for your black and white photography.

Using the Lecia SL2

The camera’s controls are great too, with simple layouts and intuitive button placement that helps instil muscle memory for recall. This translates to fast response times in order to quickly change settings when you need to.

While the L mount is still in its infancy, lens selection is growing. With Sigma, Leica and Panasonic all feeding into it, it also means we get a great selection at different price points.

The Leica SL2 is a premium camera—with a price tag to match—and it feels like one when you hold it in your hands. And its performance is outstanding—with 47 megapixels, 20 frames-per-second shooting and excellent lenses. Plus, you can always reduce the price when you buy used.

Our Final Thoughts

Is it worth spending the money on a Sony or a Canon camera instead? Both brands recently released fantastic cameras that equal—or better—the specs of the Leica SL2.

For some, the build quality and lens options will warrant the extra cost, as well as the Leica brand kudos. But that kudos is fully supported by fantastic usability, image quality and handling. Verdict? If you can afford it, get it. 

Check out Dan King’s Leica Q2 v Fujifilm X-Pro 2 review at Tour de France Femmes, our review of Leica 50mm lenses or our Leica M10 Monochrom vs M Typ 246 Monochrom review. You can also read more camera gear guides on the MPB Content Hub.