A decade after Leica launched its SL-System cameras, and less than a year after it issued the Leica SL-3, it has dropped a variation on the latter – the Leica SL3-S.
It weighs in at US$5,295, and is being sold online by third party sellers in Australia for nearly $12,000.
Leica says a new BSI CMOS full-frame sensor with 24-megapixel native resolution, 48- and 96-megapixel multi-shot modes and a new autofocus system “form the core” of the SL3-S.
“Securely protected by an IP54-certified solid all-metal body, Leica combines the strengths of three focus technologies here: the latest generation in phase detection AF (PDAF), depth map (object detection AF) and contrast detection AF enable continuous shooting with the Leica SL3-S at up to 30 frames per second with full autofocus support.
Leica says its the fastest system camera it’s ever built.
It has a dynamic range of up to 15 stops and an ISO range of 50 to 200,000, and is the first camera in the SL-System to be equipped with content credentials technology in accordance with the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) for photos.
“If desired, each image can be signed with tamper-proof metadata, such as the camera model and author information, as well as creation and editing data,” the manufacturer says.
“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 (verify.contentauthenticity.org).”
The SL3-S records videos in a resolution of up to 6K and offers 3:2 open-gate recording, “a feature that provides flexibility when creating video content for a wide variety of channels”.
Leica gives the example of portrait format videos can be recorded in 4K, 9:16 “without any loss of quality”. The field of view in recorded material can also be determined retrospectively.
The SL3-S records HDMI-RAW in 5.9K at 30 fps to external display recorders. The CFexpress type B interface, ProRes 4:2:2 HQ in 5.8K at 30 fps or C4K at 60 fps, can also be internally recorded without any recording time limits.
It is also possible to record directly to an external SSD hard drive via the USB-C interface, Leica says.
A dedicated timecode interface enables professional synchronisation of image and sound on set and the company promises that the Maestro IV processor with L2 technology “effortlessly handles enormous amounts of data, resulting in images with superb colour rendering, high dynamic range and excellent noise behaviour in the L-Log colour space”.
It has slots for CFexpress type B and UHS-II SD memory cards, a USB-C port, tethering, SSD connection or power supply, and a full-size HDMI 2.1 output for external LCD panels or recording devices.
As a certified Apple “Made for iPhone and iPad” accessory, the Leica SL3-S can be connected directly to Apple products using the supplied USB-C cable.
“Over the course of 2025, the Camera-to-Cloud function will also become available via Adobe frame.io, using which videos and photos can be uploaded directly from the camera to the Adobe frame.io cloud for further processing.”
The EyeRes viewfinder of the Leica SL3-S is equipped with a “painstakingly produced” optical system of glass lenses: “It displays the subject crystal clear at all times with up to 120 images per second and a resolution of 5.76 million pixels”.
The live preview offers control over exposure and composition of shots.
A new feature of the SL3-S is the tilting 3.2-inch high-res touchscreen with a tilting mechanism.
A link on the Leica Australia website to the new product leads to a 404 Page not found message.
