The Leica SL Review: Leica Gambles Big
by Louis Ferreira (http://500px.com/LouisFerreira)
Leica doesn’t have many secrets to share depending on how closely you follow LeicaRumors. The Leica SL has been telegraphed since the original measurements of the Leica T mount were proven to be large enough to accommodate a full frame sensor. Since that revelation there has been wild speculation about what Leica might release, but along the way we covered everything of importance about the SL in articles like this, this and this. Therefore, we see almost no down side in working with Leica to develop an early review for readers of LeicaRumors instead of just republishing information that we already leaked months ago. Leica has never been very good at keeping secrets beyond how their cameras and lenses actually perform, which can only be judged first hand.
I’d like to start off by admitting the SL is most likely not a camera for me. It fails at everything I enjoy doing most with my M and Q. It’s a very complicated camera compared to the Leicas I love. It’s big, it’s heavy and, if I were in the market for one, I would likely buy an S because of these issues as I would at least gain the look of medium format for my sacrifices.
But… There is greatness brewing. When shooting around base ISO, the glass shines and I can easily see the SL as an amazing studio camera because its very quick when given adequate lighting. It also has the best viewfinder you have ever used outside of medium format cameras, the body and lens are weather sealed, there’s a dual SD card slot, Leica’s unmatched industrial design, and a reasonably fast GPS that isn’t an after thought.
