Leica SL

Leica SL is Leica's Pro Mirrorless camera originally announced on October of 2015. It includes a 24 MegaPixel, CMOS Full frame sized sensor and has a max resolution of 6000 x 4000. It is also known as "Typ 601" in other countries.

Leica launched the fresher Leica SL2 (Read Full Comparison) as a way to update this camera.

The SL ranks at #47 out of 70 in Pro Mirrorless cameras & over all #113 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our collection. You should check our Smart camera finder to find camera listings based on your personalized factors.

The following is a chart of different factors used in the rating system.

The Leica SL has a history of related digital cameras. Underneath, you can find all older and latest models along with key specs.

You can see the SL from several angles in the gallery below.

Below is a checklist of upsides and downsides of the Leica SL based on factors that are oftentimes considered essential in a camera.

The Leica SL is run by the Maestro II processor. The sensor dimension on the Leica SL is 36mm x 24mm (Full frame). The 864 mm² sensor is able to capture 6000 x 4000 pixels at aspect ratios of 3:2.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The CMOS sensor has 24 megapixels and features a native ISO range of 50 to 50000. RAW files are saved therefore you have wider margin for error.

Leica opted to skip the anti-alias filter in the Leica SL. This could result in more sharper pictures but can introduce moire under certain conditions.

The image below shows the SL's sensor dimensions in comparison to other common sizes. The SL sensor has a crop factor of 1 and is presented in green.

Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

To get a sense of specific aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Leica SL weighs about 1.87 pounds (847 gr or 29.88 oz) & the sizing of the camera is 147mm x 104mm x 39mm (5.8" x 4.1" x 1.5"). The weight of typical Pro Mirrorless camera is 722 gr and the Leica SL is more heavy when compared with other rivals.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

The following is a photo of the Leica SL besides a soft drink so you can get a feel for its scale.

The top view below will illustrate the button layout on the SL.

The SL uses the Leica L mount and has 52 lenses available on the market. Below is a small number of the lenses we have in our database which will fit the SL.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight

Panasonic Lumix S 24mm F1.824mmf/1.8310g

Sigma 40mm F1.4 DG HSM A40mmf/1.40g

Photography Glossary

Leica Super-Vario-Elmar-SL 16-35mm F3.5-4.5 ASPH16-35mmf/3.5-4.5990g

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm F2.8 ASPH24-70mmf/2.8856g

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C56mmf/1.40g

Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280 mm F2.8-490-280mmf/2.8-4.0 1710g

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Panasonic Lumix S Pro 70-200mm F4 OIS70-200mmf/4 985g

The SL has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• Wireless Yes
• HDMI Yes
• GPS Yes

Digital cameras with NFC and Bluetooth support are able to be used wirelessly via smartphones. You can send pictures and sometimes change camera settings with no need to connect physically to the camera.

Certain applications even enable a Liveview and hit the shutter when you are not close to the camera. If the camera provides a HDMI port, it can easily be hooked up to an external screen. Almost all cameras will allow you to charge the battery pack using the USB socket.

The max video resolution on the Leica SL is 4096 x 2160 and you can capture in MPEG-4 format. 2160p gives an exceptional resolution for video. You can crop to 1080p to get clearer video. Be wary of the substantial file sizes and make sure you get high quality SD cards that have fast write speed. The camera does have both headphone and microphone support making it very useful whilst capturing sound.

Leica SL provides weather proofing making it a good option for use during challenging conditions. This can be particularly valuable in case you are uncertain about the elements you may face during outdoor photography.

The Leica SL includes a 3" fixed screen boasting a resolution of 1,040k dots.

Moreover the screen is touch friendly which means you can switch focus point and adjust settings by using your fingertips. The SL also includes a Top LCD display in order to instantly see camera settings.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The View Finder specs for Leica SL are the following:

• ViewFinder Electronic
• ViewFinder Resolution 4,400k dots
• ViewFinder Coverage 100 percent
• ViewFinder Magnification 0.8x

Viewfinders are very handy during bright outdoor situations which will make the camera display washed out and very difficult to see.

Leica SL is able to shoot continuously at 11.0 frames per second. The highest shutter speed is 1/8000 seconds.

Leica SL features external flash support but is lacking in-built flash.

Leica SL features just Contrast Based Autofocus & lacks Phase Detect Autofocus. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot quicker and precise when compared with Contrast Based autofocusing. The camera includes Face detect which can be valuable for portraits.

It includes 49 focus points to pick from. Leica SL has tap to focus. You are able to use your fingers to adjust where you focus. It also comes with Tracking Autofocus for objects that move. Leica SL boasts manual focusing in case it is required during low light situations or you want to have more exact focusing control.

The battery pack (BP-SCL4) for the Leica SL is fashioned to last for 400 photos as per the CIPA benchmarks which is lesser compared to it's rivals. The usual Pro Mirrorless camera battery life is 460. Olympus E-M1X has got the maximum (870) battery life within this group of cameras.

Here is a number of Pro Mirrorless cameras having the strongest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Olympus E-M1X
SL vs E-M1X870 yesnoyes

Fujifilm GFX 100
SL vs Fujifilm GFX 100800 yesnoyes

Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Canon R3
SL vs R3760 yesnoyes

Nikon Z9
SL vs Z9740 yesnoyes

Leica M11
SL vs M11700 yesnono

The following chart shows a rundown of the Leica SL for different kinds of photography. To check out more, have a look at the specific section below.

The Leica SL receives a score of 83 which is awesome, meaning that it is a wonderful option to use for portrait photos. Taking portrait photos leans heavily to sensor dimension, RAW support and potential to use external lighting.

With a very good rating of 69, the Leica SL is a very decent fit for street photography. A very good street photography camera comes with a fine balance of picture quality and portability.

A very good sports photography rating of 67 suggests the Leica SL is a fine fit for photographing sports. A camera really should have very good tracking and shutter speeds for sports photography.

Portability is extremely crucial when choosing a travel camera. All things considered, the Leica SL gets a very good 65 as a travelling camera which is a fine fit for your vacations.

When you're planning to pick a camera for landscape photography, the most significant aspect is going to be image quality. The Leica SL with it's exceptional rating of 77 as a landscape camera is a tremendous option compared to its competition.

A camera for vlogging should offer a moving display, mic input and if possible IBIS. Taking all things in to account, the Leica SL is just not appropriate as a vlog camera as it gets a low rating of 33.

If you are shopping for replacements to the SL, below is a range of the top placed cameras that fall in to the class of Pro Mirrorless.

The chart just below offers you a summary of the SL compared to it's highest ranked rivals shown previously.

These are some more cameras you may take a look at as alternative options. To review a comprehensive comparison, visit the "compare" link.