Leica SL with 10bit 4K video and possible Panasonic full frame sensor!

[Andrew Reid]

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[wolf33d]

Leica SL has a log curve mode for video. 
It has also more features than A7S II (24mpx, 11fps, 10 bit output, weather sealing, 120fps without  crop, ...)

[Zach Ashcraft]

Congrats Leica, you did it! You made the worlds ugliest camera. 

[Don Kotlos]

Congrats Leica, you did it! You made the worlds ugliest camera. 

I am not sure about that... 

Leica SL is clearly aimed at people that already have a LEICA S and were looking into something smaller . 

But really, this is a capable camera aimed at LEICA buyers. 

 

[Liam]

Congrats Leica, you did it! You made the worlds ugliest camera. 

I don't know, seems like there will be a lot to leica bout it B) 

[Nikkor]

nice, very nice. Now let's wait for panasonic.

[maxotics]

"Are they just a brand, whose intent is to leverage as much margin as possible out of gullible rich customers or are they a serious imaging firm for pros?"

Leica has a way of looking at photography, a philosophy, that is about the best optics and fastest/smallest/most precise deign where focus, aperture and shutter speed are quickly accessible for pure "manual" photography.  Yes, mostly rich people can afford that philosophy, but it's unfair to say gullible because most photographers respect Leica's philosophy and what the camera can do.  Is their Monochrome $9K because it's a luxury, or because the market is small?   Have they ever been a serious imaging firm for professionals?  Even when I was a kid, Leica was beyond many professional photographers.  

It makes sense for Panasonic to work with them.  However, most Panasonic and Olympus glass is MFT.  Lack of lenses still bedevils the e-mount (the Batis 85mm is still not shipping in quantity).  Not sure Panasonic can come out with other lenses or confuse its current users.  What's interesting about this camera is that is shows how confused/uncertain Leica is about where the high end market is moving.  

Although I'm the first to argue that full-frame gives a DOF look you can't get in MFT, I'd also argue that if Panasonic can deliver a GH5 with RAW it would be a camera to be reckoned with.  All these log formats are fool's gold in my opinion.  You can't make 8-bit anything but 8-bit.  

Guess what I'm saying is I doubt Panasonic will ever come out with a full-frame camera under the Panasonic brand.  I think what we're looking at is that camera under the Leica name where it would stay.

[The Chris]

Behold the new GH5.

[richg101]

full size hdmi!  huge body, i love the styling and size.  I wonder if the sensor glass is thinner so it works well with their premium M mount lenses via adaptor?

[Visual Amco]

Hmm if the GH5 goes full frame it will not be MFT and a lot of us have thousands invested in MFT glass..

[richg101]

it says on dpreview that its got v-log L curve for movie mode

[Bioskop.Inc]

Leica is just one of those companies that makes no sense to most people, until you own one.

I was lucky enough to pick one up at an auction house 10yrs ago for a staggering £200 - camera, leather case & 3 lenses. I was up against 1 other bidder & he thought it was too much - well, cause I won. It was an old screw mount film camera - it was a piece of art & just so easy to use. I kept it for a month or so, messed about with it a little (I had no interest in photography at that point) & sold it for a song.

This camera is probably Leica giving their photography crowd a video option, which they'll never use cause you buy a Leica to take pictures with, not video. Panasonic know this & it won't dent their market one little bit because you have to have loads of money to buy one - that's why professionals don't buy or use them. Professionals buy Leica glass, cause its soooooo good.

This cam looks the business design-wise.

[j.f.r.]

Hmm if the GH5 goes full frame it will not be MFT and a lot of us have thousands invested in MFT glass..

Cut your losses now then if you want the GH5 (crosses fingers they go FF)

[Jimmy]

Lack of OLPF probably kills this for serious video work... Still not sure why no one is willing to put 10bit internal in their flagship though... Surely GH5 has to break this ground.

[The Chris]

Ok, maybe not GH5, but a new FF line - the GHXL - with the XL for its size, ha, ha.

[Inazuma]

Seeing this thing now made me realise why I threw up randomly earlier today.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Lack of OLPF probably kills this for serious video work... Still not sure why no one is willing to put 10bit internal in their flagship though... Surely GH5 has to break this ground.

The optical low pass filter that's designed for a stills camera (in this case a 24mp stills camera) has no effect on video images. Not a deal at all not to mention a deal breaker. Having moire/aliasing will only depend on the sensor quality and how sophisticated the downscaling algorithm. The OLPF is a stills oriented spec as these filters aren't designed for the video output at all, that's why we have to buy video-specific after-market OLPFs for Canon DSLRs even when the cameras have ones for stills. Lots of cameras with a stills OLPF that have video moire and lots of cameras without an OLPF with no video moire. Totally irrelevant. 

Onto the Camera: it looks great! The price is also great, 1DX/D4s range and not Leica range!

A full fledged yet simple leica (Looks great not in aesthetics, it quite bland in looks, but not horrible, a metal square with minimal buttons) 

Extremely specced which is strange for a Leica. Leica makes one of the best colours out there no matter what some might say. It seems they really emphasized on video here which is also very strange for a Leica. Full DCI 4K, 120p  FF slowmotion, 10bit 4:2:2 Full HDMI output, a LOG gamma, peaking/zebras, great EVF, a dedicated video button, a microphone input. 

It might be be a better image than a 1DC, or similar, or worse, I don't know, but worth keeping an eye on. 

Leica has been making cinema lenses for a very long time, and they have a capable camera manufacturing ability, so stepping into the arena is an obvious move, this model is a very strong entrance. 

BTW: Why is Panasonic getting into the conversation here? The sensor manufacturer is unknown (it can be Aptina as much as it can be Sony or Panasonic or Leica) and V-Log here is not ''known'' to be Panasonic's or not. All rumors. I don't think GH5/Panasonic FF has anything to do with this topic. But if you want to dream about it sure. A FF panasonic, best on a separate topic though. What mount would that panasonic have? The only way is a new mount and wait for adapter manufacturer to make some, and have no native glass at all or build a new line from scratch. I'd rather they make a s35 m43s camera and with a SB we can go FF. Makes more sense and m43s can cover a s35 sensor as seen on the JVC LS300, a pretty cool combination. 

[AaronChicago]

If GH5 is full frame then the GH4 is going to stay in production for awhile I assume.

[Chrad]

 BTW: Why is Panasonic getting into the conversation here? The sensor manufacturer is unknown (it can be Aptina as much as it can be Sony or Panasonic or Leica) and V-Log here is not ''known'' to be Panasonic's or not. 

V-Log is a Panasonic 'brand' - that it has it at all is a clear sign of Panasonic's involvement.

[raf702]

That price though of USD $7,450! Body only. Holy f*ck