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The Leica SL as upgrade for Sony A7R II shooters


Andrew Reid
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From my understanding Leica wanted video shooters to use Super 35 lenses for the Leica SL, right? I'm not sure how many would do it but a Leica SL with an external recorder outputting 10-bit 422 should be interesting, how is the rolling shutter? The new M10 has a better sensor with less overall noise, which makes me wonder who made the sensor. The Leica Q and SL sensors are made by TowerJazz (by Panasonic), is this from somebody else?

This also makes me think about the next Leica of this kind, Panasonic put a lot of good things in the SL, external 10-bit 422, L-Log, 120fps, etc. quite similar to the GH4, will the next Leica have internal 10-bit 422 and 4K60p like the GH5? I wonder if more people will think about Leica for video if they deliver that. That would be interesting, the GH4 has an extra crop and so does the SL, would the next one be a full sensor readout withuot crop like the GH5 as well? I would be like a FF GH5 with Leica colour science - and price! hehe...

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I've seen conflicting reports of the M10 sensor's high ISO performance, either way there's not much in it. That camera sadly doesn't do video at all.

The Leica Q has a slightly noisier readout in that small body, it is very nice but not quite Leica SL performance in low light for stills. For video the Q is nowhere close, it doesn't even have 24p. No 4K on the Q and its 1080p isn't as crisp as the SL.

Yes I believe it is TowerJazz or their joint venture with Pana that fabs the Leica sensor (and possibly RED's), while the Arri Alexa is ON Semi.

Will be trying the 10bit 4:2:2 4K with the Odyssey 7Q+ later.

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2 hours ago, photographer-at-large said:

Jon Olsson's channel on YouTube was THE place to look at Leica SL footage until recent switch to RED Helium 8K and Sony A7sII.

IF Leica SL v2 is forthcoming, hopefully audio jacks will be built-in, instead of needing this adapter:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1273113-REG

Jon Olsson mostly used the Leica Q, didn't he? The only time I've seen the Leica SL on there was when they had a german photographer visiting.

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1 hour ago, UncleBobsPhotography said:

Jon Olsson mostly used the Leica Q, didn't he? The only time I've seen the Leica SL on there was when they had a german photographer visiting.

No they indeed used a SL for a long time, probably about 200/250 vlogs, and the quality the got out of it was indeed extremely good (they used leica glass, be it manual M or SL AF, and it had loads of character). They switched to an A7sII and though it's a very good camera by all means, colour and overall rendition suffered from that change (to me at least), they also got a RED Helium which is a non-sense to me for a Vlog.

 

Andrew, did they fix the Log problem on a firmware update on the SL, I remember your post on that subject when it got out ? I'm curious to see your results in 10bit 4:2:2, it should be great ! It is a great camera for both Stills and Video.

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Some corrections @Andrew Reid,

The SL1 EVF is NOT 4,4 MP but 4,4 million dots or 1,46 MP and it's made by Epson (not in Germany that's for sure).

"How does the 4K do vs the 1D X Mark II? It’s very good. However just like the 1D X II this is approximately a 1.4x crop of the full frame sensor." The crop factor is NOT 1,4x as you said but something like 1,56x in 4K UHD and 1,46x in 4K DCI.

And by the way, the whole camera is made by Panasonic in Japan not physically in Germany by Leica. :)

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Very cool!
The SL has been a dream camera since release for sure.
Luckily its already coming down a bit on the used market. Im watching it like a hawk :)

But as we know it gets a lot of hate for being a Leica and prepare for it.
Luckily you have thick enough skin to handle it.
Its 99.99% jealousy anyway. I get stupid comments from people almost daily that want to nitpick some feature or tidbit on my Leica M reviews.
And pretty much always when I explain why I like or dislike a certain feature they turn to attacks to protect their low self esteem regarding their Fuji/Panasony/Canikon/What have you.

I have the Medium Format speedbooster on the way, sadly only for Sony-E. Would be very cool to see how it would go on your SL.

Anyway, congratulations. Leica is a total Drug. Ive so far bought two M8, an M9 and a M9 Monochrome.
Right now Im debating a X, X1 or T. Decisions, decisions, decisions....

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

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Looking forward to seeing how your medium format speed booster goes

They make it in E mount and SL mount :)

You're right, once you get bitten by the Leica bug you want more and more until you go broke :)

The used price of the SL, I've seen as low as £4200 in the UK. Mine was £5000 new.

With Sony churning out their mass market stuff for £3500 new, the price difference isn't as big as people think - you get a lot from Leica for your extra dosh

The SL is a niche camera made in much smaller quantities and it is nicer in almost every way to shoot with especially stills

I also like how you can enter video mode with a single press of a dedicated button and it can remember to stay in when you turn the camera off and on again, unlike the Samsung NX1. No dwiddling the mode dial. It doesn't even have a mode dial. Then you have a user favourites menu on one press, put the video resolution and frame rates as top option, so you can be in there changing between 4k and 120fps 1080p on one page in just 2 presses. Try doing that with a Sony :)

It has the best joystick of any camera, it is like tweaking a nipple, on a very nice supermodel.

RAW stills quality is similar to the 1D X Mark II. Low light performance is also very good.

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@Andrew Reid,

The info is from the internet:

The sensor and processing units are definitely made by Panasonic: http://leicarumors.com/2015/08/13/the-sensor-inside-the-leica-q-typ-116-is-most-likely-produced-by-towerjazz-an-israeli-semiconductor-manufacturer-with-tight-relations-to-panasonic.aspx/

hence the similarities with the GH4 like the V-LOG format, codec, AF, bit rates etc.

The zoom lenses are made by Panasonic: http://leicarumors.com/2016/08/17/leica-apo-vario-elmarit-sl-90-280mm-f2-8-4-lens-designed-by-panasonic.aspx/

The 4.4 M dot LCD is made by Epson: https://***URL removed***/articles/7963916751/epson-mass-produces-4-41m-dot-lcd

 

Of course I may be wrong about origin of the SL1... But the viewfinder is definitely NOT 4.4 MP but 4.4 M dots or 1,46 MP and the crop factors in 4K and DCI are as a wrote. :)

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8 minutes ago, Jn- said:

Not knocking it at all, lovely camera I'm sure and good luck with it.  but aren't the lens very expensive also? Looks like you have a potential buyer (Mattias) when you get tired of it.

Unless you need AF for video, which by that I mean the 1D X Mark II is literally the only good choice, then you will be manually focussing. Therefore you are going to be using the same Canon lenses on the Leica SL as you would be on the GH5 with Speed Booster or any number of other standard lens mounts.

The SL lenses are incredibly expensive as I mentioned in the blog post, I am not tempted by any of them unless the used price of the 24-90 comes down to something sane! Having said that they are absolutely on the cutting edge of mirrorless optics.

Just now, Eno said:

I knew this. Yeah it's interesting and I'm not denying it but a rumours site is not "proof"

I just wondered if you had absolute proof or not.

The spec does have the hallmarks of Panasonic

But Fujitsu make their processors so it isn't that simple.

Also the sensor and image processor are custom designs which Leica had a heavy input into.

I wish Panasonic would make their own full frame mirrorless camera based on the same tech... but oddly they seem not to be up for it. GH5 might be great but it is no A7R II rival in the stills market and most photographers will go for the E-M1 II if they want a M43 body.

Just now, Eno said:

hence the similarities with the GH4 like the V-LOG format, codec, AF, bit rates etc.

L-LOG format is nothing like V-LOG... Leica seem responsible for the LOG characteristics and it is still not right. They should copy Canon LOG like me ;)

Just now, Eno said:

You are making out that everything is just a straight re-badging of a Panasonic product.

Again things are not that simple

I have had this lens in my hands. It says Made in Germany on the body.

The electronics and AF systems very likely come from Panasonic. The optical formula is definitely designed in-house at Leica though. They have said so in interviews.

I expect it is a joint effort between Leica and Panasonic in terms of design, speccing out, manufacturing and housing the optics.

Just now, Eno said:

Correct, they also make the 3m dot EVF in the GH5 and Leica Q, which by the way is an amazingly sharp panel as well

But the optics of the EVF are not by Epson, and are just as important as the LCD.

Just now, Eno said:

Of course I may be wrong about origin of the SL1... But the viewfinder is definitely NOT 4.4 MP but 4.4 M dots or 1,46 MP and the crop factors in 4K and DCI are as a wrote. :)

There is no one single origin.

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11 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

Unless you need AF for video, which by that I mean the 1D X Mark II is literally the only good choice, then you will be manually focussing. Therefore you are going to be using the same Canon lenses on the Leica SL as you would be on the GH5 with Speed Booster or any number of other standard lens mounts.

The SL lenses are incredibly expensive as I mentioned in the blog post, I am not tempted by any of them unless the used price of the 24-90 comes down to something sane! Having said that they are absolutely on the cutting edge of mirrorless optics.

The coming Summilux 50 SL should be a nice one. For AF you can also put TL lenses natively, i think in 4K they cover the crop, and offer wider option such as the 11-23, or the Summicron-asph 23mm.

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