Leica SL3 / SL3-S

[Andrew Reid]

5 hours ago, Django said:

Anyways, the GFX seems like a beast for photography, but for video I kind of wonder if the line-skipped 4K

It's not line-skipped.

Pixel binning is the modern way of subsampling high res sensors.

As for the video rolling shutter and AF tracking, I look at it like this... There are a gazillion options for good AF and good rolling shutter, sometimes you can't get everything perfect in one camera.

The GFX 100's image however is unique - there are not a gazillion options with this image or sensor size.

It's a pleasure to use for certain kinds of video shooting.

You also have the faster rolling shutter of 15ms in 24p 4K on the GFX 100 II if you turn dynamic range priority off. So they have addressed the need for a faster readout on the second model.

I don't consider 26ms too ruinous, the a6500 and NX1 were still usable at 30ms, just not for certain things. At 38ms in 8K on the a7r V, that's when it really starts to be more noticeable for all sorts of stuff.

26ms is closer to the 1080p line skipped 5D Mark II which a lot of nice stuff has been made with in the past.

5 hours ago, Django said:

and lack of AF subject tracking makes it such a good hybrid solution versus lets say a Z8/Z9 that can adapt all kind of glass including Leica with AF using the techartpro adapter.. with up to 8K60p resolution.

Z8 is a great hybrid, no doubt about it, but it isn't the same sort of tool.

A 50mm F1.8 looks very normal on full frame, whereas on the GFX 100 it takes on an other worldly quality like a Leica Noctilux. It's that big a difference.

I would choose the GFX over Z8 for photography any day unless I wanted a sports & wildlife camera with big telephotos.

5 hours ago, Django said:

Obviously GFX100s is still a bargain for photography with 100MP and bigger than FF sensor, just not sure if the video specs are that good..

The video specs are fine, if you can't create something incredible looking with 4K, 10bit, F-LOG, IBIS, and a sensor the size of an ALEXA 65 then god help u all.

[MrSMW]

I need to stop reading about Fuji GFX100 cameras and checking prices on MPB…

[Django]

9 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

I don't consider 26ms too ruinous, the a6500 and NX1 were still usable at 30ms, just not for certain things. At 38ms in 8K on the a7r V, that's when it really starts to be more noticeable for all sorts of stuff.

26ms is closer to the 1080p line skipped 5D Mark II which a lot of nice stuff has been made with in the past.

I'm not saying its unusable just that its a pretty slow readout. Not a surprise due to the sensor size and MP count. Like you say you can't get everything in one camera, always a tradeoff somewhere.

9 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

The video specs are fine, if you can't create something incredible looking with 4K, 10bit, F-LOG, IBIS, and a sensor the size of an ALEXA 65 then god help u all.

Fair point. However AF is going to be an important factor on a sensor with such shallow DoF. Which also brings up what you were saying the other day about the cliche look of large sensor DoF vs crop sensors. 

To balance the video specs and MF look, perhaps pairing a GFX with a XH2S is the ideal combo. GFX for those careful dreamy shots and the XH2S for more dynamic run & gun stuff. Assuming the color science matches that could be a killer combo. Crazy to think you could get those two cameras for the price of a R5ii!

[Fairkid]

Last night this thread got me thinking about the GFX100 again after liking the look of it a few years ago. Today WEX alerted me to their sale and I managed to buy a grade 9 example for £1600 (25% discount code). Couldn't resist that!

[MrSMW]

13 minutes ago, Fairkid said:

£1600

That is NUTS!

[MrSMW]

For that money, if I lived in the UK and could also get that 25% discount, I think I'd jump on one!

But they do not ship to France and I'd be stung for customs duty. Fcuk Brexit 👺

[eatstoomuchjam]

£1600 for a GFX 100 is absolutely bonkers.  Congrats on the great deal!

If you can get a good deal on the GF 100/2, you should strongly consider it.  It's one of my two favorite portrait lenses of all time for any system (the other being the Summicron-M 90mm f/2 asph (which also covers pretty well on GF, just without autofocus)).

[MrSMW]

Actually, it would be worth me crossing the channel on the Eurostar to pick one up!

What/where is that 25% off deal?!

[Fairkid]

It was in their used clear out but it looks like they have all sold.

[Ninpo33]

I also found a deal on one in Japan but the lack of info has me concerned. I’m still thinking about it though. 
 

$1,800 US with a 10% coupon and $25 FedEx shipping. BUT…. That includes a Fringer EF autofocus adapter so it’s really like $1,400 for the GFX 100.

i also really need the small form factor of the 100s or 100ii so I’m still resisting the OG 100 first model. That industrial design is so cool though despite the size. I especially like the look of taking off the EVF and going “headless” 

if anyone has more guts than me here’s a photo. If I drink too much tonight I may end up pushing the buy button. The prices of used 100s models has surprisingly gone back up the last couple of months… I’m wondering if the new cinema camera announcement has people looking for cheap B cam options? That’s definitely my plan. 

*Also, I guess the SL3 thread has been hijacked by GFX talk. I originally was thinking 61mp Sony sensor models for the high res but why mess around when you can go big with a GFX…!!!

 

[eatstoomuchjam]

If you want a GFX 100 series body and plan to use electronic EF lenses, that one seems too good to be true.  If the seller has good feedback that seems legit and relates to other camera stuff, resistance may be futile.

That or roll the dice and try bidding on some 100s's to see if you can nab one under $2k.

[Ninpo33]

5 hours ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

If you want a GFX 100 series body and plan to use electronic EF lenses, that one seems too good to be true.  If the seller has good feedback that seems legit and relates to other camera stuff, resistance may be futile.

That or roll the dice and try bidding on some 100s's to see if you can nab one under $2k.

The feedback is good on the seller but they say the bottom battery grip is discolored and then mention it’s damaged. I don’t know if the damage is the discoloration or something else and since it’s translated from Japanese it’s all a bit hard to discern. I’ve had great luck with used stuff from japan because as a society, people are generally very forthright and take good care of their things. In this case though, I’m going to keep looking for the 100s. 
 

I used to see quite a few for $2,000 but now they’re all at $2,800 or so. Not sure what’s causing the increase but I feel like I’ll just wait till something shows up on my radar. 

[eatstoomuchjam]

Damage to the bottom might be a common thing.  My grip was all beat up when I traded it in.  It also depends on what they mean by damage, but the lock on the grip shutter for mine was really loose.  I think that's also a pretty common problem on the OG 100 if it's seen some real use.  It didn't bug me much since the button was hard to accidentally press, regardless of the lock.

(For all I know, that could be my old camera, though I traded mine in at MPB in the US so it'd be interesting to know how it got to Japan a year later)

[Ninpo33]

2 hours ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

For all I know, that could be my old camera, though I traded mine in at MPB in the US so it'd be interesting to know how it got to Japan a year later.

Well if that was the case I would scoop it up…!!! 

[Ninpo33]

Looks like January 16th might be the day we finally get to see the new SL3-S specs confirmed. Is it going to be a rebadged S5ii or are we getting more with the red dot?
 

https://leicarumors.com/2025/01/13/here-are-the-leica-sl3-s-camera-specifications.aspx/amp/

[MrSMW]

My money would be on the SL3 body with a 24mp sensor.

Leica would be mad to use the S5II body as it’s not in the same league build-wise.

They might have got away with it on some rebadged Sigma lenses but with the body, can’t see it.

[Andrew Reid]

The SL3-S spec will be interesting because it will show us if Panasonic has been able to get a new sensor supply in their current drought.

The Panasonic SL3 has the old Sony 60mp chip, which is slow and has a lot of rolling shutter. It doesn't have the latest stacked sensors of the Canon,Nikon,Sony flagships.

Will the SL3-S reuse the same old a7 III / Z6 II / Nikon Zf / S1H / S5 II sensor (with phase-detect enabled)?

Or will it finally go beyond to at least a partially stacked chip aka Z6 III?

Or will it be something completely different like a Panasonic Organic MOS chip?

[Andrew Reid]

On 12/23/2024 at 11:43 PM, Ninpo33 said:

I also found a deal on one in Japan but the lack of info has me concerned. I’m still thinking about it though. 
 

$1,800 US with a 10% coupon and $25 FedEx shipping. BUT…. That includes a Fringer EF autofocus adapter so it’s really like $1,400 for the GFX 100.

i also really need the small form factor of the 100s or 100ii so I’m still resisting the OG 100 first model. That industrial design is so cool though despite the size. I especially like the look of taking off the EVF and going “headless” 

if anyone has more guts than me here’s a photo. If I drink too much tonight I may end up pushing the buy button. The prices of used 100s models has surprisingly gone back up the last couple of months… I’m wondering if the new cinema camera announcement has people looking for cheap B cam options? That’s definitely my plan. 

*Also, I guess the SL3 thread has been hijacked by GFX talk. I originally was thinking 61mp Sony sensor models for the high res but why mess around when you can go big with a GFX…!!!

 

The GFX100 devaluation is hard to understand.

This was a $10k camera, and although nearly 5 years old, nobody seems to want one. Hence the crazy low prices.

They all want the crappy GFX100S which feels cheapo, with a much worse viewfinder and build quality.

Something I will never understand about the used market is how a GFX 100 can be worth X100 VI prices and that something as ordinary and humdrum as a Canon Powershot G7X from 10 years ago can be in such demand that it regularly goes for over $800.

You have to say the average customer is a bit of an idiot.

Good for us though, with all these bargain 100 megapixel 4K cameras!

[MrSMW]

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

Or will it finally go beyond to at least a partially stacked chip aka Z6 III?

 

Is it even available to them? (Leica & Lumix)

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

Or will it be something completely different like a Panasonic Organic MOS chip?

Does that even exist?

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

They all want the crappy GFX100S which feels cheapo, with a much worse viewfinder and build quality.

But it is much smaller and I think that is the main appeal? 

1 hour ago, Andrew Reid said:

You have to say the average customer is a bit of an idiot.

Always have been and always will be 😉

Well maybe 'idiot' is too strong and I can see the appeal of say an X100VI over an OG GFX100 as in one has a fixed lens and can just about be squeezed into a pocket and the other you'd have to have pockets like Matt Granger to even attempt that feat.

But if comparing outright imaging capability, it's a no-brainer isn't it. But apples and pears.

The rule applies though that generally you can get MUCH better value on a used product and have to pay a premium for the so called latest and greatest.

[Andrew Reid]

I use the word in jest of course but there is some truth to it

Why is a camera as powerful and obviously NOT obsolete as GFX 100 worth only 2k?

It is the largest and highest resolution sensor on the market in a 'normal' mirrorless camera, and the best built body with best EVF, and so on... a true $10k professional photographic masterpiece.

Whereas the X100 VI is a very cool pocket camera, I don't understand why the image quality of the GFX 100 is worth $0 premium over it... Alas, I will never understand the average photog.