So many camera interfaces are complex and irritating that the elegance and simplicity of the SL2's controls and menus are like a breath of fresh air. It’s a real light-bulb moment that makes just puts a grin on your face the first time you use it. When you press and hold a function button an on-screen display pops up to offer all the settings available for that button. Isn’t programming all those unmarked function buttons going to be an utter pain in the neck? Normally we’d say yes, because on just about any other camera it mean lots of tiresome hunting through layers of menus to find the custom settings options. These, and the other unmarked buttons on the top and back are all programmable, which may leave you with a sinking heart. On the front of the camera are two further unmarked buttons, one above the other. One is for Playback mode, one is a FN button and the third is for the Menu. Round the back there's an unmarked joystick next to another unmarked button (for toggling the EVF/rear screen by default), a control dial, a power switch (which is marked, usefully) and alongside the rear screen are three buttons WITH LABELS. The twin dial layout works intuitively in each of the PASM exposure modes, with the rear dial controlling aperture or shutter speed and the front dial used for exposure compensation – or, in M mode, one dial is for the shutter speed, one for the lens aperture. Instead, you click the rear dial to activate a mode display on the status screen then turn the dial to change the mode. On the top there are just two buttons, a dial, a status panel and a shutter release – and none of them are marked. The fact is, the SL2’s control system and the thought that has gone into it are remarkable.įor a camera that does so much, there don't seem to be anywhere near enough buttons and dials. We'd need Leica to let us keep the SL2 for a few months to properly assess its handling and interface design (nice try, huh?), but since that's probably not going to happen, we will give our impressions so far. How can a camera this sophisticated have so few external controls, and can a couple of unmarked dials and six custom function buttons (five of which are unmarked) really offer the kind of clarity and efficiency that photographers will look for?Īctually… yes. The first and most obvious characteristic of the SL2 is its sleek, minimal design. This is NOT just a rebadging exercise, but an entirely different camera that just happens to share some internal components. The internal similarities between the Leica SL2 and Panasonic S1R might be obvious, but as a physical device it’s utterly different. (Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World) Build and handling But the minimal design ethos is part of the Leica's charm. That rear touchscreen display is fixed – it doesn't even tilt.
Leica says it's removed a glass filter layer from in front of the sensor (we were told this is the low pass filter, done to maximise resolution) and that plastic viewfinder components have been replaced with glass for a better user experience. There's been a process of improvement and simplification too. It also has an impressive turn of speed, offering 10fps continuous shooting with its mechanical shutter and 20fps with its electronic shutter.
They include body detection as well as face detection, and the camera has easily accessed autofocus ‘case settings’, each with adjustable parameters, for different kinds of moving subject. Leica’s autofocus options are interesting. Like the S1R, the SL2 can capture 4K video at up to 60/50fps, and the SL2 uses a 225 zone contrast AF system as the Lumix S1R, with ‘depth mapping’ operating at a frequency of 480fps. The Leica SL2 has a 47-megapixel full frame CMOS sensor, for a start, with 5-axis in-body stabilisation that offers a quoted 5.5EV shutter speed advantage. Leica and Panasonic are technology partners, and you don’t have to look to deeply into the SL2’s specifications to see its technical similarity to the Panasonic Lumix S1R. (Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World) Key features The Leica might share key internals with the Lumix S1R, but it's an utterly different camera in its physical design, its control layout and its operation.
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