in this video i want to consider whether the leica sl2s that i've been testing out
could be a worthy successor to my canon eos r that i'm filming on right now
instead of cameras like the canon r5 r6 or whatever sony brings out next
well on a practical level i would like two card slots again i would like to have ibis and i
want to get into a system with two cameras so i can have a b cam and a cam for video
or i can have a spare camera should something go wrong with one of them
so why am i not sure about sticking with canon well it really comes down to the overheating
issues that have been really well publicized with the r5 and r6 when filming in certain
video settings for certain durations in certain temperatures given that i film most small projects
on my hybrid cameras and not something like the black magic pocket series that does concern me
and compared to other lens manufacturers the canon lens catalog is growing very slowly and
doesn't yet have staples like a 35 millimeter L equivalent without adapting older the lenses
so with all that in mind i took the leica sl2s for a test drive from my local leica store and
used it on a portrait shoot i got the new 24 to 70 with it and got to test it out in one of my
typical bits of work it's not an exhaustive test but it was enough for me to decide for myself
and i should say before we get into the pros and cons that i was going into this test
really wanting to like the sl2s let's start with what i did like about the sl2s firstly
to me this is a good looking camera clean lines minimal design it's leica all over thankfully the
image quality is just as refined as the design and even when combined with a zoom lens left nothing
to be desired for a 24 megapixel camera and at 2.8 it might be the best zoom i've personally tried
the viewfinder too is a clear upgrade from my eos r and it looks noticeably larger
and sharper in use the menus and the user interface look very nice and quite unlike
any other camera menus i've ever used but this is where we start to get a little bit negative
though it certainly looks nice in practice the menu is similarly inconsistent to other
manufacturer's menus and worse in some ways none of the items are touch sensitive
and menu navigation seems to work best with the focus joystick which i'm not a massive
fan of that focused joystick is really the only unsatisfying ergonomic point to an otherwise very
tactile camera there's no flippy screen on the leica to film like i'm filming now but
to be honest the app is a good workaround in this particular scenario the body and
the lens are tough and well made but almost to a fault it certainly makes the camera
sturdy in the hand but it makes it far heavier than i'm used to and far heavier than i would want
and the body's angular edges can be uncomfortable in certain shooting holds and though the image
quality was very good it wasn't any better or worse than my eos r in this scenario
and i certainly don't think it would be better than an r5 or r6 in the real world the autofocus
though accurate behaved in a way that didn't inspire confidence during the shooting
it had to reacquire focus through subtle pulsing as i shot and this was a stark contrast to the
confidence of the eos r and the canon dual pixel af finally and this is more of a future point
leica doesn't really get any support from companies like profoto or godox or small rig
for cages and that is a massive downside the camera can be as good as it wants but if it's
harder to achieve basic things because other manufacturers don't see the point in making
specific leica accessories then that just makes my life as a photographer harder not easier
sadly i don't think it's for me as a tool for my work that i have to invest my own money into
i can't see how this would be a better choice compared to an r6 or even an r5 by paying a
tiny bit more to my eyes the image quality on the sl2s is no better than any of its peers
and if you really care about video you'd probably be better off renting an actual video camera like
a black magic camera and upping the image quality that way especially when you consider that if you
shopped around you could probably buy yourself a used hybrid camera and the blackmagic pocket
6k pro for the asking price of this leica sl2s kit don't get me wrong this is a lovely camera
and if budget were really no concern i would just have one of these lying around
just to use to enjoy for what it is but as it stands i don't see how it justifies its higher
cost over its peers in the ways that matter to me but what do you think do you shoot with the like
sl2s do you want to shoot with like sl2s and think i'm totally wrong let me know in the comments
let's start a discussion about very expensive cameras that don't necessarily compete on spec
and either way i will see you in the next video thank you for watching