Leica SL2-S Comparison Review

The Leica SL2-S is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was revealed to the public in December 2020 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 24 megapixel.

Is the Leica SL2-S a good camera? The SL2-S has a Camera Elo of 3135. This very strong rating puts it among the elite group of camera grand masters. The SL2-S ranks among the top 10 percent of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (full frame cameras), the SL2-S also ranks among the top 10 percent.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Leica SL2-S relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All width, height and depth measures are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Leica SL2-S alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Leica SL2-S	146 mm	107 mm	83 mm	931 g	510	Y	Dec 2020	4,895
2.		Canon R6	138 mm	98 mm	88 mm	680 g	360	Y	Jul 2020	2,499
3.		Leica SL2	146 mm	107 mm	42 mm	953 g	370	Y	Nov 2019	5,999
4.		Leica SL	147 mm	104 mm	39 mm	847 g	400	Y	Oct 2015	7,450
5.		Nikon Z6 II	134 mm	101 mm	70 mm	705 g	410	Y	Oct 2020	1,999
6.		Panasonic S5	133 mm	98 mm	82 mm	714 g	440	Y	Sep 2020	1,999
7.		Panasonic S1	149 mm	110 mm	97 mm	1017 g	400	Y	Feb 2019	2,499
8.		Panasonic S1R	149 mm	110 mm	97 mm	1016 g	380	Y	Feb 2019	3,699
9.		Panasonic S1H	151 mm	114 mm	110 mm	1052 g	400	Y	May 2019	3,999
10.		Sony A7C	124 mm	71 mm	60 mm	509 g	740	Y	Sep 2020	1,799
11.		Sony A9 II	129 mm	96 mm	76 mm	678 g	690	Y	Oct 2019	4,499
Notes: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Leica SL2-S was launched in the US market at a price of $4,895. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The imaging sensor is at the core of digital cameras and its size is one of the main determining factors of image quality. A large sensor will tend to have larger individual pixels that provide better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixel-units in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors tend to be more expensive and lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Leica SL2-S features a full frame sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Leica SL2-S among the large-sensor cameras that aim for top notch image quality.

For most cameras, data on sensor performance has been reported by DXO Mark. This service determines an overall sensor rating, as well as sub-scores for low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and color depth ("DXO Portrait"). The table below summarizes the physical sensor characteristics and sensor quality findings and compares them across a set of similar cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Leica SL2-S	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/60p	25.2	14.1	3504	95
2.		Canon R6	Full Frame	20.0	5472	3648	4k/60p	24.2	14.3	3394	90
3.		Leica SL2	Full Frame	46.7	8368	5584	4K/60p	..	..	..	..
4.		Leica SL	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	13.4	1821	88
5.		Nikon Z6 II	Full Frame	24.3	6048	4024	4K/60p	25	14.4	3303	94
6.		Panasonic S5	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/60p	25.1	14.5	2697	94
7.		Panasonic S1	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/60p	25.2	14.5	3333	95
8.		Panasonic S1R	Full Frame	46.7	8368	5584	4K/60p	26.4	14.1	3525	100
9.		Panasonic S1H	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	6K/30p	..	..	..	..
10.		Sony A7C	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.7	3407	95
11.		Sony A9 II	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	14.0	3434	93

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but also of capturing video footage. The SL2-S indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the SL2-S can use is 4K/60p.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the SL2-S has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 5760k dots. The viewfinder offers a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.78x. The adjacent tables list some of the other core features of the Leica SL2-S along with similar information for a selection of comparators.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Mech Shutter Speed	Shutter Flaps (1/sec)	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Leica SL2-S	5760	Y	3.2 / 2100	fixed	Y	1/8000s	20.0	n	Y
2.		Canon R6	3690	n	3.0 / 1620	swivel	Y	1/8000s	12.0	n	Y
3.		Leica SL2	5760	Y	3.2 / 2100	fixed	Y	1/8000s	10.0	n	Y
4.		Leica SL	4400	Y	3.0 / 1040	fixed	Y	1/8000s	11.0	n	n
5.		Nikon Z6 II	3690	Y	3.2 / 2100	tilting	Y	1/8000s	14.0	n	Y
6.		Panasonic S5	2360	n	3.0 / 1840	swivel	Y	1/8000s	7.0	n	Y
7.		Panasonic S1	5760	Y	3.2 / 2100	full-flex	Y	1/8000s	9.0	n	Y
8.		Panasonic S1R	5760	Y	3.2 / 2100	full-flex	Y	1/8000s	9.0	n	Y
9.		Panasonic S1H	5760	Y	3.2 / 2330	swivel	Y	1/8000s	9.0	n	Y
10.		Sony A7C	2360	n	3.0 / 922	swivel	Y	1/4000s	10.0	n	Y
11.		Sony A9 II	3686	n	3.0 / 1440	tilting	Y	1/8000s	10.0	n	Y

One useful feature of the SL2-S is a presence of a top-level LCD. While being, of course, smaller than the rear screen, the control panel conveys some of the essential shooting information and can be convenient for quick and easy settings verification.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Leica SL2-S and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Leica SL2-S	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.2	Y	-	Y
2.		Canon R6	Y	mono / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	-	Y
3.		Leica SL2	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
4.		Leica SL	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.0	Y	-	-
5.		Nikon Z6 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	-	Y
6.		Panasonic S5	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	-	Y
7.		Panasonic S1	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
8.		Panasonic S1R	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
9.		Panasonic S1H	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
10.		Sony A7C	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.2	Y	Y	Y
11.		Sony A9 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	Y	Y

It is notable that the SL2-S has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it remains incomplete and does no justice, for example, to the way the SL2-S handle or perform in practice. User reviews, such as those found at amazon, can sometimes inform about these issues, but such feedback is often incomplete, inconsistent, and biased. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The adjacent table relays the overall verdicts of several of the most popular camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Leica SL2-S	4/5	..	4/5	..	4.5/5	4.5/5	Dec 2020	4,895
2.		Canon R6	5/5	+ +	4/5	90/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jul 2020	2,499
3.		Leica SL2	4/5	..	4.5/5	..	4.5/5	4/5	Nov 2019	5,999
4.		Leica SL	4/5	..	4/5	84/100	4.5/5	4/5	Oct 2015	7,450
5.		Nikon Z6 II	4.5/5	..	4/5	89/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Oct 2020	1,999
6.		Panasonic S5	4.5/5	+ +	4.5/5	88/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2020	1,999
7.		Panasonic S1	4.5/5	+ +	4.5/5	88/100	4.5/5	4/5	Feb 2019	2,499
8.		Panasonic S1R	4.5/5	..	4.6/5	89/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2019	3,699
9.		Panasonic S1H	..	..	4/5	90/100	..	..	May 2019	3,999
10.		Sony A7C	3.5/5	..	3.5/5	86/100	4/5	4/5	Sep 2020	1,799
11.		Sony A9 II	..	..	5/5	90/100	5/5	5/5	Oct 2019	4,499
Notes: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The above review scores should be interpreted with care, though. The assessments were made in relation to similar cameras of the same technological generation. Thus, a score needs to be put into the context of the launch date and the launch price of the camera, and comparisons of ratings among very different cameras or across long time periods have little meaning. Also, kindly note that some of the listed sites have over time developped their review approaches and their reporting style.

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just use the search menu below. Alternatively, you can follow any of the listed hyperlinks for comparisons that others found interesting.

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