Leica SL2 Comparison Review

The Leica SL2 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was revealed to the public in November 2019 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 46.7 megapixel.

Is the Leica SL2 a good camera? The Leica SL2 has a Camera Elo of 2956. This rating puts the Leica SL2 among the top 20 percent of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (full frame cameras), the Leica SL2 ranks among the top 30 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 side-by-side display below illustrates the physical size of the Leica SL2 vis-à-vis a credit card. Three consecutive views from the front, the top, and the rear side are shown. All size dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Leica SL2 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	Street Price
1.		Leica SL2	146 mm	107 mm	42 mm	953 g	370	Y	Nov 2019	US$ 5 999	amazon.com
2.		Leica Q2	130 mm	80 mm	92 mm	718 g	370	Y	Mar 2019	US$ 4 999	amazon.com
3.		Leica SL	147 mm	104 mm	39 mm	847 g	400	Y	Oct 2015	US$ 7 449	ebay.com
4.		Leica SL2-S	146 mm	107 mm	83 mm	931 g	510	Y	Dec 2020	US$ 4 899	amazon.com
5.		Leica SL3	141 mm	108 mm	85 mm	769 g	320	Y	Mar 2024	US$ 6 999	amazon.com
6.		Nikon Z7	134 mm	101 mm	67 mm	675 g	330	Y	Aug 2018	US$ 3 399	ebay.com
7.		Panasonic S1	149 mm	110 mm	97 mm	1017 g	400	Y	Feb 2019	US$ 2 499	amazon.com
8.		Panasonic S1H	151 mm	114 mm	110 mm	1052 g	400	Y	May 2019	US$ 3 999	amazon.com
9.		Panasonic S1R	149 mm	110 mm	97 mm	1016 g	380	Y	Feb 2019	US$ 3 699	amazon.com
10.		Pentax K-1 II	137 mm	110 mm	86 mm	1010 g	670	Y	Feb 2018	US$ 1 999	amazon.com
11.		Sony A99 II	143 mm	104 mm	76 mm	849 g	490	Y	Sep 2016	US$ 3 199	ebay.com
Note: 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 was launched in the US market at a price of $5,999. 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.

Check Leica SL2 price at
amazon.com

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the imaging sensor is a crucial determinant 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 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 among the large-sensor cameras that aim for top notch image quality.

Consistent information on actual sensor performance is available from DXO Mark for most cameras. This service is based on lab testing and assigns an overall score to each camera sensor, as well as ratings for dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), color depth ("DXO Portrait"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"). The adjacent table reports on the physical sensor characteristics and the outcomes of the DXO sensor quality tests for a sample of alternative 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	Full Frame	46.7	8368	5584	4K/60p	25.3	14.3	2866	95
2.		Leica Q2	Full Frame	46.7	8368	5584	4K/30p	26.4	13.5	2491	96
3.		Leica SL	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/30p	25.0	13.4	1821	88
4.		Leica SL2-S	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/60p	25.2	14.1	3504	95
5.		Leica SL3	Full Frame	60.3	9520	6336	8K/30p	25.4	14.8	3295	97
6.		Nikon Z7	Full Frame	45.4	8256	5504	4K/30p	26.3	14.6	2668	99
7.		Panasonic S1	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	4K/60p	25.2	14.5	3333	95
8.		Panasonic S1H	Full Frame	24.0	6000	4000	6K/30p	25.2	14.2	2805	94
9.		Panasonic S1R	Full Frame	46.7	8368	5584	4K/60p	26.4	14.1	3525	100
10.		Pentax K-1 II	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/60i	25.1	14.0	2698	93
11.		Sony A99 II	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	25.4	13.4	2317	92
Note: DXO values in italics represent estimates based on sensor size and age.

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

Feature comparison

Beyond body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the Leica SL2 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 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)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Leica SL2	5760	Y	3.2 / 2100	fixed	Y	1/8000s	10.0/s	n	Y
2.		Leica Q2	3680	n	3.0 / 1040	fixed	Y	1/2000s	10.0/s	n	Y
3.		Leica SL	4400	Y	3.0 / 1040	fixed	Y	1/8000s	11.0/s	n	n
4.		Leica SL2-S	5760	Y	3.2 / 2100	fixed	Y	1/8000s	20.0/s	n	Y
5.		Leica SL3	5760	Y	3.2 / 2333	tilting	Y	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	Y
6.		Nikon Z7	3690	Y	3.2 / 2100	tilting	Y	1/8000s	9.0/s	n	Y
7.		Panasonic S1	5760	Y	3.2 / 2100	full-flex	Y	1/8000s	9.0/s	n	Y
8.		Panasonic S1H	5760	Y	3.2 / 2330	swivel	Y	1/8000s	9.0/s	n	Y
9.		Panasonic S1R	5760	Y	3.2 / 2100	full-flex	Y	1/8000s	9.0/s	n	Y
10.		Pentax K-1 II	optical	Y	3.2 / 1037	full-flex	n	1/8000s	4.4/s	n	Y
11.		Sony A99 II	2400	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	n	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

One useful feature of the Leica SL2 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 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	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
2.		Leica Q2	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	-	-	Y	-	Y
3.		Leica SL	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.0	Y	-	-
4.		Leica SL2-S	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.2	Y	-	Y
5.		Leica SL3	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
6.		Nikon Z7	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	3.1	Y	-	Y
7.		Panasonic S1	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
8.		Panasonic S1H	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
9.		Panasonic S1R	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	full	3.1	Y	-	Y
10.		Pentax K-1 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	-	-
11.		Sony A99 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y

It is notable that the Leica SL2 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.

Further information on the features and operation of the Leica SL2 can be found in the free online Leica SL2 Manual or on the Leica support site.

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it says nothing about, for example, the handling, responsiveness, and overall imaging quality of the Leica SL2 in practical situations. User reviews that are available, for instance, at amazon can sometimes shed light on these issues, but such feedback is all too often partial, inconsistent, and inaccurate. This is where reviews by experts come in. The following table reports the overall rankings of the cameras as published by some of the major 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	Street Price
1.		Leica SL2	4/5	..	4.5/5	..	4.5/5	4/5	Nov 2019	US$ 5 999	amazon.com
2.		Leica Q2	..	..	4.5/5	84/100	4.5/5	4/5	Mar 2019	US$ 4 999	amazon.com
3.		Leica SL	4/5	..	4/5	84/100	4.5/5	4/5	Oct 2015	US$ 7 449	ebay.com
4.		Leica SL2-S	4/5	..	4/5	..	4.5/5	4.5/5	Dec 2020	US$ 4 899	amazon.com
5.		Leica SL3	..	..	4.5/5	..	..	4.5/5	Mar 2024	US$ 6 999	amazon.com
6.		Nikon Z7	5/5	+	4.8/5	89/100	4.5/5	5/5	Aug 2018	US$ 3 399	ebay.com
7.		Panasonic S1	4.5/5	+ +	4.5/5	88/100	4.5/5	4/5	Feb 2019	US$ 2 499	amazon.com
8.		Panasonic S1H	..	..	4/5	90/100	..	..	May 2019	US$ 3 999	amazon.com
9.		Panasonic S1R	4.5/5	..	4.6/5	89/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2019	US$ 3 699	amazon.com
10.		Pentax K-1 II	..	..	4.5/5	79/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2018	US$ 1 999	amazon.com
11.		Sony A99 II	..	..	4.5/5	85/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2016	US$ 3 199	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

Care should be taken when interpreting the review scores above, though. The ratings are only valid when referring to cameras in the same category and of the same age. 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, please note that some of the review sites have changed their methodology and reporting over time.

Check Leica SL2 price at
amazon.com

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just make your choice using the following search menu. There is also a set of direct links to comparison reviews that other users of the CAM-parator app explored.

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