Leica’s New $7K USD Camera Impresses With Its Technical Specs and Durable Design

Leica has brought a series of advancements to 2019’s SL2 with the new SL3. A mirrorless full-frame camera, the brand’s SL line is designed to merge the needs of photographers and videographers into a singular model.

Beyond being more compact and lighter than its predecessor, the Leica SL3 boasts a the BSI CMOS full-frame sensor – BSI is a back-illuminated sensor that allows for more light to be collected at the pixel level, while CMOS means each pixel has its own photodetector. The result is pristine, exacting quality ideal for photo and video across light conditions.

The camera is capable of capturing up to 120 frames per second and has a resolution of 5.76 million pixels. To meet the varying needs of photographers and videographers, Leica has also expanded the f-stop range to 15 and the ISO range from 50 to 100,000. Video, meanwhile, is recorded in 8k resolution.

As for the build of the SL3, Leica has engineered a tilting 3-inch high-res touchscreen. Leica has overhauled its interface to simply make things easier to navigate. There are separate photo and video modes, so that users can work within the system that best suits their needs – red is photo and yellow is video. The menu has also been streamlined but users have the option to customize the physical buttons to correspond to certain controls and features.

The SL3 has a greater level of durability, ideal for professionals shooting out in temperamental environments. A more robust one offers greater grip, accentuated by the textured leather lining the sides of the camera. A dual-slot card reader not only supports SDs but also CFexpress Type B, a faster option for high volumes of content.

Available now, the Leica SL3 leads with a long list of impressive technological advancements, though for $7,571 USD, it’ll mostly be professional photographers and videographers shelling out for the model.