Endlessly Curious

Leica SL3-S

Added:

Specifications

BrandLeica
Sensor FormatFull Frame
Resolution (MP)24.6
Body TypeMirrorless
AutofocusPhase Detect
Base ISO50
In-Body Stabilization✓
Viewfinder✓
Viewfinder Resolution (M dots)5.76
Mechanical Shutter✓
Burst Rate, Mechanical Shutter (fps)7
Burst Rate, Electronic Shutter (fps)30
Pre-Burst Buffer—
Weather Sealed✓
Open Gate Recording6K
Slow MotionFHD 180p
Hot Shoe✓
Internal Storage (GB)✘
Memory Card Slot 1CFexpress Type B
Memory Card Slot 2SD UHS-II
Webcam Support—
BatteryBP-SCL6
Battery Life (CIPA shots)315
Weight (g, with battery and card)852
Width (mm)141
Height (mm)108
Depth (mm)83
Volume (cm³)1264
Release Year2025
Release Price (USD)5295
Leica SL3-S

Description and Reviews

Key Take-Aways:

This is Leica’s 2025 full-frame mirrorless camera, which Leica positions as a tool for professional productions that need speed, with fast autofocus and 6K open-gate recording. The reviews praise the build quality, and several the image quality and the 30 fps bursts with autofocus; two reviews call the price high, two (TechRadar, Digital Camera World) fault the tilt-only rear screen, and one review (Macfilos) calls the battery life disappointing.

From Leica:

The Leica SL3-S allows productions to meet professional standards at never before seen speeds, all while staying true to the Leica aesthetics and functional design. With fast and precise autofocus, a Maestro IV processor and intuitive handling, it is tailored to meet the demands of today. The familiar high image quality from Leica is combined with 6K open-gate recording and enhanced video functions. The Leica SL3-S is a bold expression of creativity.

Official Website

The weight of 852 g is with battery, DPReview’s figure from its specifications page (“Weight (inc. batteries)”); no second source within 5 g was found (Cameralabs gives 862 g including battery, 10 g more, so it does not confirm it), so it rests on DPReview alone; Leica itself states only 768 g, without battery, SD card and bayonet cover. The price of $5,295 is the body-only US launch price on DPReview’s specifications page, matching TechRadar’s review and Digital Camera World’s review (both “$5,295”); Leica’s own January 2025 press release names only the euro price of EUR 5,190 and says the camera was then available worldwide. The camera was announced and went on sale on 16 January 2025, hence 2025 as the year, and Leica’s product page still lists it, so it is current.

The other specs come from Leica’s own pages: the SL3-S technical specification gives a CMOS sensor of 25.3 MP total and 24.6 MP effective, 5-axis image stabilization, the 5,760,000-dot viewfinder, a mechanical shutter from 30 min to 1/8000 s and an electronic shutter from 60 s to 1/16000 s, the IP54 all-metal housing, the manual ISO range from 50 (the lowest value is taken as base ISO), the ISO accessory shoe, and the BP-SCL6 battery at 315 shots by the CIPA standard (Leica also gives 1,042 shots with an adjusted shooting cycle, which is not used here). Dimensions are Leica’s 141.2 x 108 x 82.7 mm, rounded. The continuous rates are 7 fps with the mechanical shutter and 30 fps with the electronic shutter, both with continuous autofocus, as in Leica’s series list. Leica describes the autofocus as hybrid, combining contrast measurement, depth map and phase comparison with measuring points in the sensor, so it is entered as phase detect, as on the SL3. The sheet lists a “6K OG (3:2)” video mode of 5952 x 3968, the full sensor in 3:2, so the open-gate mode is 6K. It also lists a full HD slow-motion mode with a sensor rate of 179.82 fps, recorded and played back at 29.97 fps, so slow motion is FHD 180p; the highest native full HD rate is 119.88 fps. The sheet names a CFexpress type B card and an SD UHS-II card; CFexpress Type B is the faster card, so it is slot 1. The 8 GB is buffer memory, so internal storage is 0. Leica does not publish a pre-capture burst or USB webcam support in the sheet or the press release, so those two are left out (Cameralabs also says the SL3-S has no pre-burst mode). DPReview published this camera’s long-form review as an initial review, which is listed first under Reviews; it could not be read, so it is not used for the Key Take-Aways, which draw on the four other reviews. CineD’s January 2025 piece is a first look and is not listed. Product image: Leica.

Reviews:

YouTube: