Whether you anchored your yacht in the intense summer sun of sparkling Soufrière Bay, or perhaps soaking up the stunning autumn palette of Kyoto’s Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, then being dazzled by Gstaad’s winter’s snow, or strolling through the riot of spring colour in Monaco’s Princess Grace Rose Garden, your camera has to cope – and cope quickly and beautifully – with all light, environmental and object conditions. After all, your family’s holidays and special occasion memories recorded on stills and videos are precious – they deserve to be taken by the crème de la crème of cameras, and that has to be the new Leica SL3-S.

And this new top-notch Leica iteration is the tool for professional photographers who need breathtaking still pictures and exceptionally high-quality videos time after time for their clients, projects, or internet broadcasts.

The SL3-S is another classic design born from the world-famous German brand; it continues the Wetzlar company’s mantra of functional and uncluttered design that brilliantly zeros in on form and function over any unnecessary beautification. The design is an art form continuing the tradition of famous German product designers such as Dieter Rahms and Hans Gugelot, Wilhelm Wagenfeld, architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the father of Leica cameras, Oskar Barnack, who, in 1925, developed the first 35mm camera, the Leica I.

The mirrorless SL3-S is the next generation in the extraordinarily successful and acclaimed family of professional audiovisual Leica Camera AG SL-System cameras.

Being mirrorless, the SL3-S is not a traditional DSLR – a digital single-lens reflex camera – but utilises an electronic viewfinder (EVF) and a rear LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen to preview an image.

The SL system came into the world on 20 October 2015, and the brand-new S variant combines pin-sharp photography and videography with professional speed, flexibility and versatility.

Within a solid magnesium and aluminium metal body with dust and water protection, there is a new BSI CMOS (Backside-illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) full-frame sensor with a 24-megapixel native resolution, 48- and 96-megapixel multi-shot modes.

Purchase one of these remarkable cameras and be blessed with continuous shooting at up to 30 frames per second – yep, 30 per second – supported by a new, superbly effective, quick autofocus system.

Let us look briefly at the main SL3-S tech info – the complete list of extensive features within the stunning Leica is in the clear Instructions guide you can download at the end of this review.

The bane of all photographers is dreaded dust, water, sand and other debris trying to weevil its way into a camera body. Following IEC’s Standard 60529 (International Electrotechnical Commission), Leica’s designers have achieved an IP54 Certification (Ingress Protection) for the SL3-S body, the ‘5’ denoting the intricate components of the camera are safeguarded against limited dust ingress, which might interfere with its operation – with the body cap or lens on, that is. The ‘4’ says the body will resist light rain or incidental exposure; however, try not to drop your Leica into the depths of the sea or, take candid underwater swimming pool shots or hit it with water jets in your shower.

To keep the IP54 Certified for your camera body and lens – choose a dedicated SL lens such as the Leica SL APO-Summicron-SL 75mm f/2 ASPH. Bear in mind the camera does not like chilly temperatures below -10 degrees centigrade or cooking above +40.

The camera body is a joy to hold, grip and use, being about the size of a 600-page paperback novel and the weight of a good-size family pot of yoghurt. Holding your SL3-S tells you your camera projects a commanding presence, wants to be taken seriously, and means business.

At the top and rear of the body are easily turned well-knurled horizontal dials with satisfying soft-clicking graduation steps, plus not the usual array of camera plastered-everywhere buttons – there are only four placed carefully at convenient finger reach: an FN (function) button next to the viewfinder for EVF (electronic viewfinder)/LCD panel switchover; then three square buttons one above the other: a PLAY button – which allows switchover between shooting and review/playback mode and a return to your full-screen display; a FN button – Info display toggle, and a MENU button allowing scrolling through the menu screens in shooting mode, accessing the menu in review mode and accessing the review menu.

A simple round-on-off button on the left rear face is haloed in green during charging and red to warn you when your juice is running out. A single press of the button gets things going, with camera data instantly showing on the bright, clear, precise rear and smaller top LCD screen.

There is a first-finger two-stage pressure shutter button to take a picture or video – the first press gives autofocusing and exposure metering and control – the second, fully pressed, takes a photo or video or activates stop.

By supporting the lens and left side of the camera body with your left hand, your right-hand fingers have little problem controlling the numerous menu options via the clear and precise EVF viewfinder or the pull-out upwards or downwards pivoting LCD Control Centre screen. The Leica designers’ well-thought-out and practical ergonomics have resulted in easy access to camera information, complemented by a brilliant miniature soft-feel remote control stick used for many functions, including menu navigation and scrolling through your favourite photos and videos.

Jesko von Oeynhausen, the Global Director of Product Division Photo Leica Camera AG, has observed that the -S variant has attracted new customers to the system, allowing it and the SL2 to be offered in parallel. He says the resulting design of the SL3-S is an effective amalgamation of customers’ practical suggestions (especially from the feedback from Leica’s community), the creative input from the company’s product managers, and market trends, new technologies and accessible components.

Jesko suggests that a primary product generation gestation period can take approximately three years, but a derivative model, such as the SL3-S, can be brought to the marketplace in a shorter time.

To ensure that the ergonomics of the -S design were spot-on, Jesko’s team constructed ten physical prototypes and used the latest CAD (Computer Aided Design) and 3D visualisation software tools to ensure every camera body and function were correct for future customers.

The factory setting language is English, but users can change it quickly to German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean and Traditional or simplified Chinese – 玩得开心与徕卡 SL3-S 相机！

People could nitpick about this function or that menu route, but that would simply be being hypercritical trying to find flaws. Yes, the details of any camera are super important and are the kingpin of a successful design –and Leica has pulled this off to evolve a sublime successor to the SL3.

Have you ever heard of digital photography ‘noise’?

In the days of camera roll media, you chose a film with an emulsion with a particular light sensitivity suitable for a shoot – its ISO number (International Organization for Standardization). If you chose a low ISO number, e.g. 100, it was less light-sensitive, making the film emulsion ideal for bright settings and delivering a finer grain. An 800 or higher ISO was more sensitive to light and used in low-light conditions, often resulting in a speckled grain or ‘noise’ finish to the photo.

The ‘noise’ technical flaw can happen when a picture has defective pixels appearing white, red, blue or green, caused by dark areas, over-long exposure times, or conversely, if an image or area of it is lightened (photographic term – dodged) with post-processing or, to take pictures in low-light using a high ISO number.

Now, the ISO is brilliantly controlled electronically by the SL3-S, covering a range between 50 and an unbelievable 200,000, and the camera deals with these problems to substantially or entirely remove the noise in your pictures.

And have you had your pictures copied or pirated? The SL3-S allows the tracing of image content, the identity of the photographer and the camera used for the image via Leica’s clever Content Credentials.

The SL3-S camera has autofocus, touch autofocus and manual focus. The autofocus system combines three
technologies: Advanced Phase Detection, Contrast

Detection AF and Object Detection AF. The advanced camera makes use of:

• 779 autofocus points (a considerable amount of points to ensure your subject or subjects are in pin-point focus)
• A phase focus sensor every 12 lines (the camera’s sensor has phase detection autofocus (PDAF) points distributed across the sensor, with one PDAF sensor placed every 12 lines of pixels. Phase detection means light is split into two images, which are instantly compared to ensure a subject is in focus).

The camera can record up to 30 fps (frames per second) with complete AFC (Auto Focus Continuous) support using the electronic shutter and up to 7 fps with the manual shutter.

Furthermore, four AF profiles can be selected, customised and saved to best suit the subject matter and environment (Children & Pets / Runner / Team sports /Wildlife).

Have a detailed look at my photo two at the beginning of this review’s Leica SL3-S slide show; it is a picture of a British 1932 Brough Superior SS100 motorbike. Well, it is not the actual bike, but it is a model that is just over 120mm long. I composed the shot without additional flash illumination since there were so many chrome and metal-light-reflecting components, plus combining this with a narrow depth of field (this meant that only 40mm looking straight onto the model would be in focus – where the bodywork and wheels occur). Notice the out-of-focus handlebars caused by my chosen depth of field. The stunning precision of the camera, using no flash, is seen in my enlargement of the rear suspension spring – absolute perfection.

In any mode, you can choose your preferred shutter speed and aperture combinations, allowing a multitude of depths of field (see the above model bike example) to enhance your subject. Notice my photo 3 in the slide show; four flowers are in focus, with the foreground bud and background out of focus. My settings in this shot allowed the focused flowers to have visual dominance and impact in the photo.

Let us examine the serious videoing capability of the SL3-S. If you are a professional film producer and director, the engineers at Leica have designed this new SL variety with enhanced video performance. Even though the new S iteration has a 24MP sensor instead of the previous SL3’s 60MP, pixel scanning is more rapid, giving excellent quality footage without inherent technical problems – combined with different encoding formats depending on the sophistication of your computer system.

Professional video users are spoilt for choice when combining, for example, the recording’s resolution, aspect ratio, colour and a host of other vital parameters to produce fantastic results.

Even though the Leica SL3-S video systems are sophisticated and designed for professional filmmakers to take award-winning videos, the camera can be set to automatic mode, making it comprehensible and easy to operate by anyone without video experience. Once you pick the automatic mode on Leica’s user-friendly (at last!) LCD user Control Centre, the camera’s sophisticated software will take care of your focus, exposure and all the tech stuff you do not want to worry about; and Leica’s recommended UHS-II (Ultra High Speed) storage medium cartridge keeps your still pictures and videos safe and sound.

The SL3-S’s lithium-ion battery, with an integral base seal, simply slots and clicks into the camera body – there is no typical hinged cover – and will keep you shooting for 400-500 shots, depending on your camera use.

And for a final piece of info to show off your extensive knowledge about the Leica Sl3-S camera: the iconic ‘Red Dot’ that says, ‘This IS a Leica’, became part of the graphic language of the company in 1976 on the R3. The dot framed the company name in the legendary and timeless 1932 flowing serif font typeface – seen for the first time on the Leica II, model D and instantly recognisable and admired by everyone on the planet.

So, here we are – which camera are you choosing?

Let’s try an analogy to help you on our way:

Is it to be a box of flat-pack, short-life span, screwed together chip-board furniture that everyone buys and thinks is the bee’s knees or a finely designed, solid hardwood and exquisite piece of enduring hand-built carpentry that will be inherited and cherished by your grandchildren?

Simple, is it not?

It has to be a Leica and the SL3-S – since it is the bee’s knees!

Enjoy.

Written by Peter Sissons for Luxuria Lifestyle International 2025

Photography:

SL3-S camera picture Copyright © Leica Camera AG 2025
All other
Copyright © Peter Sissons using a Leica SL3-S Camera with a 50mm Summilux lens
See Leica for more information on the SL3-S and clearly explained information downloads at here