Leica SL2-S

Leica SL2-S was announced in 2020 and is a Full Frame (36 x 24 mm) Mirrorless camera with 24.6 Megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor. Its native ISO ranges from 100 to 50,000 and expands to 50 - 50,000 in boosted mode. The camera has a Fixed 3.2" screen with 2,100k dot resolution and built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 5,760k dot resolution. It has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in body image stabilization.

Leica SL2-S can capture video up to 4096 x 2160 resolution.

Here is the Leica S series lineup, where you can view and compare the main specifications of the cameras within the same series.

Leica S series lineup

	Model	Date	Sensor	Native ISO	Screen	Price
	Leica SL2-S	December 2020	24.6 MP Full Frame	100 - 50,000	Fixed 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Leica SL2 Compare	November 2019	47.3 MP Full Frame	100 - 50,000	Fixed 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Leica SL Typ 601 Compare	October 2015	24 MP Full Frame	50 - 50,000	Fixed 3.0" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Leica S2 Compare	September 2008	38 MP Medium format	80 - 1,250	Fixed 3.0" 460k dot	amazon B&H

You can view their side-by-side comparison here: Leica SL2-S vs SL2 vs SL Typ 601 vs S2.

In this section we present pros and cons of Leica SL2-S.

Fixed Touchscreen

Leica SL2-S has a 3.2" Fixed touchscreen with 2,100k dot resolution which is quite high by today's standards.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder

Camera has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 5,760k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.78x magnification.

BSI-CMOS Sensor

Leica SL2-S features a 24.6 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36 x 24 mm and a total area of 864 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 50,000 and expands to 50 - 50,000 in boosted mode.

The camera has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how Leica SL2-S's Full Frame sensor compares with other types of sensors:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Camera is equipped with Maestro III processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Leica SL2-S has Leica L lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor its crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is 1x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The camera has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 5.5 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Camera has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth

Camera has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 LE) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Input and HDMI Output

Leica SL2-S has a USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) Type-C input for data transfer and battery charging. There is a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Leica SL2-S comes with BP-SCL4 battery pack with battery life of 510 shots.

External Storage Slots

The camera has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Leica SL2-S has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter. Camera can shoot continuously up to 25.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 9.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Flash

Leica SL2-S has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec. Flash compensation can be set from -2 to +2 EV with 1/3 EV step increments.

Leica SL2-S has dimensions of 146 x 107 x 83 mm (5.75 x 4.21 x 3.27"). It weighs 931 g (2.05 lb / 32.84 oz) which is neither heavy nor lightweight.

146 mm (5.75")

107 mm (4.21")

107 mm (4.21")

83 mm (3.27")