Focoro beta

A new Leica: The Leica SL

Leica's done it again, releasing a mirror-less camera. Unlike it's earlier non-M attempt at an interchangeable-lens mirror-less camera, the T, the new SL actually sounds like it's a worthy product judging from Sean Reid's write-up following over a year of testing prototypes. The camera will support the T's lenses, shifting to a cropped APS-C framed photo (the T and S lines will now share the "L mount"), while M lenses are usable with an adapter.

Much of Leica's earlier forays make more sense in light of the SL. Ming Thein confirms that the 24MP sensor, if not technically very similar to the fixed-lens Leica Q, at least behaves nearly identically. Likewise the poorly received T looks very much like crowd-sourced prototype or beta test. Ming Thein's analysis of the usability is not wholly positive, and he points out that the camera with lens (around a $12k [USD] combination) is quite big and heavy. The camera is reportedly quite well sealed against downpours and writes fast to either one or two SD cards.