Leica Introduces Its Most Serious Camera and Lenses Of the Year

Leica’s cameras and lenses have set a premium mark on the market. A favorite of many seasoned photographers, Leica’s portfolio ranges from manual cameras to hybrid devices that are continuously winning hearts. An example is the SL system, introduced in 2015, which not only creates stunning photos, but has a robust build. Today, the company is expanding this lineup with a new camera and two lenses. Here’s what to expect.

Additional input was provided by Editor in Chief Chris Gampat

Leica is now strengthening the company’s SL lineup with the SL3-P, pegged to be “the brand’s most comprehensive full-frame camera to date.” Housing a 44MP BSI sensor, the camera also offers a dynamic range of up to 14 aperture stops. Some of the other features include the following:

• 176MP of Multishot mode
• ISO range of 50 to 200,000
• New AF system with phase detection (PDAF), depth mapping (object detection AF), and contrast detection (contrast detection AF)
• Burst rate of 40fps with autofocus support
• 819 AF points

• 8.1K Open Gate in 3:2 format at up to 24p, HDMI RAW 8K Open Gate, and 8K at 30p.
• Apple ProRes codec at up to 5.8K
• New in-camera LUTS: Leica Pure and Leica Cine
• The user interface will automatically adapt to the camera’s orientation
• Native tethering support for Lightroom Classic and
  Capture One
• Camera-to-Cloud via Adobe Frame.io support
• Content Credentials technology enabled

In terms of design, the SL3-P does not feature the iconic red Leica logo. The body has an IP54 rating, has a minimal design, and looks chic, as always. The company has introduced minimalist icon and menu design to help separate video and photo modes. There are also color codes to make your life easy:red for photos and yellow for videos.

In addition to the camera, Leica has introduced two new lenses: Summilux-SL 50mm f1.4 ASPH and APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL 100mm f2.8.

The 50mm comes with a 74 mm diameter, and weighs just 584g. It also offers 11 aperture blades, 2 aspherical lens elements, a close focusing distance of 50cm. The 50mm option has an E67 filter thread, made of metal, and comes with AquaDura for protection against changing environments.

The 100mm was first introduced in 1987, and to honor the icon, Leica has introduced the APO-Macro-Elmarit-SL version for SL cameras. It delivers macro performance, and comes with a close focus distance of just 30cm and a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:1. The 100mm features a 9-bladed aperture, measures 137.6mm and 862g of weight.

If you’re an L-mount camera user, this next bit of news will be very curious to you. The Leica 100mm f2.8 Macro APO lens is made in Japan. When we asked if it was a clone of the Panasonic 100mm f2.8 lens, we were simply told, “It’s a lens that’s made in Japan.” And that tells us all that we need to know as the brand is very big on rebadging lenses from other brands under the L-mount alliance.

Given how far the SL system has come, one only hopes for the best from them. The camera will be avaiable from June 25th, at $6,690. As for the kit offering, priced as follows:

• The SL3-P 28-70mm Vario kit is priced at $7,790.
• The SL3-P 24-70mm Vario kit is priced at $8,390.
• The SL3-P 24-70mm and the 70-200mm Vario kit are priced at $10,995.

If you just want the lens, then they will be available at the end of 2026. The 50mm is priced at $4,950 and for the 100mm, it is $2,700. To see how the SL3-P performed, head to our website.