WEBVTT 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:09.360 If I was a superhero, this would be my pose. In front of me today is a camera 00:00:07.279 --> 00:00:17.560 from one of the most expensive camera brands on the planet, Leica. In this box 00:00:13.440 --> 00:00:20.240 is the SL2S, and this camera is nearly 00:00:17.560 --> 00:00:25.199 $4,900 US, and that's one of their cheaper cameras, to be honest. So, let's 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:30.000 open this box and see why someone would buy something like this. I have a knife 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:36.559 today. Jonno, that's not allowed. 00:00:34.160 --> 00:00:42.320 I'm breaking the rules. This camera is a loner unit and so it's 00:00:39.040 --> 00:00:44.960 not retail packaging, so forgive the 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:47.719 amount of bubble wrap. Okay, so we have the camera body, which I'll take a look 00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:55.440 at in a second. They also 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:59.960 sent a charger with an extra battery. 00:00:55.440 --> 00:01:03.840 We have a Leica M to Lmount 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:06.000 adapter. We have a Leica branded camera 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:08.880 strap, but you probably won't use it because you'll upgrade to something a 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:14.960 little bit nicer, especially when you're spending this much money on a camera. I would never use an included 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:20.280 strap. And the last thing we have in this box 00:01:17.240 --> 00:01:24.960 is the 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:29.680 24-90 F2.8 to F4 lens. This is an Lmount 00:01:24.960 --> 00:01:32.880 native lens that Leica makes. Um, it is 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:36.240 this is a chunky boy. Holy crap. And I 00:01:32.880 --> 00:01:38.799 mean, for context, here is Canon's 24 to 00:01:36.240 --> 00:01:44.000 105, which is a very similar range, an inch and a bit longer, and it's way 00:01:40.880 --> 00:01:47.240 heavier. Holy crap. But again, this 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:52.720 camera is full frame. 00:01:47.240 --> 00:01:54.479 So, let's have a look at the SL2s. 00:01:52.720 --> 00:02:00.399 From everything I've ever read and now that I'm holding it, the SL2 body feels 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:04.880 amazing. So, this camera feels like really solid. Like the grip feels better 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:09.119 than almost any camera I've ever held, especially for stills. Um, so let's 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:14.800 weigh it and see how this compares to my daily 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:19.000 driver. Okay, so it's 938 g. And then 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:19.000 I'll weigh my M10. 00:02:19.040 --> 00:02:25.920 This is a little unfair because it's wearing a cage, but let's say it's around 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:31.680 655 g, something like that. This is significantly heavier and it shows, but 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:39.680 it's also a more functional camera overall. Let's take a look at the 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:42.480 sensor. W full-frame 24 megapixel 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:47.519 backside illuminated sensor. Apparently, this is a new sensor from Leica. I'm not 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:54.640 100% certain on that. Let's cover that up so that no dust gets in there. And 00:02:50.239 --> 00:02:57.440 this man, this camera is just like it 00:02:54.640 --> 00:03:02.239 feels like a a brick, but like the best most premium brick that I've ever held. 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:06.800 Brick. For IO, we have a headphone and 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:12.319 microphone jack. We have a full size HDMI, which I love to see. And we have a 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:16.480 type-C port, which is good for file transfer and charging. So, you can keep 00:03:14.480 --> 00:03:22.000 this thing powered. And you'll probably want to use the charging feature because 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:29.120 one single battery from this camera costs 00:03:24.760 --> 00:03:31.599 $275 US on B&H, which is a very tough 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:36.560 pill to swallow when a battery for your camera is worth almost as much as a very 00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:40.080 affordable lens. The dial on the top of the camera feels really nice. It's 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:44.720 really large, very clicky. And then there's two um programmable buttons on 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:48.799 the top and two programmable buttons just on the side of the grip here, which 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:52.080 is also really nice. And each of these buttons you can kind of set to whatever 00:03:50.239 --> 00:03:56.720 you want. On the back of the camera, there is the rear S LCD, which is 00:03:54.560 --> 00:04:03.439 actually very nice. And you have this little silicone joystick. Honestly, I 00:04:00.239 --> 00:04:04.879 have loved the navigation of these 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:10.400 menus. Like there's only three other buttons on the back. There's play, there's function, and there's menu. And 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:16.160 when you hit menu, you get this photo and video mode settings. First, photo, 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:21.120 video. And the settings are completely separate from each other, which is the 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:26.720 most seamless experience between photo and video that I've ever had and I love 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:31.360 it. And if you press the menu button again, you get into the deeper part of 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:34.720 the menu, which lets you get in like like more like a traditional camera. But 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:38.240 in general, you'll probably be using the quick settings. And with this joystick, 00:04:36.479 --> 00:04:41.680 it's pretty easy to navigate. So to finish off the back, you have the thumb 00:04:39.840 --> 00:04:45.919 dial here, which can be aperture or shutter speed. You have an EVF toggle. 00:04:43.919 --> 00:04:49.560 So if you press this, you can get turn off the LCD, do EVF only, or you switch 00:04:48.479 --> 00:04:54.479 it back to auto, where if you go to your eyepiece 00:04:52.320 --> 00:04:58.240 here, it'll just switch for you. And that's pretty much it. It's pretty bare 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:04.320 bones on the back of the camera, but honestly, I like the simplicity. You 00:05:00.880 --> 00:05:06.400 have dual SD card slots. So, I've got 00:05:04.320 --> 00:05:09.919 two 256 gig cards in here, which unfortunately aren't fast enough for the 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:14.000 4K video. So, you'll need pretty fast cards for the 4K video on this camera 00:05:11.840 --> 00:05:18.400 because it's up to 400 megabits per second. Internally, you can do up to 4K 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:25.199 30 FPS. And then externally, you can do up to 4K 60 FPS. And it has 180 and 120 00:05:22.479 --> 00:05:29.280 FPS full HD modes as well. Let's take a look at the bottom of the camera. You 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:33.440 have a little port for what I assume is a battery grip. You've got a tripod 00:05:30.960 --> 00:05:37.520 mount. And then it took me a second the first time I took this out of the box, 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:40.560 but after I figured it out, it was very interesting. For the battery release on 00:05:39.280 --> 00:05:46.560 this camera, you press this little knob here and then the battery pops out, but 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:49.199 then it doesn't it doesn't come out. And 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:54.320 I was like, "Oh, is the camera broken?" It's actually really smart. So, you 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:58.560 press this and then you click once and then the battery comes out. There's no 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:03.280 battery door on this camera. It's just a hole for where the battery would go. 00:06:00.080 --> 00:06:05.240 It's almost like loading like a mag or 00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:12.639 something. And it's so satisfying. Like Andy, can you hear that? Yeah. 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:14.240 That click. I don't know. Okay, enough 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:20.960 about the battery door. Even though it's really cool, I could not get over the sound. Let's get to the lens. Let's put 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:27.120 this gigantic lens on this camera and see how it feels. Line that 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:35.000 up. Ah, that's a good click. Very satisfying. Wow, this is really heavy 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:37.600 now. Holy crap. Here's my M10 for 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:41.919 reference. So, why don't we give this thing a test drive and see how good it 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:45.919 is. Okay, we have Madison here. We're going to do a quick test on this lens, 00:06:44.080 --> 00:06:51.560 the 24 to 90, and then I'm going to switch to the 50 mil Noctalux and see 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:51.560 how these photos turn out. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:59.680 If I was a superhero, this would be my pose. With the joystick, the autofocus 00:06:56.960 --> 00:07:03.360 point is so easy to almost even easier and faster than my Fuji to 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:11.280 adjust. Do you hear that shutter sound? 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:12.400 That shutter sounds so nice. Now you're 00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:18.800 just going to have eight pictures of the wall. Yep. That's enough photos of this 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:22.560 lens and now I'm going to switch them. Don't bother including this part in the 00:07:20.400 --> 00:07:26.800 video editor cuz this is boring. No, it isn't. Super exciting. Let's try this 00:07:24.479 --> 00:07:32.639 out. And it's all manual focus. I don't even I can't even tell if I'm It's so 00:07:29.919 --> 00:07:37.840 bright out. And this is at like f1. This lens is ridiculous on this camera. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:42.720 Why are you using it on the camera then? Cuz it's amazing. I've never used 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:47.840 anything harder to focus. So, as someone who doesn't really like know that much 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:53.919 about cameras. Mhm. How much do you think this camera costs with this lens? 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:56.000 Like I I want to say over 10 grand. It's 00:07:53.919 --> 00:08:00.080 like smoother. It just sort of looks more sleek. Yeah, you're right on in 00:07:57.919 --> 00:08:04.560 money. It's about just over 10 grand for the whole setup. Oh, okay. Well, I'm 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:07.919 Yep. Let's see how these photos turned out. The autofocus on this lens and the 00:08:06.400 --> 00:08:13.520 sharpness performed pretty good, but you guys can be the judge. Here's the photos, and we'll have these available 00:08:12.080 --> 00:08:17.120 for download if you want to take a closer look at them. We're also going to 00:08:15.520 --> 00:08:22.720 throw up a couple photos I took on the weekend here so you have a better sense of like the different kinds of colors 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:27.919 you get straight out of camera on this after using this camera shooting a 00:08:24.960 --> 00:08:32.080 portrait of somebody. It was really fun and I really enjoyed it. The autofocus 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:38.240 was as responsive as I needed it to be and while the camera is really heavy, it 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:42.719 feels really good in the hand. Just like a lot of people who shoot video like 00:08:39.839 --> 00:08:47.440 heavy cameras for balance, I would describe this in a similar fashion. 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:52.560 Okay, let's talk about why somebody would buy this camera and why somebody 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:59.480 might buy a Leica in general. Because this camera setup, the body is 00:08:55.240 --> 00:09:02.480 $4,900 and this lens is $5,500, but 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:04.399 $10,000 is a ridiculous amount of money 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:09.440 for a camera and lens setup, even for the most expensive stuff. So, why would 00:09:06.959 --> 00:09:13.839 you buy a Leica? I can boil it down to three main reasons I think people like 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:19.760 Leica cameras. The first one being is the Leica look. Whether you agree with 00:09:16.959 --> 00:09:25.040 it or not, Leica has a specific look to the images. I've been able to see images 00:09:23.040 --> 00:09:29.200 on Instagram and be like, "Yep, that was shot on a Leica." And I was usually 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:36.080 right because it there's a feeling to them that you can't really describe in 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:38.320 words very easily. Yes, every camera has 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:42.160 its own color science and you can edit photos to look like basically anything 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:47.279 at this point, but the colors that come out of this straight out of camera with 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:49.680 minimal editing, it's just it's a 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:54.640 different experience. And that's the second part of this, the camera itself. 00:09:51.839 --> 00:10:01.000 Trust me guys, for years and I've used a lot of cameras. I thought while Leica 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:03.519 seemed cool and they were obviously very 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:06.959 expensive, they seemed unnecessary, overpriced, and something that no one 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:12.959 should really give that much attention to. But from top to bottom, the way the 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:15.760 camera feels, the way it operates, the 00:10:12.959 --> 00:10:22.240 images coming off the sensor, how they are to edit, everything that Leica does 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:24.880 is about the experience. Leica knows 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:29.120 that they will never be the most cutting edge, the most top- end in terms of 00:10:26.560 --> 00:10:36.160 their specs, but they're not trying to be. Leica focuses mostly on delivering 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:38.880 an experience that you want to use, want 00:10:36.160 --> 00:10:42.560 to be part of, you want to pick up this camera and use it. I don't want to put 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:47.920 it down. I just want to keep shooting. And that's the best way I can explain it 00:10:44.880 --> 00:10:49.760 because it really is the feeling of 00:10:47.920 --> 00:10:53.920 using the camera. That is what they deliver. And that might not matter to 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:58.079 you. You might not care about the experience of using a camera. This is 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:04.880 one of the easiest cameras I've ever used. And so are all of these. You pay a 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:09.360 lot for that experience. The third and final reason, some people might see this 00:11:07.920 --> 00:11:13.680 as a good thing, some people might see it as well unnecessary, is these cameras 00:11:11.760 --> 00:11:21.839 hold their value pretty well. For example, this Leica M10 that came out 00:11:17.040 --> 00:11:26.000 almost 4 years ago was just over $10,000 00:11:21.839 --> 00:11:29.760 new, and even today, it's still worth 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:32.399 about $6,000 Canadian. That's a lot 00:11:29.760 --> 00:11:38.560 better than most cameras last in terms of value over a four-year period. So, if 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:40.160 you are already on board for Leica's 00:11:38.560 --> 00:11:45.519 experience for their cameras and you want a camera that is the best they've 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:50.240 made for video and photo at the same time, then this is probably the camera 00:11:47.760 --> 00:11:54.480 for you. If you want something that's the most cutting edge, has the best 00:11:51.880 --> 00:11:59.760 autofocus, has the most utility on gimbals and all these other video 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:03.040 accessories, this camera probably isn't for you. So, thank you guys for 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:06.160 watching. If you like this video, give me a thumbs up. If you didn't like it, 00:12:04.560 --> 00:12:09.519 you can give a thumbs down and leave a comment on any other camera you want me 00:12:07.760 --> 00:12:12.480 to check out. I mean, I haven't checked out Hasselblads yet, so maybe that's 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:17.200 coming out. We also have a video coming out on the Sony FX3 very soon, and we 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:21.680 also recently did a video on the Zeiss ZX1. if you're interested in 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:24.320 that. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe.