The Leica SL2 has, finally, joined the Leica SL in the Leica SL-System family of full-frame mirrorless cameras and with it comes a slight design change and several updates. To find out, in more detail, what's new, we're comparing the SL2 and Lecia SL side-by-side to find out, on paper, what the latest mirrorless camera from Leica brings to an already rather busy market.

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Here's a quick look at some of the key features of the Leica SL and Leica SL2 compared:

Design 

Leica SL2
 

The Leica SL2 is unmistakenly a Leica with its all-metal solid construction that's very similar to the Leica SL but there are slight design adjustments which include the leather wrap going around the front of the camera and a deeper, more comfortable grip. The Leica SL2 is also weatherproof, as was the Leica SL, with an IP54 rating. Both cameras are of a similar size but the Leica SL2 is lighter than the Leica SL by 12g. 

Leica SL 

On the back, 3 simple buttons replace the 4 rectangle, non-labelled buttons on the Leica SL which should make it even easier to use but not much else is different (looks-wise) as the click wheel and joystick remain.

Leica SL2

Leica SL 

The top of the SL2 is very similar to the Leica SL, too, with the main dial and a small LCD screen, that shows camera settings, sitting to the right.

Leica SL2

Leica SL

Screen & Electronic Viewfinder 

On the back of both Leica cameras is a larger, higher resolution touch-screen LCD monitor but the SL2 has an improved LCD monitor (3.2inch, 2.1m dots compared with 2.95inch, 1.04dots on the Leica SL). There's also a big electronic viewfinder (EVF) on both models but, again, the EV on the Lecia SL2 is better with a higher resolution of 5.76million dots (the SL had 4.4m dot). Bother offer built-in eye-detection sensor to automatically switch between the EVF and rear screen. 

When you view the menu system on the LCD screen of the SL2, you'll see that the options for stills/video are separate which is a nice touch. 

Video 

As well as grabbing the attention of photographers, Leica wants to persuade cinematographers that the Leica SL2 is for them and they're doing this with features such as 4K video at 60fps and up to 180 frames per second in Full-HD mode. The Leica SL does offer 4K but the way the SL2 transforms into a manually controlled cine camera when in Cine mode will be of particular interest to videographers. For example, ISO becomes ASA and f-stops indicating the aperture ratio are replaced by T-stops. Plus, headphone and mic sockets are built-in which are two features we didn't see on the Leica SL. There's also an HDMI connector for connecting external monitors. 

Lenses 

Both the Leica SL and Leica SL2 feature the  Leica L-Mount which makes them compatible with a wide range of Leica lenses. Plus, the L-Mount Alliance means the cameras also fit L-mount-compatible lenses from Sigma and Panasonic.

Additional Features

The battery type is the same (1860mAh), as is the ISO range but continuous shooting is 1 frame less on the SL2 when compared with the SL. You do, however, get in-body image stabilisation on the SL2, something that wasn't built into the Leica SL, and there's a new Maestro III processor as well as a suspended sensor which adjusts its position so it can compensate for camera shake. Smart AF (autofocus) is a new feature that switches between focus priority and shutter release priority, as is the Leica Object Detection AF which promises fast and reliable autofocus. The Auto Focus (AF) system also automatically detects whether a subject is stationary or in motion and, as a result, will switch between motion and focus priority. Plus, face recognition is built-in and there's an option to turn off noise reduction during long exposures.

Price 

The Lecia SL2 will be available from 21 November 2019 and it's priced at £5300 while the Leica SL, at the time of release, was priced at £5050. 

For more camera comparisons and opinions on 'best buys', have a look at our Digital Camera Guides where we rank various cameras, including full-frame mirrorless camera options.