Nearly four years after the release of the SL2-S, Leica’s video-centric mirrorless camera range, the German maker has finally released its successor: the SL3-S.

Built on the same established chassis and technology basis as the SL3, the SL3-S is nearly similar, except for a blacked-out LEICA etching on the front of the viewfinder hump. More quietly, the model name etching on the top of the hot shoe has been blacked away.

The SL3-S includes the same enhancements to the body and UI and increased speed and video creation capabilities.

Leica’s SL3-S features a newly developed 24-megapixel full-frame BSI, or Back Side Illuminated, CMOS sensor. The sensor is connected to the same lightning-fast Maestro IV CPU found in the SL3. However, with half the pixel count, the SL3-S provides a significant speed advantage in terms of raw speed and burst depth. In addition, the ISO range has been enlarged even farther than previously, from ISO 50 to 200,000, with a base ISO of 100.

The SL3-S has a maximum burst rate of 30 fps and complete autofocus tracking. With a vast 8GB of buffer memory, burst depths are enormous. At up to 5 fps, you can take 1,000 14-bit DNG files before the camera notices. Even at the highest 30 fps, the camera can take 175 images before hitting the buffer.
It boasts a multi-shot high-resolution mode that combines many photographs into 48- and 96-megapixel final shots. The in-body image stabilization mechanism allows it to do this on a tripod or handheld.

The SL3-S incorporates an even more advanced hybrid autofocus system debuting on the Q3 and SL3. The AF is faster and more precise than ever, thanks to traditional contrast detection, phase detection, depth mapping, and AI-powered subject recognition. Eye/Face/Body + Animal Detection works exceptionally well, ensuring perfect focus even with moving subjects. Furthermore, the SL3-S has 779 AF points, more than three times that of the SL2-S, allowing for more subtle acquisition and tracking.

The SL3-S is also the first SL camera to include hardware-based support for the Content Authenticity Initiative’s Content Credentials (and the underlying technical standard, the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, or C2PA). This allows a photographer to sign photographs taken by the SL3-S with “tamper-proof metadata” that can be checked and validated using the available Content Credentials verification tools. While opinions on whether a hardware- or software-based approach to content authenticity is preferable are divided, Leica is the only camera brand embracing a hardware-based approach.