Review: Leica SL3-P - when the golden middle path feels just right

For a few weeks before the official release, we tested the new Leica SL3-P, which becomes the third model in the SL3 family and positions itself right between the high-resolution SL3 and the faster SL3-S. With nearly 45 megapixels and a back-illuminated sensor, 8K video, and Content Credentials, the camera gets several exciting features that give it a step up in several areas. Add to that 5-stop image stabilization, a high-resolution electronic viewfinder, and a tilting screen.

Leica itself says that a system cannot provide everything a photographer needs, but that in this case with the Leica SL3-P, it has reduced the number of distractions, spent development time on speed and reliability, while also incorporating feedback from photographers into the camera’s design.

The Leica SL3 from 2024 is the high-resolution camera with 60 megapixels, 8K video, and phase-detection autofocus, while the SL3-S from 2025 lowered the resolution to 24 megapixels but instead offered higher speed, faster autofocus, and faster transfer speeds.

But Leica is now releasing a camera in the mid-range segment that inherits the advantages from both sides. The SL3-P increases the resolution compared with the SL3-S, while also offering faster continuous shooting than both of its siblings - while also gaining more professional features, something also indicated by the "P" in the name - "Professional".

The same design path

I personally like Leica’s design choices and expression, where simplicity is used to reduce distractions for the photographer. No buttons or controls are unnecessary, and no features are added just for the sake of it. In this case, the red Leica dot is gone from the camera, something that goes hand in hand with the P models - they are simply meant to be more discreet, which is an extension of the photojournalist’s mantra.

This means the design follows the same path Leica has always taken in general, and for the SL system in particular in this case. The design looks exactly like previous models and feels like them as well, with a clearly solid grip, and actually with the possibility of shooting one-handed - something that comes from user feedback. 

The camera sits well in the hand and also has a good grip, but that is necessary too because it is not exactly small either, with a weight of 768 grams. In classic Leica fashion, this contributes to the feeling that you have a performance machine in your hand that is built to create, and with that in mind, the size and weight also become easier to forgive, especially with the 35mm f/2 that I used during the test.

The buttons and controls, like on previous SL models, are excellent to use, with the right spacing, the right resistance, and the right feel. Many functions are programmable, which lets you make the camera your own, with the ISO setting on the left dial and aperture on the right, or vice versa. The controls are also precise to use because they are generously sized - whether that is good or bad probably comes down to personal preference.

Fast to work with in several ways

According to Leica, the Leica SL3-P has received new algorithms to be better, faster, and more precise, both when it comes to autofocus, subject recognition, and tracking. It is difficult to compare exactly without both models side by side, but I think it performs really well in all of the above.

The SL3-P has hybrid autofocus, meaning phase detection combined with contrast-detection AF, with 819 autofocus points - something that is a step up from both the SL3 and SL3-S. This also goes hand in hand with what Leica wants the camera to be, namely something suited for reportage, documentary work, weddings, and even sports. 

The autofocus is almost always accurate and fast, and both subject detection and tracking work exactly as you would want, expect, and need them to - really good, in other words. In the menu, it is also possible to adjust certain aspects of how fast the autofocus should respond to changes and tracking, which also makes it possible to set it up to suit your type of photography - or filming, for that matter. The camera also recognizes a whole range of subjects, and displays them as boxes in the viewfinder or on the screen.

Continuous shooting is rated at up to 40 frames per second with autofocus, in 12-bit and cropped APS-C. That makes the SL3-P faster than both the SL3 and SL3-S. The fastest modes use an electronic shutter, and some modes provide the lower 12-bit depth in the raw files, such as 30 and 40 frames per second. The fastest 14-bit mode in full frame delivers 25 frames per second.

The buffer is rated at around 70 images in several of the faster modes, depending on format and card, but then you need to use a fast CFexpress card so the camera can clear the buffer quickly, and the Leica Content Credentials function also needs to be turned off, since it uses some processing power.

I think continuous shooting at 25 frames per second in the highest image quality is fully sufficient, and fully sufficient for what the camera is intended to be used for, since I do not see it as a dedicated sports camera. Despite that, I experience it as very fast, and absolutely an all-around camera in terms of what it is suited for.

High-resolution still images can also be captured in Multishot mode at up to 176 megapixels. This is mainly interesting for static subjects, reproduction, product photography, and landscapes where the camera stays still and the subject does not move. The images become larger, contain more detail, and allow more cropping, but at the same time this is not something everyone needs or wants to use.

Smart video features

Strictly speaking, this may not be a feature specifically for video, but a smart division that also makes things easier for the photographer is the color coding, with red for stills and yellow for video, so you immediately know which mode the camera is in. 

This feels very well thought out, and much easier to see and remember visually than either symbols or button positions. In addition, the menu system adapts somewhat to the mode, which also helps you identify the mode quickly, while the menu system also rotates if you rotate the camera.

The Leica SL3-P records video in up to 8K Open Gate in 3:2 format, with the option for raw output via HDMI. 5.9K ProRes is supported at up to 60 frames per second and 4K at up to 120 frames per second. To make things easier for those filming who want to see results right away, there is also L-Log with two new LUTs, Leica Pure and Leica Cine.

This is really good for anyone who wants true-to-life colors or a more cinematic look, and then wants to do the final editing on a computer. I like Leica’s workflow and think they have done a good job with the entire video pipeline, with options to adapt depending on what the footage will be used for. Open Gate is especially interesting because the sensor’s full 3:2 area can be used, which gives greater freedom to crop the footage afterward to, for example, 16:9, vertical formats like 9:16, or square 1:1. For anyone working with both the web, social media, and regular film, that is smart. I think Leica has come a long way here.

Fantastic digital viewfinder

The electronic viewfinder in the Leica SL3-P is, simply put, fantastic. The resolution is 5.76 million dots, so it is high-resolution. But there is still something special about how I experience it when I look through it. "Sharp softness" is hard to define, but let’s say that the sharpness in the sharp areas is incredible, while at the same time there is a soft, fine tonal transition in colors and light, like a high dynamic range, which makes the image simply fantastic and flicker-free. It feels like looking through something optical, not digital at all.

Using a fast 35mm lens can surely contribute to the separation you see, but at the same time the colors, the intensity, the tones, and how they are displayed in the viewfinder are something special. The viewfinder can also be adjusted to display 120 frames per second refresh instead of 60, which is the default setting.

The screen is tilting and good, and clearly useful in many situations, but I have to say that the viewfinder is still the main thing - it is what contributes to the overall feeling of how you work with the camera and how you experience the image you are about to take.

Prove the image’s authenticity

Another important thing is the support for Content Credentials. Leica has previously built the technology into other models, and in the SL3-P, images can be signed with metadata according to the Content Authenticity Initiative, CAI.

This goes hand in hand with Leica’s heritage of creating cameras for photojournalists, and while the SL3-P is a "middle ground," it still has "P" in the model name - and therefore also gets the professional features needed to authenticate an image as genuine, something that is more relevant now than it was just a few years ago for photojournalists, documentary photographers, editorial teams, and image agencies.

Conclusion

As usual with Leica cameras, these are fundamentally not cameras to discuss in terms of specifications, for the simple reason that Leica often sees the value of the image as the most important thing, and technology as the helpful path to get there. Despite this, the SL3-P is a relatively technically interesting camera, with many technical specifications worth mentioning, as in this test.

As a new model in the SL series, the Leica SL3-P is probably the most interesting so far, since it does not have as many compromises in one direction or the other, but instead lands in the middle lane, the golden middle ground, which feels exactly right - a professional all-around camera suited to professionals - but also enthusiasts who work as hybrid photographers with both stills and video.

The image quality is fantastic, and so is the noise handling. There is not much more to say than that Leica succeeds in combining the sensor with its algorithms in a good way, something that contributes to both high resolution, fantastic image sharpness, really good color handling, and at the same time excellent opportunities for high-resolution and attractive video files straight out of the camera.

Photographing with the SL3-P is a pleasure. The only thing I see as a drawback is the size, but once you're there and about to photograph where things are happening in front of you, it's definitely worth it.

Rating

Handling: 5
Speed: 4
Build quality: 5
Versatility: 4
Features: 4
Overall: 4.4

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