Leica announces the SL2: 47MP full frame camera with IBIS

Leica have announced an update to the four-year old Leica SL, with last week's announcement of the the Leica SL2.

The new camera appears to share much in common physically with the SL, but on the inside it's a different story: The SL2 has a 47MP full-frame CMOS sensor, liely the same as on the Leica Q2, along with a five-axis sensor-shift IS system. There's improvements to the autofocus, and the camera can produce high res 187MP Raw images through a pixel-shift mode. A 'Smart AF' feature can automatically switch between focus and shutter release priority.

As mentioned, the body sees few changes, except for the hard edges have been 'softened', the grip has been refined and the rear of the camera features a new three-button interface like that on the Q2. Leica says the build quality and weather-sealing have also improved. 

The drive speed is relatively quick, with bursts at 20 fps (albeit with the electronic shutter) and 10 fps with mechanical, although both of these are with locked AF (the camera offers 6 fps with tracking AF). There's also dual UHS-II SD card slots.

The rear of the camera features a 3.2" touchscreen display with 2.1 million dots, and there's a 5.76M-dot electronic viewfinder. 

Leica have also included decent video capabilities, with DCI or UHD 4K available at up to 60p from 'nearly' the full width of the sensor. According to Leica, both 60p and 50p footage are captured as 8-bit 4:2:0, while 30p and below can be recorded or output as 10-bit 4:2:2.

The Leica SL2 is available for preorder for $9,900. You can watch a video with Steve McCurry using the new camera below.

For more information on the SL2, check out the Leica website.