When we reviewed the Leica SL3, it wasn’t fully supported by Capture One or Lightroom. And now that it is, we’ve had new findings. As far as the high ISO output goes, it has insanely clean high ISO output. So too does it have incredible color depth. But what’s really amazing is just how well it does at both high ISOs and color depth retention. This is something we really haven’t seen with many other cameras on the market.
Below is the updated text from our Leica SL3 review. And you can read the entire thing right here at this link. Want one? You can pick the Leica SL3 up for just under $7,000.
Leica SL3 Image Quality Update March 2023
We tested the Leica SL3 before the announcement and before all the other press and YouTubers got a hold of it. At that time, software wasn’t fully supported.
Our standard high ISO test has us taking an image shot at ISO 6400 and printing it at 17×22 inches. We use the Canon Prograf 1000 and Canson Infinity paper. Everything is printed from Capture One, and we do no noise reducton to the image. We also do nothing that would affect the noise rendering at all. The results are impeccable. Compared to the Sony a7r V and the Sony a7c R, the Leica SL3 is much, much cleaner. We went through the image above with a loupe and checked out the deepest blacks and the various colors available.
I can say with full affirmation and confidence that the Leica SL3 has the cleanest high ISO rendering of any 60MP full-frame sensor camera that I’ve used. In fact, it even seems cleaner than the M11 and the Q3.
In addition to that, you’ll find an update to skin tones. Capture One, as of March 13th, has the Leica SL3 set to Neutral. You have to dig into the menus to find the ProStandard option. Once you select that and then mess with the curves, the skin tones become much, much nicer — especially with people of color with melanin in their skin. What’s more, this image was shot at ISO 8000. That’s insanely impressive!
Leica confirmed with us that this is because of the beta firmware that was in the camera.
Similarly at the lower end of the ISO range, the RAW file versatility is really quite exceptional when you apply the ICC profiles accordingly.
For real photographers and those making prints, you’ll want to note that skin tones in prints show us extra hints that the sensor in the SL3 is made by Sony. At times, more purple than is expected appears in the skin tones of people of color. It’s a common issue that we’ve seen over the years. You might not notice it all that much when looking at digital photos on a screen. But when staring at a print, you’ll absolutely notice what’s going on with the colors.
The idea here is that the finished photograph is then printed to become manifest, so you’re as precious about your photographs as parents are about their unborn child. This means you’ll have to fix it in a few ways by giving it what it needs to thrive. It means adjusting the white balance, tint, or specific color channels in various cases. In daylight white balance, it sometimes means that purple and blue channels bleed into one another. Adjusting the hue, lightness, or saturation can give you the results you’ll probably be happier with. You might also find joy when shifting the tint over from purple into green a bit more. So, when you’re editing your prints, take this into consideration.
