Sony ZV-E10 II: two-minute review

The ZV-E10 II is a highly recommendable compact vlogging camera. Its diminutive size is deceptive, as it houses a number of key components and features that are shared with Sony’s pricier and more advanced APS-C cameras.

This camera is built around the proven 26MP Exmor R sensor and BIONZ XR imaging engine combo, which is capable of producing crisp 4K video from an oversampled 6K readout. One of the biggest upgrades over its predecessor is that the ZV-E10 II is capable of recording videos in XAVC HS/XAVC S 10-bit 4:2:2 color up to 4K/60p with a data rate of up to 200Mbps. To take advantage of its dynamic range and color upgrade, it also comes with S-Cinetone and Log recording, along with the ability for users to upload a maximum of 16 LUTs via the Creators’ App, which can be baked into footage for quick delivery. It’s a much less elegant approach to deploying custom looks compared to Fujifilm’s famous film simulations or Panasonic’s seamless Real Time LUT and LUMIX Lab solution, but it’s a welcome addition to Sony’s entry-level offering all the same. It can also record proxy files in XAVC HS HD or XAVC S HD with a max data rate of 16Mbps, despite only having a single UHS-II card slot. The ZV-E10 II offers a strong set of features for what is ostensibly a beginner/vlogging camera. 

However, considering that it’s built around the same sensor, processor and power platform as the A6700 and FX30, it’s a shame that Sony wasn’t able to include the 4K/120p video recording that’s available in those cameras, even if it came with a time limitation and the same 1.58x crop. It’s also disappointing to see that the mechanical shutter in the ZV-E10 has been ditched, meaning the ZV-E10 II is electronic shutter only. But with that said, the readout speed is fast, which will significantly negate the impact of rolling shutter in both video and stills. In terms of stabilization, the camera body has no sensor-shift IS, so you’re restricted to Optical Steady Shot (Standard) with compatible lenses or Active SteadyShot, which comes with a hefty crop. Alternatively, you can take advantage of Sony’s free Catalyst Browse desktop software, which uses gyroscopic metadata for the camera to stabilize your footage and reduce rolling shutter effects even further. The software works incredibly well, but it’s an extra step that some may find tedious, especially some people in the target audience for this camera.

As you might expect, the autofocusing capabilities of this camera are second to none in its price range, and much better than those of rival APS-C cameras from competitors; the upgraded 759-point PDAF system finds subjects with ease and tracks them stubbornly. Like the ZV-E10, the newer model has a maximum continuous firing rate of 11fps, but with a more advanced AF system your ‘keeper’ ratio from mode shooting is going to be higher. Product focus mode was one of the standout features in this camera’s predecessor, and it works better than ever with this new model. When activated by pressing the trash icon, the camera will intelligently detect and seamlessly pull focus to a product when it's held up, then return to the person’s face when the product is lowered. It’s a unique feature that makes this an ideal camera for social media content creators who do tutorials, product reviews or promotions.

In terms of design, the ZV-E10 II is almost identical to its predecessor – the button layout is unchanged and the form factor will be familiar to owners of the older model, and while this camera being slightly larger and heavier, you couldn’t describe it as large or heavy relative to the competition. I like that it has a decent-sized grip, despite being super compact, and it feels great to hold and shoot with. Due to its size there’s no EVF, which may turn off some beginners who are more inclined towards photography – they might want to spend a little more and pick up the A6700.

Having only the articulated screen to compose shots on isn’t a problem, but it did become a bit of a struggle on sunny days, as I didn’t find it bright enough, even on its maximum setting. I also found the default Shooting Screen UI cluttered, but you can (and really should) make adjustments to the look and feel of it in the menu. To Sony’s credit, I love the fact that the whole UI rotates when you shoot vertically, making it a little bit easier to see your settings, whatever orientation the camera is in; it’s a small touch, but a nice one. Speaking of touch, the ZV-E10 II also adds direct touch as a means for changing settings and selecting subjects for the AF to track, touch functions not available on the ZV-E10. Again, it’s not a huge feature, but it significantly improves the functionality of the camera over its predecessor.

One of the ZV-E10 II’s USPs is its built-in three-way capsule microphone, which sits along the top of the camera. The unique design helps to isolate audio when the user is speaking to camera without external audio capture, whether holding the camera up vlogger-style or speaking from behind the camera. Sony says the latest version is “intelligent”, and should do an even better job of delivering clear audio. I didn’t have the previous model at the same time that I was testing the ZV-E10 II to compare the two, but I can confirm that the audio quality that’s recorded by the ZV-E10 II’s built-in mic system is good – it will be adequate for most quick shooting scenarios in public, and should certainly suffice for more controlled situations, such as shooting in a studio, although for the best results you’ll want to stay close to the camera, as it's not designed to pick up your voice from a distance. For higher-quality sound recording you have the option of inputting third-party audio sources through the 3.5mm socket. Alternatively, the camera’s digital multi-function hot shoe supports audio data transfer, allowing you to connect a Sony hot shoe mic like the ECM-G1 or a more advanced audio solution such as the Sony ECM-W2BT wireless microphone.

Live online content creators will enjoy the fact that the ZV-E10 II makes it easy to get connected and stream via a wireless network connection or USB-C, at up to 4K/25p with a max bitrate of 38 Mbps. Full HD streaming goes up to 60fps, and it’s also possible to record to the camera while streaming, which is handy for redundancy.

The ZV-E10 II is a camera that covers a lot of bases for content creators who have begun to experience the limitations of a smartphone and need reliability and quality in equal measure, but in a package that keeps things simple. If you can go without a viewfinder and can tolerate overheating limitations when shooting 4K video, the ZV-E10 II is well worth your consideration.

Sony ZV-E10 II: release date and price

• $1100 / £950 body only
• Available from July 10 2024
• Can be bought as a kit with the new Sony E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 II $1200 / £1050

The ZV-E10 II is available to pre-order from July 10th, 2024, with sales starting at the end of July 2024. It can be picked up for an RRP of $1100 / £950 body only or for $1200 / £1050 with the new Sony E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 II as part of a kit. That’s a pretty big price hike from the Sony ZV-E10. 

• Price score: 3.5/5

Sony ZV-E10 II: design and handling

• Body is almost identical to previous model
• Features higher-capacity NP-FZ100 battery
• Vari-angle touchscreen
• Digital multi-function hot shoe

The Sony ZV-E10 II is a very compact camera, measuring 4.5 x 2.65 x 2.1 inches / 114.8 x 67.5 x 54.2mm and weighing 13oz / 375g. It’s almost 10mm thicker, a couple of mm wider and 32g heavier than its predecessor.

The increase in size is in order to accommodate the NP-FZ100 battery, the same battery used by Sony’s APS-C flagship model, the A6700, as well as most of its recent full-frame E-mount cameras. This also means the memory card slot has been shifted over to the left of the camera body, sandwiched between the microphone and USB-C port at the top and the headphone and micro-HDMI socket at the bottom. The door cover of the UHS-II card slot locks into place and is easy enough to unhinge, even if you’re wearing gloves.

Its 3-inch flip-out articulated screen swings out smoothly and slaps back into place with a reassuring clasp. However, I didn’t like the fact that when the display is flipped all the way out it doesn’t sit flat – it’s at a slight angle. This means the screen doesn’t directly face you when flipped forwards, and it makes composing straight images at extreme perspectives frustratingly inconsistent. Another slight annoyance for me is that I found that some of the buttons and the zoom toggle are too easy to activate by accident, which occasionally led to missed shooting opportunities when trying to capture unanticipated fleeting moments. I do really like the dedicated photo / video / S&Q mode switch at the top of the camera though.

A lot of useful and commonly used settings are buried within the menus, but fortunately Sony makes it relatively easy to curate a custom page under ‘My Menu’. Another positive is the fact that many of the camera’s buttons can also be customized for both photo and video modes, which gives you a lot of flexibility, and some time spent configuring your buttons and creating your own menu should pay dividends in improving your experience of using the ZV-E10 II. A final design touch that I’m a fan of is the inclusion of a red tally lamp on the front of the camera, just above the alpha logo, which turns on automatically when you press record. There’s also a red frame indicator that can be turned on and off to reassure you that you’re recording.

• Design score: 3.5/5

Sony ZV-E10 II: features and performance

• Best-in-class phase-detection autofocus
• Solid battery life
• No sensor-shift stabilization
• Overheats when recording 4K/60p
• Unique 3-capsule microphone array

The Sony ZV-E10 II stands on the shoulders of one of Sony’s most popular Alpha models ever, in the original ZV-E10 – and given that its predecessor doesn’t have a lot of competition, Sony arguably didn’t have to release an update this year. However, while there are a good few meaningful improvements overall, the ZV-E10 II isn’t perfect. Let’s start with the challenges.

As a compact camera with no fan, I wouldn’t expect the ZV-E10 II to deliver unlimited recording at maximum resolution and frame rates, and it turns out that it doesn’t. I found that the camera consistently overheated and shut down while recording 4K/60p video after 24 minutes, even with the screen flipped out which can help to disperse heat. I was able to get it to start recording again by rebooting the camera, and it rolled for another five minutes before stopping for a second time, then it would cut out repeatedly after a minute or two until it was left to cool down. When the overheating issues began the camera became very hot to the touch, and it wouldn’t function normally until it had cooled down; for reference the ambient room temperature was 70F / 21C. I experienced no overheating issues when filming in Full HD resolution.

Now that we’ve got the drawbacks out of the way, let me say that the ZV-E10 II shines when it comes to autofocus, although that’s a given when it comes to Sony cameras. The AF is quick and reliable, which means you can focus on capturing the content you want, whether it’s stills or video, and the camera will take care of the rest. It’s also much easier to shoot remotely and share your content, thanks to improvements Sony has made to the Sony Creators’ App experience. When paired, the ZV-E10 II has the ability to transfer content between the camera and your mobile device via 2.4GHz or 5GHz Wi-Fi. The process is quick, and far less frustrating than previous iterations of Sony camera/app file transfer that I’ve used.

When shooting Raw+JPEG you can get 30 frames at 11fps with AF-C in continuous burst mode, before buffering begins to kill your joy while you wait for the camera’s single UHS-II card to write – this is a camera that will be suitable for capturing brief bursts of action, but not extended sequences. If you want an easy way to slow down longer action sequences, shifting the camera into its dedicated S & Q (slow and quick) function is as simple as flicking a switch. The S&Q mode allows you to capture and view slow-motion video in camera, without sound. However, I’m disappointed that the ZV-E10 II maxes out 4K at 60fps, while its higher-end stablemates, with the same sensor and processor, offer up to 4K/120p.

I was impressed by the staying power of the ZV-E10 II. I could comfortably get through a day's photo and video capture thanks to the inclusion of the larger FZ-NP100 battery. It’s a cell that’s rated for roughly 550 shots, which is a lot for a camera in this class. The previous ZV-E10 was already a standout performer when it came to battery life, and the new model raises the bar further still.

• Features and performance score: 4/5

Sony ZV-E10 II: image and video quality

• Same 26MP sensor as pricier FX30 and A6700 models
• Much improved video codecs
• No in-body image stabilization means shakier video footage

The ZV-E10 II’s 26MP sensor delivers beautiful JPEGs in good light, and usable images in low light, while its raw files provide a good amount of dynamic range for pushing shadows and recovering highlights when needed.

In terms of its movie mode results, the introduction of 10-bit video, something that most of the competition offers, is a great benefit for people who have the time to grade their footage. Having greater color flexibility, including the addition of the S-Cinetone picture profile and log recording, opens up this camera for more professional uses, and I would happily use it as a B-roll camera, mixing in clips with footage from a higher-end Sony camera. At its best, 10-bit 4:2:2 4K/60p footage out of the ZV-E10 II, oversampled from its 6K readout, is reasonably gradable and looks clean when the ISO is kept below 6400. In video mode the ZV-E10 II has a maximum sensitivity range of ISO100 to 32,000, but beyond ISO6400 color shifting and noise starts to get distracting.

The lack of sensor-shift image stabilization is a miss here. However, when the camera is paired with an OSS Sony lens, footage is respectably stable, even if it can’t match the steadiness of a Lumix or Olympus alternative. Sony does have an ace in its hand with its Catalyst Browse desktop software though, and if you have the time and inclination you can achieve footage that’s stable enough to rival video captured with a dedicated gimbal.

• Image quality score: 4/5

Sony ZV-E10 II: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Sony ZV-E10 II?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Sony ZV-E10 II: also consider

How I tested the Sony ZV-E10 II

• I attended a pre-brief presentation, followed by one-week review period
• I paired the camera with the new Sony 16-50mm PZ OSS F3.5-5.6
• I connected the camera to the Sony Creators’ App

I had a short week with the ZV-E10 II, so my testing opportunities were slightly limited. However, I have experience with its predecessor, as well as the Sony A6700 and FX30, which share the same sensor, processor and battery as the ZV-E10 II, so I’m familiar with the capabilities and limitations of its core components.

The first thing I did when receiving the camera was conduct my endurance tests, which include battery run-downs and heat management. I set the camera up on a tripod in an ambient temperature environment of 70F / 21C, and left it filming continuously while connected to mains power and on battery power alone.

I took the camera out with me on a couple of walks and to a couple of daytime and evening events, using the Creators’ App to transfer and share images on the go. I performed sound-quality tests in a small studio environment, as well as in the street.

First reviewed July 2024

Panasonic Lumix S9: two-minute review

There's much to like about the Panasonic Lumix S9. It inherits superb video features from its pricier sibling, the Lumix S5 II, and squeezes them into a smaller, colorful body. 

It boasts a 24.2MP full-frame sensor, open gate 6K video recording (taken from the full height and width of the 3:2 aspect sensor), the option to automatically set a 180-degree shutter angle, and one of the best performing image stabilization systems for shooting video on the move. 

Beyond its bigger sibling, the Lumix S9 also brings Panasonic's lesser-known Real Time LUTs color profiles to your fingertips. Fujifilm's Film Simulations have been trending, but Real Time LUTs color profiles are next-level, with no restriction on the look you want. 

Once you're connected to the new Lumix Lab app, you can import a number of Real Time LUTs profiles directly on to the Lumix S9, including a variety of excellent looks made by Panasonic's network of professional creators. This is color grading made easy for photo and video. 

Design-wise, the Lumix S9 is primarily a video camera, and at $1,500 / £1,500 (Australian pricing TBC) it offers incredible bang for buck. The reason Panasonic has been able to drop the price from the $1,999 / £1,999 Lumix S5 II is simple – this is a much simpler body, and a colorful one at that, designed to appeal to young creatives. 

This is no photographer's tool, despite the excellent-quality 24MP stills: the Lumix S9 doesn't have a built-in viewfinder, or a hotshoe for mounting optional accessories, such as a flash or EVF. The coldshoe is instead limited to other accessories such as an external mic, or even a top handle.  

I missed having a viewfinder. Much of my testing was conducted in bright sunny weather and the flip-out touchscreen isn't the easiest to see under such conditions. 

In bright conditions you can't be fully sure if the Lumix S9 has locked focus on to your subject, you just have to trust it does. To be fair, for the best part it does – the S9 has Panasonic's best ever autofocus system, with human and animal subject detection and both with options for face and eye detection only, or for bodies, too. 

We're missing a headphone jack to monitor audio, which feels like a misstep for a video-focused shooter. You can activate on-screen audio monitoring which gives some indication of audio levels, but there's no easy way to properly monitor sound.

In essence, this is a full-frame camera for beginner filmmakers who want to point-and-shoot and trust that the camera will capture excellent visuals and audio, and for the whole experience to be as close to using a smartphone as possible.

To an extent, the Lumix S9 is successful in its mission. It's visually appealing, small and simple, brings lovely photo and video color profiles to your fingertips and the app is a nice touch, even if it could do with some refining.

However, considering the target market, I'm not entirely convinced this should be an L-mount interchangeable lens camera, rather a fixed lens compact with a tiny wide-angle fast aperture prime lens – much like the Fujifilm X100VI.

It's really hard to make tiny full-frame lenses, and the new pancake lens announced on the same day as the S9, plus the compact zoom in the pipeline, hardly excite. The smallest fast aperture L-mount prime lenses dwarf the camera and I'm not sure beginners will want to mess around with multiple lenses in the first place.

Design-wise, Sony's ZV-E10 feels like a better bet – with its smaller APS-C sensor and lenses, plus a decent grip. All being said, the Lumix S9 does a lot of things really well, new things, too, and we'll have to wait and see if it hits the mark with young creatives.

Panasonic Lumix S9: release date and price

• Body-only price is $1,499 / £1,499 / Australia TBC
• Available from June 2024
• Launched alongside the Lumix S 26mm F8 pancake lens, which costs $219 / £219

The Panasonic Lumix S9 is available in four colors: Dark Olive (pictured, below), Classical Blue, Crimson Red and Jet Black, and costs $1,499 / £1,499 body-only, or $1,799 /£1,799 with the decent 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, and $2,249 / £2,249 when bought with Panasonic's new travel lens, the 28-200mm f/4-7.1. The camera is available from June 2024, and Australia pricing for all of those options is TBC. 

There's no word yet if the Lumix S9 will be available as a bundle with either of the newly announced lenses, the new 26mm f/8 pancake lens or the 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 compact zoom in development. The pancake lens, which only weighs 2.04oz / 58g, costs $219 / £219 and also ships from June 2024, while the compact zoom is coming later.

At launch, the Lumix S9 is Panasonic's cheapest full-frame camera yet, although the Panasonic Lumix S5 II / S5 II X that shares much of the same tech but in a higher-spec body, is often on sale for a similar cost.

Panasonic Lumix S9: design and handling

• Newly designed body is Panasonic's smallest full-framer yet
• No viewfinder, hotshoe or headphone jack
• Vari-angle touchscreen
• New compact lenses on the way

The Lumix S9 is Panasonic's smallest full-frame camera yet, measuring 126 x 73.9 x 46.7 mm / 4.96 x 2.91 x 1.84 inches. It's not the smallest full-frame camera around – that award goes to the Sigma FP, plus the Sony A7C II is smaller by a whisker.

The body might barely be a handful, but it still needs a lens, and even the smallest full-frame L-mount lenses currently available – excluding the new 26mm F8 pancake – dwarf the Lumix S9. Throw on the excellent 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 and the depth is increased to 133.9mm / 5.28-inches. 

A thumb grip goes some way in providing a secure hold, but with no hand grip you'll probably need to support the camera with both hands, or kit it out with a third-party grip. Relatively chunky lenses are the challenge in handling small full-frame cameras like this – the all round feel is better with a camera like the full-size Lumix S5 II. 

In an ideal world, the Lumix S9 would have a fixed prime lens around the size of Panasonic's new pancake lens, but with a much faster maximum aperture – the Fujifilm X100VI approach. Panasonic could then also install a built-in ND filter, and ultimately create a truly compact video camera that also shoots much better video than your phone.

Still, if you don't mind the size of lenses like the 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 and 50mm F1.8 – both of which I had with the camera for this review – then you can make some excellent quality video.

There's the question of which tasteful color variation you will pick: green, red, blue, or an all-black option for those playing it safe. For now, Panasonic's lenses remain all-black; there's no color-matching kit lenses.

Control layout is super simple and beginner-friendly: on the top there's a shooting mode dial, video record button, exposure compensation, shutter button and control dial. We get a limited number of ports: mic, USB-C and mini-HDMI, but no headphone jack.

As a small, video-focused camera, there's no viewfinder nor the option to add one, while the coldshoe mount can hold an accessory like an external mic, but it won't connect directly to a hotshoe flash.

The 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen is decent, albeit hard to see in bright light. I couldn't find the option to activate a red border to clearly indicate when the camera is recording video, or even a tally lamp – inexplicable omissions for a small, video-focused camera.

In-camera menus are fairly-well laid out. If you select the video mode on the top dial, then all of the photography settings disappear in the menu, helping you access video options much quicker.

You'll want to customize video options to get started, for example setting the 'Shutter Speed / Gain Operation' to prioritize shutter angle to automatically apply the 180-degree shutter angle for smooth video footage. This handy option is not available on a lot of other pricier video cameras.

A new LUT button on the rear gives quick access to the unmatched variety of color profiles, which can be uploaded to the camera via the Lumix Lab app in addition to those already included. I went for 'Platinum Steel' by Sam Holland for a moody vibe with soft skin tones, among others.

Panasonic wants to create a camera and app experience that's easier than ever. From my brief time using the Android version of the Lumix Lab app, the jury is still out. Connection is faster than most, but the app can still be awkward to navigate, and appears to be limited to file transfers and uploading LUTs profiles. There could be more than this, including remote control.

Panasonic Lumix S9: features and performance

• Superb in-body image stablization
• Panasonic's best phase detection autofocus 
• Battery life is a respectable 470-shots (depending on lens)
• Single UHS-S II SD card slot
• New Lumix Lab app

The Lumix S9 is well supported by Panasonic's best ever autofocus and image stablization performance, both inherited from the Lumix S5 II. 

The S9's bigger sibling was the first Panasonic camera to utilize a hybrid autofocus system, with snappy contrast detection autofocus primarily for stills, and smooth phase-detection autofocus for video, featuring subject detection modes that cover human, animal, car and motorcycles. 

Human and animal detection autofocus can switch between prioritizing face and eye only, or face, eye and body, and in general works really well. 

Image stabilization performance is outstanding. It's possible to shoot sharp photos handheld with shutter speeds in the seconds, while handheld video footage on the go is super smooth – smooth enough for moderate action that you can avoid using a gimbal. 

There's just a single SD card slot with support for the faster UHS-II type, and you can capture up to 120 images in the continuous high burst shooting setting, which maxes out at 8 frames per second with continuous autofocus employed. This is no action photography camera, but it's hardly a slouch. 

Battery life is also decent, especially considering the diminutive size of the camera. According to its CIPA rating, the S9 can squeeze out up to 470 shots from a fully charged battery, or 100 minutes of continuous 4K / 60p video recording. 

Then there's the Lumix Lab app, which at the time of writing is compatible only with the Lumix S9. In my experience using a Google Pixel 6 and the Android version of the app, pairing the camera is quicker and more reliable than most other rival apps. 

In the app you get quick access to a range of Real Time LUTs color profiles. A number of Panasonic's creators have loaded some of their own publicly available and free to download LUTs in the app's Creator gallery, and I've found a look for just about every scenario. 

I've included a high-contrast street photo taken in London with the Lumix S9's standard color profile, and then applied a free 'Platinum Steel' LUT which suited the scene (see above).

Sadly, video capture times are severely limited, capped at just 15 minutes, and further reduced to 10 minutes when shooting in 6K. This is presumably to avoid overheating given the Lumix S9 lacks an internal fan, as opposed to any limitations in the camera's performance, including its processor power and card's read and write speeds.

Most people won't shoot individual clips for longer than 15 minutes, but knowing that you can in any situation is one less thing to worry about, whether that's recording speeches at an event or lengthy vlogs.

Panasonic Lumix S9: image and video quality

• Superb video features including open gate video recording up to 6K / 30p
• Real Time LUTs color profiles are supremely versatile
• New MP4 Lite file format
• Up to 14-stops dynamic range in V-log color profile

With practically the same sensor and video spec as the Lumix S5 II, you can be assured that the Lumix S9 captures superb quality video, plus sharp and punchy 24MP stills. You can read more about the image and video quality to expect in our Lumix S5 II review.

What the Lumix S9 tries to do differently is bring Panasonic's Real Time LUTs to the fore, through quick access via a direct button on the camera's body and the Lumix Lab app, through which you can easily upload any one of a vast array of color profiles for just about any shooting scenario. 

You can create your own color profiles and save them to the camera, or simply take advantage of the profiles already available through the Creator's gallery in the app.

There's also the matter of a new MP4 Lite video format. It maxes out at 4K, 10-bit 4:2:0, but produces files that are around 40% smaller than regular MP4 files, which are also available in the S9. However, for best quality video, you'll probably want to shoot in .MOV format in 4K 4:2:2 10-bit or 6K 4:2:0 10-bit, even if the file sizes are much bigger. 

Whether it's a light and easy ready-made MP4 Lite video with Real Time LUT applied, or 6K 10-bit video in the V-log color profile with 14-stops of dynamic range that needs to be graded afterwards, there's video quality for every level of ability and shooting scenario. 

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix S9

• Two brief sessions, including a street photography walk 
• Paired with the 26mm pancake, 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 and 50mm F/1.8 lenses
• Paired with the Lumix Lab app

I've had a fairly brief time with the Lumix S9 so far, including a London street photography session and a more leisurely time at home and on launch day. I still have the camera at home and will be continuing to use it ahead of the full review. 

I've been shooting both photos and videos, and tried pairing the S9 with the Lumix Lab app to play around with various Real Time LUTs color profiles and making quick edits to photos, among other things. 

During the London session I was briefly able to use the S9 with the only copy of the pancake lens available in the UK, plus I've had more time using the camera with the 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 and 50mm F1.8 Panasonic Lumix L-mount lenses. 

First reviewed May 2024

Leica might be best-known for its legendary M-series rangefinders, but for the past decade it's also been building a modern full-frame mirrorless system called the SL series – and the new SL3 is its most fully-evolved model so far.

Unlike the Leica M11 and Leica Q3, which are built around a compact, tactile shooting experience, the SL3 is a modern brute that wants to be your professional workhorse. It still has classic Leica hallmarks, like minimalist menus and a design that harks back to the Leica R3 SLR, but it combines all of that with modern all-rounder specs.

The main upgrades from 2019's Leica SL2 include a 60MP full-frame CMOS BSI sensor, a Maestro IV processor, phase-detect autofocus, a tilting touchscreen, 8K video, a CFexpress Type B card slot (alongside an SD UHS II one) and a slightly smaller, lighter body.

Leica says that its 60MP sensor is the same as the one in the Leica M11 and Q3, but is engineered slightly differently – which means it has a base ISO of 50 (going up to 100,000), rather than 64. In other words, the SL3 is like the Q3's bigger brother, with its studio-friendly body giving you access to the dozens of lenses available for its L-mount.

But since the original Leica SL arrived in 2015, the full-frame mirrorless camera space has become fiercely competitive. So with incredible cameras like the Nikon Z8, Sony A7R V and Canon EOS R3 all vying for your attention, is the gravitational pull of that red dot still as strong for pro shooters in 2024?

I spent a couple of days with a Leica SL3 in Wetzlar, Germany to find out – as always, the answer depends very much on your priorities (and your bank balance)... 

Leica SL3 release date and price

• The Leica SL3's body-only price is $6,995 / £5,920 (around AU$11,435)
• The SL2's launch price was $5,995 / £5,300 / AU$9,900
• It's available to buy right now at Leica stores and its online store

As always with Leica, the SL3's cost-of-entry is high. And like most cameras, it's quite a bit higher than in 2019, when the SL2 first landed.

The SL3's body-only price is $6,995 / £5,920 (around AU$11,435), which is somewhere between 12%-16% pricier than the SL2's original price, depending on where you live.

The SL3 is by no means the most expensive Leica camera around – the Leica M11 Monochrom, for example, costs $9,195 / £8,300 / AU$14,990 (body only) and only shoots in black and white. But this does mean that the SL3 is now much pricier than the Leica Q3 ($5,995 / £5,300 / AU$9,790). 

That's a completely different kind of camera, but the SL3 is also battling for your attention alongside full-frame Nikon Z8 ($3,999 / £3,999 / AU$6,999 body-only), which looks like a comparative bargain.

Leica SL3: design and handling

• New 3.2-inch tilting touchscreen, but no fully-articulating display
• Leica SL3 design tweaks make it 69g lighter than SL2
• Still has magnesium alloy body with IP54-rated weather sealing

Leica's SL series have always felt reassuringly expensive in the hand and the SL3 is no different – it feels like could survive a run-in with a Cybertruck. 

It's a bit of a functional brute compared to stablemates like the Leica Q3, but if you need a hybrid workhorse for stills and video, the SL3 is now one of the best camera bodies around.

Leica has made a few tweaks to the SL series' design in this third-generation, mostly for the better. For a start, it's shaved off some weight – the SL3 is 69g lighter than its predecessor. At 769g, it's still a pretty weighty mirrorless camera, but that puts it somewhere in between a Sony A7 IV and Nikon Z8.

The biggest departure from the SL2 is the arrival of a tilting 3.2-inch touchscreen. Leica hasn't gone as far as adding a fully-articulating display, which it said could have compromised the SL3's bomb-proof build quality.

While videographers might be disappointed about that, the tilting screen is a welcome addition for photographers, giving you the option of shooting from the hip and low angles. It's just a shame it only tilts in landscape orientation, and not when you flip the camera round for portraits.

In the hand, the SL3 is still a satisfyingly solid hunk of metal. Mirrorless cameras don't come built any better than this – the magnesium and aluminum chassis balances nicely with some of Leica's weighty glass (like the Summicron-SL 50mm f/2 I tried it with), and the tweaked grip and its rubberized indent still feel great in the hand.

The SL3 still has IP54-rated weather sealing too, which means it can handle being sprayed or splashed with water. I haven't yet taken one to Antarctica, but there really aren't any weather conditions where you'll have to worry about the SL3.

Beyond its new screen and lighter weight, the only other design changes are more minor future-proofing tweaks. There's now a new CFexpress Type B slot (alongside a standard UHS-II SD slot) to support 8K video, plus an HDMI 2.1 Type A port for video shooters. 

Inside, there's also now a larger capacity battery (2,200mAh, compared to 1,860mAh one inside the SL2), but this doesn't translate to more shooting time. In fact, with a CIPA standard rating of 260 shots (compared to 370 shots on the SL2), battery life is one of the SL3's main weaknesses.

In more positive news, the SL3 retains the 5.76-million dot OLED EVF (with 0.78x magnification) from its predecessor, and that certainly hasn't dated. It's still an impressive part of the shooting experience, helping you stay connected to the scene with its clarity, color reproduction and 120fps refresh rate.

On the top of the SL3, there's a new dial on the left and a very handy 1.28-inch monochrome display for quickly previewing your shooting settings. Round the front of the camera there's arguably the most important design feature of all – the L-mount bayonet. This gives you access to a huge range of lenses from Leica, but also the likes of Panasonic, Sigma and Samyang – in total, there are now 84 lenses to choose from.

One other nice design touch is the new illuminated power button on the back, which replaces the traditional switch. This doesn't serve any great functional purpose other than making the SL3 feel more modern, but it's the kind of attention to detail you don't often get from other manufacturers.

Similarly, the SL3's refined menu system (complete with new icons) is an example for others to follow. It's clean and simple, with nice touches like the separate photo and video modes, and is a stark contrast to Sony's 'kitchen sink' approach to software menus.

Leica SL3: features and performance

• 60MP CMOS BSI full-frame sensor, like the Leica Q3 and M11
• New phase-detect AF system, alongside contrast/object detect AF
• Can now shoot 8K video and ProRes (in 1080p)

Given the Leica SL2 was launched back in 2019, you'd hope that its successor would get a sizable imaging upgrade – and that's certainly the case. 

The SL3 has a 60MP CMOS BSI full-frame sensor, which is a tweaked version of the one inside the Leica Q3 and M11. While that resolution is handy for cropping later, you also get 36MP and 18MP modes to help boost the buffer during continuous shooting and save on memory space.

Leica says this sensor gives you an extra stop of dynamic range compared to the SL2 (15 stops, compared to 14), but a more obvious upgrade is the Maestro IV processor and its improved autofocus system.

The SL series has never had class-leading autofocus, partly due to Leica's close relationship with Panasonic (which, until last year's Panasonic Lumix S5 II, had refused to embrace phase-detect autofocus). But the SL3 finally offers a hybrid AF system, combining phase-detect AF (good for video and moving subjects) with contrast-detection and object detection. 

In my brief time with the SL3, its subject-detection worked well and reliably locked onto human eyes, producing a good hit-rate. But animal detection was still marked as being in 'beta' on my sample, so this will need more testing – and overall, it's fair to say that Leica is still playing catchup with the likes of Sony for autofocus, rather than surpassing it.

The other benefit of that Maestro IV processor is that it supports the camera's CFexpress Type B card and, consequently, some video upgrades. The SL2 was already Leica's best ever video camera and the SL3 steps things up with 8K video capture. 

This will be a pretty niche mode, though, as it tops out at 30fps with 4:2:0 10-bit color sampling. More useful will be the SL3's 4K/60p and 4K/120p video modes, which you can shoot with 4:2:2 10-bit color sampling for editing flexibility. Combine that with the camera's full-size HDMI port for external monitors and timecode interface, and you have a powerful, professional video camera – which hasn't been very common in Leica world, until now.

Another bonus for shooting handheld video (and stills) is the Leica SL3's five-axis image stabilization system, which gives you five stops of compensation. That's far from the best we've seen – the Sony A7R V's system is good for a claimed eight stops – but it is still an important difference from the original SL, which had no stabilization. It's also ideal if you want to use an SL3 with Leica M glass using the M-L adapter.

In my tests, I was able to shoot handheld down to 1/4s and get usable results, so it's definitely a useful feature, particularly for shooting in low light. Another quality-of-life upgrade are the SL3's speedier wireless transfer speeds, which use a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi MIMO tech to fire full-size DNGs to your phone in only two or three seconds.

That's quite a big jump up from the SL2, which took around 20 seconds to transfer a DNG file, and it worked well in my tests (as you can see above). The Leica Fotos app itself is a suitably premium experience that's a cut above the efforts from most camera manufacturers, and these transfer speeds make it a breeze to get a raw file onto your phone for a quick edit.

The SL3 isn't a sports camera – and despite having a larger buffer capacity than the SL2, its top speeds for continuous shooting have taken a slight dip compared to its predecessor. 

Its top speed is 15fps, which can manage for a few seconds before the buffer fills up, but it can naturally go for longer if you drop down to 9fps or 7fps. You can also get better results by choosing the 36MP or 18MP resolution modes, so there are options – just don't expect it to match a Canon EOS R3.

My biggest disappointment with the SL3 was its battery life. I'll need to do some more controlled tests, but during my brief time with the camera I was barely getting above 200 shots (plus some video) per charge. Its official CIPA rating is 260 shots per charge and Leica is rolling out new firmware (version 1.1) soon, so hopefully that might improve things. But prepare to carry around a USB-C charger or spare batteries.

One other strange anomaly is that the SL3 doesn't support Content Credentials, a new industry standard for protecting the authenticity of digital images. That's a little odd considering the older Leica M11-P debuted the feature last year, but Leica told us that "the reason is that the development of the SL3 was already advanced when this technology became mature".

Because Content Credentials requires a dedicated chipset, this also can't be added to the Leica SL3 via a firmware update. But Leica did add that for "future cameras it's our aim to integrate" the AI-combatting tech.

Leica SL3: image and video quality

I took the Leica SL3 for a spin with the Summicron-SL 50mm f/2 lens, which is a sharp, fun partner for the camera. The option of using Leica glass is clearly one of the main draws of the SL3, but whatever you pair it with, you'll get some hallmark Leica character in your images.

Like the Leica Q3, the SL3 captures tons of detail in its 60MP DNGs. I'll need to spend some more time with them to see how far they can be pushed in editing, but the early signs suggest you can recover an impressive amount of shadow detail from the SL3's raw files.

Those files also have bold, vibrant colors, more so than the JPEGs, although they're also a touch noisier than some full-frame rivals. In my early test shots, noise starts to appear from ISO 1600 and is particularly noticeable at ISO 6400. Still, this isn't necessarily a problem – in fact, the grain is frequently attractive (depending on your tastes) and gives the SL3's photos a filmic look.

Video quality looks similarly pin-sharp at lower ISOs, although the SL3's autofocus seemed to struggle a little more with moving subjects in this mode. I'll need to test this more on final firmware, alongside the 8K mode, before making any conclusions. But my early impressions are that the SL3's image and video quality will be comparable to the Leica Q3's, which is certainly no bad thing.

Leica SL3 early verdict

The full-frame mirrorless camera world has changed a lot since the original Leica SL landed in 2015 – and while the competition is now red-hot between Sony, Canon and Nikon, the Leica SL3 still manages to carve out a unique spot for itself.

While it can't match a Nikon Z8 for outright performance or value, the SL3 is a refined, professional workhorse with incredible build quality. Its simple, clean user interface puts most other cameras to shame and it's now a very competitive – if not class-leading – modern hybrid camera for shooting photos and video.

The special sauce of Leica's distinctive image rendering and lenses are added bonuses, although I hope its disappointing battery life is improved in later firmware updates. Right now, you'll need at least two batteries to last you a full day of intense shooting.

If that isn't a deal-breaker for you, then the SL3 could be the combination of modern mirrorless power and classic Leica minimalism you've been waiting for (even if your bank manager feels very differently). We'll bring you our full review very soon.

Leica SL3: how I tested

• A day-and-a-half of shooting at Leica Park in Wetzlar, Germany
• A mix of studio, low light and environmental shooting

I used the Leica SL3 for just over a day continuously during a visit to Leica's HQ in Wetzlar, Germany. I've taken sample photos in raw and DNG formats, although I'll need to spend a bit more time with the latter (on the SL3's final firmware) for our full review. 

I took a variety of handheld shots are different shutter speeds to test the effectiveness of its in-body image stabilization, and also took its new phase-detect autofocus and buffer for a spin during a fashion photo shoot.

My only lens during testing was the Summicron-SL 50mm f/2 lens, which was a great companion if not ideal for all shooting scenarios. I also ran the battery down to empty to test its stamina shooting a mix of photos and videos.