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New Leica SL3-P Rumors

  
 
1bwana1
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p.19 #1 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors


SrMi wrote:
AFAIK, SL3-P has 819 focus points, while S1rII has 779. It seems that the PDAF pixel layout is different.

SL3-P also has dedicated Content Credentials hardware.


More differences that show it is not just a rebranding. Thanks for contributing.



Jul 07, 2026 at 04:58 AM
RustyBug
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p.19 #2 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors


Nifty Fifty wrote:
Models from other brands that are so closely matched, yet cost half or double the price of their respective competitor? Frankly, I can't think of any examples.


I am not qualified to make this as a STATEMENT, so accept it as a question ... although, it was a discussion point I had with a different mfr from Germany.

The wage(s) paid to German employees is on a different economy. Mfr's from differing brands, that use the same economy for (i.e. each from Japan, etc.) mfr are more likely to be much closer in mfr costs. So, where Leica mfr's in Germany and pays wages on their scale, does that difference in the country's economy ... and, Leica's ethos about wages to their employees ... contribute to the price variance that does not seem as significant among the grouping of mfr's from other companies / countries.

In some regard, it seems to me that paying the premium is a means of paying the employees a different wage from other countries. My discussion with the other German mfr, included dialogue about what they considered to be a "living wage" for their employees at a higher rate than others did.

Again, I cannot make this as a statement, but it is something that does resonate with my understanding of mfr'ing costs ... as I've worked in mfr'ing enough to know that different industries and different economies have an impact on product pricing, beyond just the cost of raw materials. Many folks look at the sensor and go "same sensor", should cost about the same ... but, the location of mfr economy is a piece that folks may be overlooking.

And yes, I know that some folks here are actually from Germany, so their opinion of input may vastly differ from this consideration. Just mentioning it as something for potential consideration. I mean, it is of little surprise to folks that goods mfr'd in China cost less than Japan. So, why is it of such surprise that goods mfr'd in Germany cost more (if the company / country is on a different economy scale for wages) than Japanese companies. And, that most Japanese companies are more "tightly grouped" in terms of their product line costs. I can't help but at least wonder to what degree the wage of the employee (and economy of scale for production) influences the delta that leaves folks scratching their head so often about the price variance for Leica vs. others. MOC is a piece of it, too, but I think that many times folks never consider if there is a wage difference involved.




Jul 07, 2026 at 07:07 AM
stgrove
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p.19 #3 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors


Rebranding or not, it is strange too me that Leica copied Panasonic's idea of a 44MP sensor in an L mount body. From my experience M mount lenses on the S1RII work just like my M mount lenses worked on my SL3 and SL3-S.

This all said, I enjoy using my M mount glass MUCH more on my recent Nikon Z5II purchase with Techart AF adapter than on any L mount camera out there.

It is such better experience with M Mount glass (my initial reason for getting into the SL system) that I have sold all my SL and Lumix cameras and almost all my L mount glass, except for 2 Panasonic lenses which BTW performed tremendously on the SL3.

Today I carry an X2D2 with 35-100 which covers about 95% of my needs which, for me, is way better than carrying an SL system camera.



Jul 07, 2026 at 07:12 AM
SrMi
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p.19 #4 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors


stgrove wrote:
Rebranding or not, it is strange too me that Leica copied Panasonic's idea of a 44MP sensor in an L mount body. From my experience M mount lenses on the S1RII work just like my M mount lenses worked on my SL3 and SL3-S.

This all said, I enjoy using my M mount glass MUCH more on my recent Nikon Z5II purchase with Techart AF adapter than on any L mount camera out there.

It is such better experience with M Mount glass (my initial reason for getting into the SL system) that I have sold all my SL and Lumix cameras
...Show more

Leica SL2 "copied" the idea of the S1R sensor. SL3 "copied" the idea of the Sony a7rV sensor.
BTW, the sensors, if you included the toppings, are not the same or copied.
And the camera's gestalt is completely different.



Jul 07, 2026 at 07:38 AM
Nifty Fifty
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p.19 #5 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors



RustyBug wrote:
I am not qualified to make this as a STATEMENT, so accept it as a question ... although, it was a discussion point I had with a different mfr from Germany.

The wage(s) paid to German employees is on a different economy. Mfr's from differing brands, that use the same economy for (i.e. each from Japan, etc.) mfr are more likely to be much closer in mfr costs. So, where Leica mfr's in Germany and pays wages on their scale, does that difference in the country's economy ... and, Leica's ethos about wages to their employees ... contribute to the price
...Show more
Of course, labor costs here in Germany are higher than in China—there’s no question about that—but I personally doubt this justifies a 100% markup. Just for fun, I checked online and got the answer below. It’s written in German, but anyone can have it translated into their native language. I make no guarantees regarding its accuracy. Ultimately, I really don’t care whether an SL3 costs 4,000, 8,000, or 12,000 euros, but I found it quite revealing when Leica—last year (or was it 2024?)—sold brand-new SL2-S and SL2 bodies through official dealers for 2,000 and 2,500 euros, respectively, for a period of time. I don’t think those bodies were sold at a loss.

Quote Gemini:
》Bei einer hochkomplexen. modernen Kamera wie der Lumix S1R I macher die reinen Fabrik-Arbeitskosten (Direct Labor) in China einen überraschend geringen Teil aus:
Vom Verkaufspreis (Ladenpreis): ca. 1 % bis 3 %.

Von den reinen Herstellungskosten (Ab Werk): ca. 4 % bis 8 %.
Warum ist das so wenig:
1.
Massive Automatisierung Moderne Kamerawerke (wie das in Xiamen) sind extrem automatisiert. Roboter übernehmen das Bestücken der Platinen und präzise Fertigungsschritte. Menschliche Arbeit entfalli primär auf die Endmontage und Qualitätskontrolle.
2.
Materialwert dominiert: Der Löwenanteil der
Herstellungskosten fließt in die hochentwickelten
Komponenten - allen voran den 44-Megapixel-BSI-Sensor den Bildprozessor, das wetterfeste
Magnesiumgehäuse und die mechanischen Bauteile Verschluss, Bildstabilisator)
3.
Marge, Entwicklung unc Vertrieb: Der Verkaufspreis im Laden beinhaltet enorme Aufschläge, die gar nichts mit der Fabrik zu tun haben: die jahrelange Entwicklung (R&D) und Softwareprogrammierung in Japan, weltweites Marketing Transport, Zölle sowie die Gewinnmargen für Panasonic und den Einzelhändler.

Bei der Leica SL3-P (bzw. SL3) siehi die Kalkulation vollig anders aus als bei Panasonic. Da die Kamera ir Wetzlar, Deutschland, in hohem Maße von Hand montiert, justiert und geprüft wird, verschieben sich die Werte durch das deutsche Lohnniveau und der
Manufaktur-Charakter deutlich nach oben.
Hier verlagert sich das Verhaltnis wie folgt:

Vom Verkaufspreis (Ladenpreis von ca. 6.800 €): ca. 8 % bis 12 % (ca. 550 € bis 800 €)

Von den reinen Herstellungskosten (Ab Werk): ca. 25 % bis 35 %.
Die Hauptunterschiede in der Kostenstruktur:

Manuelle Wertarbeit stat
Fließband-Automation: Während in Xiamen Roboter die Gehäuse füllen, werden be Leica in Hessen die Gehäuseteile, Dichtungen, der Verschluss und der Sensor vor Technikern manuell eingepasst präzise kalibriert und einzeln final kontrolliert. Ein solcher Arbeitsplatz in Deutschland kostet den Arbeitgeber pro Stunde ein Vielfaches eines Fabrikarbeiter-Arbeitsplatzes in
China.

Komponenten-Zukauf bleibt teuer: Auch wenn "Made in Germany" draufsteht, kommer Elektronik-Kernkomponenten wie der Sensor oder der Prozessor) aus Asien. Derer Materialwert ist extrem hoch, aber der deutsche Arbeitskostenanteil bezieht sich
rein auf das Fräsen des Aluminium/Magnesium-Bodys (oft teils in Portugal im Leica-Werk vorproduziert) und die Endmontage in Wetzlar

Exklusivitäts-Aufschlag: Der relative Anteil der Arbeitskosten am Ladenpreis bricht bei Leica nur deshalb nicht komplet nach oben aus, weil die vertriebliche Marge und der Markenaufschlag "Luxussteuer") beim Endpreis im Fotogeschäft extrem hoch angesetzt sind.《



Jul 07, 2026 at 07:58 AM
 


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1bwana1
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p.19 #6 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors



stgrove wrote:
Rebranding or not, it is strange too me that Leica copied Panasonic's idea of a 44MP sensor in an L mount body. From my experience M mount lenses on the S1RII work just like my M mount lenses worked on my SL3 and SL3-S.

This all said, I enjoy using my M mount glass MUCH more on my recent Nikon Z5II purchase with Techart AF adapter than on any L mount camera out there.

It is such better experience with M Mount glass (my initial reason for getting into the SL system) that I have sold all my SL and Lumix cameras
...Show more

So, you want the M mount lens rendering but the AF experience. If so, the SL is not the camera for you. Maybe you are driven more by an adapter company than a camera company?

People seem to think only about the mpx when they talk about sensors. This is only one of many attributes of a sensors design. If you choose BSI CMOS architecture to discuss then pretty much everyone decided to copy Sony cameras. Are all cameras with 24mpx Sony sensors like you Nikon Z5 ii has just copies of each other? I think not. There are other thinks that lead you to prefer the Nikon.

There are differences in the Sony sensor in the SL3-P sensor and the Lumix Sony sensor. Both are being purchased from Sony with slight customizations. There are big differences between the cameras that are important to which one fits someone best.

It seems clear to me that this is not a simple rebranding.



Jul 07, 2026 at 09:31 AM
rscheffler
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p.19 #7 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors


Nifty Fifty wrote:
Of course, labor costs here in Germany are higher than in China—there’s no question about that—but I personally doubt this justifies a 100% markup.


The AI answer suggests that Leica's approach does result in considerably higher labor input costs relative to retail price. But all of these products, whether from Leica or Panasonic, are subject to massive markups. The argument that Leica's products should be cheaper could equally be applied to Panasonic, Canikony, etc. Yet those sell for those prices...

The end markup is what Leica decides is necessary to appropriately suit the product to the Leica brand and its premium, 'luxury' placement relative to and somewhat unique from other photographic brands. And how much is that? Maybe it's easier to determine with Leica's products that are more of a 'direct port' and made by a third party. Such as various Sigma lenses made in Japan. As discussed in this thread, the 100-400 is $2590 and the Sigma version is $1049. Another example is the 70-200/2.8: $3550 vs. $1649. So around 2-2.5x higher than the Sigma versions. How much optical design input did Leica have in these lenses, which seem to only be cosmetically different than the Sigma versions? Interestingly, the Leica lenses are very similarly priced to the respective Canikony models. The 'knock' against Leica here is that these are 'cheap' Sigma lenses in Leica clothing. Same complaint about the SL cameras.

It appears the SL3 is also made in Germany, yet I have not heard much about Leica's development input for it relative to the base Panasonic components it shares. Interestingly, the SL3 retails for more than the SL3-P. Why, if more of the SL3-P development was Leica in-house?



Jul 07, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Nifty Fifty
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p.19 #8 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors


@rscheffler
I’m not saying Leica should make the SL3 cheaper. I was simply responding to a post that cited production costs as the reason for the high price—a factor I don't believe is the decisive one. A lower price wouldn't fit the image of a luxury brand and would therefore be completely counterproductive. That’s precisely why I found it so odd that Leica practically dumped the SL2 at such low prices. And I certainly wasn't the only one who felt that way.



Jul 07, 2026 at 12:08 PM
SrMi
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p.19 #9 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors




Nifty Fifty wrote:
@rscheffler@
I’m not saying Leica should make the SL3 cheaper. I was simply responding to a post that cited production costs as the reason for the high price—a factor I don't believe is the decisive one. A lower price wouldn't fit the image of a luxury brand and would therefore be completely counterproductive. That’s precisely why I found it so odd that Leica practically dumped the SL2 at such low prices. And I certainly wasn't the only one who felt that way.

I doubt that, and have never seen any indication that Leica keeps the prices up in order to maintain exclusivity. They just do not have the same cost constraints as other manufacturers and can allow themselves to be less cost efficient in their designs.



Jul 07, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Nifty Fifty
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p.19 #10 · New Leica SL3-P Rumors




SrMi wrote:
I doubt that, and have never seen any indication that Leica keeps the prices up in order to maintain exclusivity.

That was a good one!😅



Jul 07, 2026 at 12:18 PM
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