Canon R5 vs Leica SL2 (Leica Look + Winner Is?)

As a Leica specialist I was interested in the idea of a Canon R5 vs Leica SL2 shootout. I’ve never owned a Canon R mirrorless camera but I hear great things. Can I get my favourite Leica Look from a Canon camera and what is the best camera if you have to choose? All that coming up together with sample images, Leica Look presets for Canon plus YouTube.

• Buying the Leica SL2
• Leica SL vs SL2 vs SL2s
• Presets for all Leica SL cameras

Time to try a Canon R5

I know almost nothing about Canon cameras (film or digital) (except the very early Canon rangefinder cameras before they started making SLRs). From my Patreon friends I understand that the Canon R5 is one of the best full frame mirrorless cameras so I thought it would be fun to arrange a shootout.

I needed a Leica camera with a similar size sensor to the Canon R5 to make it realistic. After just getting the Leica SL2 this is now possible.

Canon R5 vs Leica SL2 (Specs)

If we look at the basic specs of the Canon R5 vs Leica SL2, both cameras offer many similar features:

• Full frame CMOS sensor: Leica SL2 (47MP), Canon R5 (45MP)
• 3.2″ LCD display: Leica SL2 (fixed), Canon R5 (flippy-articulating)
• Twin card slots: Leica SL2 (2x SD), Canon R5 (SD + CF Express B)
• ISO range: Leica SL2 (100-50,000), Canon R5 (100-51,200)
• EVF: Both have high res 5.76M viewfinder
• Price (Used): Leica SL2 (~£2500), Canon R5 (~£2400)

• Find the full spec of Canon mirrorless cameras on the official site

Arranging a photoshoot

Each May a group of my Patreons fly into London for our annual meet-up and to visit PhotoLondon. I knew my good friend Tobi owns the Canon R5 (as his camera for his commercial photography work) even if he prefers his Leica M9-P cameras for most of his personal work (model shoots). To make the most of the occasion I suggested a shootout when he visited London.

Both of us are friends with model Sofia, so I invited her to London for the long weekend and then we were all set. Well almost. We needed video coverage too so I could share the event on YouTube. I know, Thomas, my other bestie from The Netherlands. Thomas arrived with his new Leica SL2-S and we kitted it out as a video rig. (Video coming soon on that topic). With that done we were all set for a camera head-to-head shootout.

All thanks to Patreon

I must just do a quick plug for Patreon. Did you know that you can now follow along for free? I’ve said this before but sometimes it’s hard to think that I met two of my now closest friends thanks to them joining Patreon. (Thomas didn’t even have a Leica at the time and found me from a Nikon film camera video!) If you enjoy cameras and/ or models there is a high chance you’ll enjoy the weekly info and banter shared on Patreon (plus the massive 4 year back catalogue!)

Thanks to Patreon we had (1) Tobi and his Canon R5 to test (2) Sofia a model I met through Patreon-related bodypaint events (3) Thomas and his Leica SL2-S to record some video (and spoiler.. to test against in a video to follow!)

Canon R5 – First impressions

As a photographer that specialises in Leica cameras for digital work I had no thoughts or expectations for the Canon R5. My first impressions when compared to the Leica SL2 were:

• Canon R5 feels lighter than a Leica SL2 (738g vs 916g)
• Canon R5 is slightly smaller than the Leica SL2
• Feels more plastic / less brick like that a Leica (Like my Lumix)
• More buttons than a Leica (Reminds me of my Lumix S5)
• Flippy screen reminds me of my Lumix S5
• Matte finish / overall look reminds me of my Lumix S5
• As uninspiring as my Lumix S5

The Canon R5 feels like a generic full frame mirrorless camera. As someone that owns the Lumix S5 for video and a backup, I feel both cameras ticked many of the same boxes.

Leica SL2 – For Canon users

If you are a Canon user tempted by the idea of a Leica camera, how would I describe a Leica SL2 camera? (Bear with me as I’m a Leica expert/ fan boy so it might sounds like I’m viewing this through rose-tinted glasses).

If I think to occasions where I handed my digital Leica camera to a non-Leica user, the first comments normally include:

• Wow Leica cameras are so heavy
• It’s built like a tank
• I love the simplicity and design
• It feels good in the hand
• Love the big viewfinder
• OK I think I want one!

Canon cameras are like Android phones

Most people probably turn to Leica if they appreciate a more minimal, well thought out design. I imagine Mac users and iPhone owners will enjoy a Leica camera. Leica and Apple seem to have a similar philosophy of making great products that look good, are simple to use, feel great and deliver the desired function (and not much more). I use Mac and iPhones so that holds true for me anyway.

Canon are perhaps like Sony, Fuji and Panasonic where I see them closer to Android phones and Windows laptops. These popular camera brands offer more features at a lower price point so appeal to the mass market.

Fun fact: I started with Nikon cameras (and Windows laptops AND Android phones) but as time progressed and budget allowed I slowly moved to more aesthetically pleasing products (Leica and Apple). As I see it, we may as well enjoy the process.

Leica or Canon?

There is no right or wrong answer and I probably annoyed a few people writing it like this but I’m just trying to find a simple non-camera explanation. The key take-away as we’ll see at the end of this article is, all these products do more or less the same job so it’s just picking the tools you like using the most.

Leica vs Canon shootout

For our Leica vs Canon camera shootout I wanted to minimise the variables. As such we used the same settings on both cameras and for many photos, the same lens on both bodies.

• Lens – Light Lens Lab 35mm f2 8-Element LTM (first part of the test)
• ISO – 100 (For outside)
• Aperture – Mostly f2
• Shutter Speed – As needed
• White Balance – Daylight
• File Format – RAW

Canon R5 vs Leica SL2 RAW photos

First let me show examples of RAW files from the Canon R5 vs Leica SL2 side-by-side:

Leica Look presets for Canon R5

Next, I needed to process the camera files to send to the model. All of my images get processed via Adobe Lightroom and I develop Lightroom presets for each camera that I use. I already had a Leica SL2 preset pack but first I needed to develop a Leica Look preset pack for the Canon R5.

The goal was to get the Canon R5 photos looking as close as possible to the edited Leica files. I spend a few days back and forth developing Canon R5 presets until I was finally happy. The final MrLeica preset pack for Canon includes:

• MrLeica – Canon R – Col 1 (Daylight)
• MrLeica – Canon R – Col 2 (Tungsten)
• MrLeica – Canon R – B&W

Edited Canon R5 images (RAW + Preset)

Below you can see some example photos, RAW and then edited with the mentioned preset. Use the sliders to see the subtle before and after look. (RAW on the left, edited on the right).

MrLeica – Canon R – Col 1 (Daylight) Preset

MrLeica – Canon R – Col 2 (Tungsten) Preset

MrLeica – Canon R – B&W Preset

Download the Leica Look Canon presets

I’ve added the new MrLeica Canon R Leica Look presets to the full preset list if you want to download them. See HERE for all camera presets.

Leica vs Canon – Can you tell the difference

Below is a gallery of images shot with both the Canon R5 + Leica SL2. Can you spot which photos were taken with what camera? (Click any image to see the file name).

Results and thoughts

As you can probably see, it is quite easy to achieve similar results from a Canon camera or a Leica. It’s just a matter of finding the camera that you enjoy operating the most (and a nice lens).

Benefits of the Canon R5

From this basic test and my limited time with the Canon R5, for me the biggest strength is the autofocus. The Canon R5 autofocus speed and accuracy is some of the best I’ve seen. If you love autofocus definitely consider the R5. (We had a Canon 35mm AF lens on the R5 towards the end of the day to test this feature).

Benefits of the Leica SL2

I’ve spoken to Canon owners that also use Leica and most agree that Leica cameras are more optimised for manual focus (and the fewer buttons plus simple menus is a win). The Leica SL series joystick to zoom in then half press the shutter to zoom out, compose and shoot, made it the clear winner with manual focus lenses.

This makes sense as Leica had to design a camera to allow users to enjoy their extensive back catalogue of amazing manual focus Leica M lenses (even if they offer the autofocus Leica SL lenses too).

Autofocus vs manual focus

If you need a camera for work, whether you are a commercial photographer or wedding photographer, for reliable autofocus consider a Canon R5. If you are a fine art photographer or a hobbits that prefers manual focus, 100% consider a Leica camera.

If you think that Leica cameras are too expensive it’s worth noting that you don’t need the latest and greatest. Look at the original Leica SL 601 that can now be found for little over £1000. That is cheaper than many Canon cameras. Just my 2p worth but that would be my top pick best value-performance ratio camera for manual focus (or perhaps a Lumix S1R).

Leica SL2 vs Canon R5 (YouTube)

Leica SL2/ SL2-S for video (How we shot the Canon vs Leica video)

Below I share my Leica video rig setup and what we used to record the Canon vs Leica YouTube video. That was all shot with a Leica SL2 and Leica SL2-S, using vintage lenses and the SL2-S setup as a video rig with a 7″ monitor and microphone.

Canon R5 or Lumix S1R

If you are looking for a camera similar to the Canon R5 you could also consider the Lumix S1R (or new Lumix S1R II). These Panasonic cameras offer many of the same features as the Canon R5 and are more optimised for manual focus. Again, if you need great autofocus skip the Lumix and go for Canon but for basic autofocus (like Leica) the Lumix is an option.

Canon R5 price

• Check the latest Canon R5 prices on Amazon

Lumix S5 vs Lumix S1R

Slightly off topic but worth mentioning, the Lumix S5 that I own seems similar at first glance to the Canon R5 but the earlier S1R is more similar. The Lumix S5 has the lower resolution finder (the biggest weakness for me) and only 24MP (like my Leica SL) vs 47MP for the S1R. That said, it can still take great images.

Canon R6 vs Leica SL (YouTube)

Did you know that I also tested the Canon R6 vs Leica SL. See this video shot during one of my Leica workshops in Poland –

Thanks

Big thanks to the guys for making this test possible. See Patreon for behind the scenes videos and consider subscribing so not to miss future articles.

Buying the Leica SL2

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