Switching from Canon to Leica - Part 1

This is an interesting and bittersweet post for us. Our journey with Canon started when I (Josh) was about 11 years old. My first camera was a Canon Rebel G 35mm SLR. That camera was amazing for me. I only had the kit 18-55mm lens with it and I used that for anything I could.

Fast forward to high school, I used this camera for the high school yearbook. After high school I sold it to someone $150. I still regret that decision.

Fast forward a little more and Kristan bought me a Canon Rebel T2i for our trip to Hawaii. From there we decided to start our business and the T2i was our camera for everything from senior portraits to even weddings. When it was time to upgrade we upgrade to the Canon 7D Mark II which became our primary camera until we eventually picked up a Canon 5D Mark IV. The Mark IV and the 7D were our workhorse cameras for several years until Canon announced their mirrorless system. Soon we got rid of the 7D and upgrade to the Canon R. From there we needed more so we upgraded to the Canon R6. We fell in love with the Canon R6. Soon our 5D IV was replaced with an R6 and then eventually we picked up a 3rd R6 as our backup camera.

Today, we own 3 Canon R6’s, 2 RF 15-35mm f/2.8L lenses, and RF 85mm f/1.2, a RF 50mm f/1.2 and the Canon RF 100-500mm L. We shoot everything from portraits, weddings, wildlife, landscape, sports, boudoir, product and more. These cameras have seen it all. They have capture so many life moments for ourselves and our clients. We have never had a single issue that was not caused by ourselves. These cameras have worked in the rain, at night, traveled around the world with us and been there for so many memories.

June 2022

We were hired to shoot a wedding in Seattle Washington. We were so excited as this was our first travel wedding session. We arrived a couple days before the wedding to have some time to scout locations and experience the city by ourselves. This was during the time the Leica Q2 was all the hype in the photography world. I had seen Leica’s online and watched countless videos on Youtube about this camera. I knew there was a Leica store in Seattle and somehow I convinced Kristan to let me visit. She actually said yes, which I don’t know if she ever feels that was a mistake. We went into the Leica store and had a full 30 min demonstration on the Leica Q2. They showed us prints of various images captured on it, let us play with it in the store. Needless to say, $7k and an hour later we left the Leica store. Yeah….

This camera was everything. The resolution of 47MP compared to the 20MP of our Canon meant we could crop that 28mm lens in to even more than the Canon with a 50mm. The colors out of this camera are beautiful. The menu system is seamless and the very few buttons the camera has means that everything is available and nothing extra is not. The Leica for me is a personal camera. I very rarely use it for anything “work” related and it has been a lot of fun. Sure, it is not the perfect camera. Here are a few articles I wrote previously about the Leica Q2:
Pueblo County Courthouse on Leica Q2
Night Photography around Pueblo West with Leica Q2
Awards don’t matter… But they are fun
Gear won’t make you a better photographer
Can you travel with only a Leica Q2

January 2023

The Leica Q3 Ghost is released. No, I did not buy this camera for myself. It is the same as the Leica Q2 “Black” but in an awesome new color. Ok, we did buy it, but it was for Kristan. She absolutely loved the Q2 and when she saw the Ghost she had to have it. I know you are thinking “what the heck, these people own 2 Leica Q2’s.” Yes, we do, and we work hard for these little wins in life and photography is such a huge part of our life that we want gear that inspires us. The Ghost for Kristan is what the Q2 was for me. A special moment in life camera that is used for a lot of personal moments.

Needless to say, we have dipped our feet in the Leica ecosystem and we have fallen in love for it. Knowing that the SL2 and SL2-S were nearing their end of life, we did not consider them much for our professional work. We have been happy with our Canon system and there was not enough tech for us to consider switching.

Leica announces the SL3

And here we are. 2024 has come and Leica has announced the SL3. Phase Detect autofocus, 60MP sensor and beautiful APO lenses to go along with it. We have finally gotten to the point in our careers that we are itching for a change. Again, there is nothing wrong with Canon and for the vast majority of the photography world, the Canon ecosystem is perfect. It is technically perfect for us, except for one thing. We have lost our inspiration using these cameras. Sure, they have all the tech in the world. The auto focus is some of the best in the industry. They have amazing lenses that produce beautiful images. Canon cameras are computers with a lens.

As we have advanced our career, our knowledge for photography, our passion for peoples story, we have naturally graduated towards Leica. Their history in the photography world, their impact on capturing some of the greatest moments throughout time inspire us to continue to create. We know that the camera does not make the photographer but for us the inspiration is there. The inspiration to slow down. To see the moments for more than the moment and to capture the story of our clients lives.

The Investment

This is the biggest pain point. Investing in the Leica eco is NOT cheap. An SL3 sets you back $7k. APO lenses are $5k each. It is a big investment to change our entire Canon gear out and switch to Leica. Selling ALL our Canon gear only pays for 2/3 of ONE Leica system. It is hard to fathom spending this much up front for a camera system. Sure, we have invested close to as much in Canon over the years with all our various lenses and gadgets but to drop this amount all up front is a hard pill to swallow.

Is it all worth it? I don’t know. We haven’t got there yet. Sure, we will be able to see the image quality increase but would the normal client? We are not sure yet. Will it inspire us to create more amazing photos? We think it will. Is the cost to “worth it” actually “worth it”. This is something we hope makes the most sense when the time comes for us to actually drop the bill. We have officially placed Kristan on the pre-order list for the SL3, a 90mm and a 14-24 lens. This will effectively give her the same specs as she has currently with her Canon set up.

Should you make the switch?

We are the last people to tell anyone to spend money on something like this. For us, we have spent a lot of time considering our needs. We have looked at the competition in our area and we would be the ONLY Leica photographers in a several hundred mile radius if not the entire state for weddings and portraits studios. Will our clients know the difference? Yes. Through our photos, through our creativity, through the higher resolution, yes we believe our clients will be able to see a difference, a shift in our work.

Do NOT consider upgrading your gear if you do not have the money. Do NOT consider switching gear on credit. Do NOT consider switching gear if it places you in debt. If you have the financial means to make the switch and it makes you happy, go for it.

This is just the first part of making the switch. We are currently on pre-order for the new SL3 for Kristan and there is still an initial impressions, a short term review and a long term review we will be working on when those times come but for now let us know if you have any questions.