Leica yesterday released Firmware Update 2.0 for the mirrorless full-frame Leica SL2, which delivers on a major feature Leica had promised at the launch of the camera; “an ability to shoot 187MP photos” and it does this using the new ‘Multishot’ mode that this update has added to the Drive Mode menu.
The SL2 was unveiled in November 2019 as a successor to the SL that was released in 2015 and Leica said that a 187MP ‘Multishot’ mode would be coming via firmware sometime in 2020 and true to their word, Firmware 2.0 delivers on this promise.
Using the camera’s IBIS system, the camera will shift the sensor half-a-pixel at a time, capturing up to 8 RAW frames and combining them together into a 187MP DNG. Each time you use this mode, the camera will produce a standard 47MP photo, and one 187MP stitched Multishot photo—a nice touch in case the subject movement ruins the high-res version.
Leica points out a couple of things in the release notes. The company says the camera must be locked down on a sturdy tripod, all stabilization will be turned off automatically, maximum ISO is capped at 3200, the max aperture is capped at f/16, and max shutter speed is capped at 1 second. Also, an electronic shutter is always used for these images, which makes sense, and you won’t be able to use any kind of strobe when capturing a Multishot photo.
There is some built-in motion correction, but stuff like these are built for landscape, product, and still life photography so using these for portraiture is out of the box unnecessary. To learn more about Firmware 2.0 and download it, head over to the Leica website.
Original article on PetaPixel
