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Why I Bought a LEICA for My L-Mount Collection - Mid-Week TogTalk Ep10

Huw Alban

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Why I Bought a LEICA for My L-Mount Collection - Mid-Week TogTalk Ep10

Why does a Sigma shooter own a premium Leica SL3 in his L-Mount collection?

In this Mid-Week Tog Talk I share the 4 real reasons I bought a Leica SL3 — from proving Sigma L-Mount lenses work brilliantly on Leica, to the ergonomics tip I learned from Sigma ambassador Steve Gosling, to that premium feel, and the incredible file flexibility that saved a blown sky in woodland.

Not a sales pitch — just why this Leica SL3 earns its place alongside my Sigma fp L & Sigma BF kit as a working landscape photographer.

▼ IN THIS TALK ▼
00:00 Why a Leica in a Sigma kit?
00:42 Reason 1 – Proving Sigma lenses work on Leica (L-Mount Alliance)
02:10 Reason 2 – What Steve Gosling taught me about ergonomics
04:35 Hands-on at the Wales & West Show – 5 programmable buttons & quick menu
06:20 Reason 3 – What premium actually feels like
07:30 Reason 4 – That woodland shot: pulling shadows & saving a blue sky
09:10 Final thoughts – Not selling Leica, just sharing my experience

▼ MENTIONED ▼
Sigma UK — https://sigmauk.com/?ref=huw
My workshops & prints — https://www.huwalban.com
Steve Gosling (Sigma UK Ambassador)
Leica SL3 — discussed as second-hand purchase, L-Mount system

Are you shooting L-Mount? Do you mix Sigma glass on Leica or Panasonic bodies? Let me know in the comments — and suggest next week's Tog Talk topic!

#LeicaSL3 #LeicaCamera #L-Mount #LMount

9 Comments

@huwalban Creator 1 month ago Pinned

Are you shooting L-Mount? Do you mix Sigma glass on Leica or Panasonic bodies? Let me know in the comments — and suggest next week's Tog Talk topic!

@Brightsparks1960 1 day ago

I use many brands along with Leica. The key differences are 1. The simplest menu system 2. Easy to configure user defined controls 3. Well engineered, quality product 4. Leica Looks - Yes the out of camera colour and HC Monochrome I cant recreate with any other camera I own.

@alangauld6079 21 hours ago

I've always found it interesting to think that when Sigma, Panasonic and Leica announced the L-Mount alliance they did not announce a new lens mount. They announced that they would all be using the existing Leica L mount! At a time when Nikon and Canon were having to develop new mounts to optimise mirrorless bodies the L-mount alliance found a mount that already existed and just opened it up to a wider audience. And in doing so, Leica got a lot of extra exposure, moving them from a peripheral "rich-kids-toys" perception to "well designed pro system" as well as a couple of respected manufacturers building lenses for their SL cameras - a line that, it must be said, they had not been exactly pushing!

@GuidoVanDeWater 1 day ago

Good talk, I simply cant afford gear like that haha. I hope this setup will give you what you expect from it. Grt guido

@AntonioHSam 1 day ago

Great way to end the video "...play withi my Leica..."🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍

@nayantala 1 day ago

Hi huw,
Very nice video. I shoot in E-mount, never tried anything with L-mount and I am planning to buy sigma 28-105mm 2.8f lens next month. Few question in mind
- Did you personally use this lens? if YES how is it?
- What sort of eye or taste you see worthy enough for a good photographer?
- A video on simple everyday photography practices for a beginner?

Thanks

@drwatsonismine 1 day ago

How do the SL3 files compare to the BF files?

@OnAThird 1 day ago

Absolutely no shame in that. If something makes you enjoy photography, then it doesn't matter the name/brand/make etc
I'm a big Apple fan, always have been (since before they were popular), and people scoff at the prices of Apple, but there is a quality and attention to detail to them!
I attended Wales and West for the first time in 2025 and went again this year (actually did a video in my channel), but I think it is a great little photography show!

@rogerlush3344 1 day ago

Leica to me is all about perceived superiority and oneupmanship, I truly don't believe these days they are really any significantly better than another make in terms of functions and features, although, yes they are as with most German products, over engineered, so feel more solid, but do they really need to be so vastly expensive? and as for things like buttons and settings etc, surely we all get used to the layout of whatever make of camera we purchase, and I can't see that the controls 'get in the way'? everything essential should really be in a natural position for the hand and fingers so that controls can be operated by feel with no necessity to take the eye from the viewfinder?