Inexpensive and versatile.
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Wireless remotes are useful tools whether it’s for bird photography or shake-free images in the studio when the camera is on a tripod.
With my Nikon D800 sold I was using a $12 wired remote with the Leica SL2-S in the studio for macro photography, along with the required $7 2.5mm female to 3.5mm male adapter to fit that remote to either of the two coaxial sockets under the rubber cover on the left side of the body. But I had a hankering for a wireless remote but none is listed specifically for the Leica SL series.
It struck me that the Oppilas Pixel wireless remote I used with the Nikon D700 and D800 might be easily adapted for use with the SL2-S, needing just a 2.5mm to 2.5mm coaxial cable (this replaces the one with the 2.5mm to Nikon multi-connector plug cable) along with the above mentioned 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter. And, sure enough, it works perfectly.
If you do not already have one of those remotes, buy the one for the Panasonic S1 – $35 – which has a 2.5mm female socket on the body and add the 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter. Add four AAA batteries, two for the trigger and two for the receiver. This is how it looks on the camera:
On the Leica SL2-S.
The device uses radio frequency waves to communicate between the trigger and the on camera receiver so line-of-sight is not required. The receiver attaches to the hot shoe of the Leica and has a locking device. In practice, in the studio I have a wireless strobe trigger connected to the hot shoe so I simply attach the receiver to the camera’s neck strap with a wire tie. The receiver is not a hot shoe device, making its sole connection with the camera through the coaxial cable.
The manufacturer claims a range of 262 feet (!). My home test with one wall between the camera and the remote showed it works fine at 60 feet after which I ran out of corridor! And I’m not sure that in the field I want to be any further away from so costly a camera.
Will this work with other models in the SL range (SL601, SL2, SL3, SL3-S, SL3-P)? I do not know as I prefer to remain solvent, having just the one SL2-S body, but as all the SL bodies appear to be fitted with 3.5mm female sockets I would guess there should be no problem.
The trigger has four positions – Single shot, Continuous, Bulb and Self timer. If you keep the button depressed in Single shot mode the camera will take an image every second. For Continuous set the drive mode on the SL2-S to Continuous and the selector on the remote likewise. As long as the remote’s button is depressed the camera will bang away at the frequency you elected. For Bulb exposures set the SL2-S to Manual exposure, the exposure time to ‘B’ and the remote to Bulb. A first press on the remote’s button opens the shutter, a second press closes it. For delayed action set the remote’s selector to the clock face and you will get a 6 second delay after pressing the button before the camera’s shutter is released – this works in either Manual or Auto exposure modes. Handy.
Bottom line? This inexpensive wireless remote ($35 + $7 for the coaxial adapter), which I have been using for over a decade, adapts well to the Leica SL2-S with no operational issues. Just be careful not to knock that protruding adapter when it is inserted in the camera’s socket. Have you checked Leica’s repair costs and turnarounds recently?