Leica Q3 43

[dirk]

As some of you know, I bought a Leica Q3 43 a couple of months ago. I am still not sure whether I want to keep it. I need more time with it, but I almost never have time to go out and shoot except during vacation.

The camera itself is great. Nothing to complain about, if you look at the specs and the image quality of the lens. The 43mm lens is really outstanding. Much better than the lens in the Leica Q3 (28mm) in my view.

I bought the Leica Q3 43 for travel and family vacations. I need something small and light with very good image quality. I never need 60MP. 24 MP is enough for me.

I waited for years already for a smaller Lumix body and some specific lenses, which would perfectly suit my use cases (28mm, 40mm and a small telezoom). But it just did not happen yet. Therefore I pulled the trigger for the Leica Q3 43. Because of the high price tag, I needed a lot of time to convince myself to try it out.

Why the 43mm? Because of the focal lenght of 43mm, huge reserve for cropping up to 90mm (even up to 150mm for web usage) and the ability to enable pixel binning, so that I am not forced to use all the time 60MP. My standard setting is 33 MP.

Looking at my Lightroom metadata statistics of the last 20 years, I used >70% of the time focal lenghts between 40mm and 90mm. Around 23% I used 28mm. The rest is telezoom to take pictures of my 2 sons during their sport field hockey. The older they get, the less this will happen.

The Leica Q3 43 covers therefore > 70% of my use cases. Thanks to its excellent lens and 60MP sensor I do not degrade image quality when cropping. Additionally it has a 5.6MP viewfinder in a smaller body than my Lumix S5ii.

Why the 43mm and not the 28mm? The 28mm in my view is optically not as good as the 43mm. I can not crop enough for my most used focal ranges without too many compromises. The 28mm DOF is not really interesting when you crop to i.e.75mm.

Why not both Q3? I do not want to carry 2 Leica Q3 with me (apart from the price). That contradicts the idea of "downsizing". I have an excellent Ricoh GR3 for this which fills this gap extremely well for these 23% of my use cases.

What I do not like about the Leica Q3/Q3 43? The Leica logos. I am not always in the best areas when travelling and I do not want to provoque problems if someone recognizes it as a Leica. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I put everywhere black gaffer tape on it to hide it. But the lens shows the typical Leica engraving. You can not hide that.

There is one functionality which drives me crazy. Everytime you turn off the camera, the red Leica logo appears on the display. Like a Las Vegas light show. There is no way to disable that. At nighttime or blue hour, this is bad. You attract attention with it. Plus I feel like a advertising poster without getting payed for it.

As soon as I have more practice, I will add more in this thread.

 

[xaviergut]

But in terms of Leica prices the Q3 and Q3-43 are affordable, right? Just the price of the Leica 28mm f/1.4 apsh Summilux Lens is more than 7.000€... Just the Lens.

It is a strong argument to have the Q3 or the Q3-43 as a status symbol, for aristocratic/diplomatic/high class-like social events.
But in the end, who needs a 10.000 € Rolex?

As you explained, I would never take it with me to practice photography in dodgy areas...

 

[dirk]

As you explained, I would never take it with me to practice photography in dodgy areas...

Yes, that is the biggest downside of all Leicas. I wish Lumix would bring a sister Q3 43 or a smaller Lumix MLU body with an EVF.

But in terms of Leica prices the Q3 and Q3-43 are affordable, right? Just the price of the Leica 28mm f/1.4 apsh Summilux Lens is more than 7.000€... Just the Lens.

If you only compare Leica with Leica prices, yes.

I used a different trick to convince myself: The alternative would be to buy a system.

Every small Sigma DG DN i-series lens costs between 600-700€. The 35/50/65 and 90mm would cost around 3.200€ (if I would not have them already).

Then you need a 60MP body. Leica is too expensive. Let's assume the S1Rii would have been already available at that time. It only has 40MP, but since I do not need to crop, that is plenty enough. The S1Rii costs 3.600€.

Lenses and body together adds up to 6.800€. Same price as the Leica Q3 43.

But in a much larger and heavier bag. And I always have to change lenses. Imagine the face of my wife, when I stop every 5-10 minutes to change lenses...

So, if I ignore the reality, that I do own already the Sigma i-series lenses, I can whitewash the Leica Q3 43 price a little bit...

 

[xaviergut]

But in a much larger and heavier bag. And I always have to change lenses. Imagine the face of my wife, when I stop every 5-10 minutes to change lenses...

Hahahaha I have some experience with that...

Then you need a 60MP body. Leica is too expensive.

What about Sigma FPL?

Because you are not interested in Sony A7CR, right? Or Sony A7R5?

 

[dirk]

What about Sigma FPL

no EVF within the body

Because you are not interested in Sony A7CR, right? Or Sony A7R5?

Sony does not offer pixel binning. A7cR has a terrible EVF. A7R5 is not a small body. And I do want to stay in the L-Mount system.

 

[RuleOfThirds]

I contemplated the same thing, but then for the 28mm, sell of all camera gear stuff and just buy the q3. Well, just buy and try it. then either return it or sell of the other stuff. But in the end, I’m afraid I would get bored. And it is still way larger then a gr3. No way I can convince myself to just get it as an extra. So it will be the one or the another. A full system and freedom of lens choice, or a q3.

I had the GR3x, and exchanged it for the GR3, I couldn’t adapt to it. I intentionally bought the 40mm to get out of my then comfort zone of the XF18/1.4. But it didn’t happen. I really like the pictures I got from the gr3x but not the effort it took. Maybe I have to get one again to give it a 2nd chance.
So no way I would get the q3 43. And I’m not ready to give up my complete system for just one amazing camera. Yet.

Saturday I had to get my iPhone out because the GR3 was not wide enough, and use the wide-angle of the iPhone. Wouldn’t have happened had I lugged the 16-35 with me. But. Photography was not the goal yesterday, so my 16-35 was at home, and the s5ii + 24-105 actually in the car. And if I had a Q3 same would have happened. Not bringing it with me because although smaller , too large for the occasion. Same happened to me with the X100. Although smaller then a system camera, too large to fit in a pocket. You need a bag or carry it on a strap. So if I need a bag anyway, what is the point, except for weight. That is also a part of holding me off for just a Q3.

 

[Pete_W]

I contemplated the same thing, but then for the 28mm, sell of all camera gear stuff and just buy the q3. Well, just buy and try it. then either return it or sell of the other stuff. But in the end, I’m afraid I would get bored. And it is still way larger then a gr3. No way I can convince myself to just get it as an extra. So it will be the one or the another. A full system and freedom of lens choice, or a q3.

I had the GR3x, and exchanged it for the GR3, I couldn’t adapt to it. I intentionally bought the 40mm to get out of my then comfort zone of the XF18/1.4. But it didn’t happen. I really like the pictures I got from the gr3x but not the effort it took. Maybe I have to get one again to give it a 2nd chance.
So no way I would get the q3 43. And I’m not ready to give up my complete system for just one amazing camera. Yet.

Saturday I had to get my iPhone out because the GR3 was not wide enough, and use the wide-angle of the iPhone. Wouldn’t have happened had I lugged the 16-35 with me. But. Photography was not the goal yesterday, so my 16-35 was at home, and the s5ii + 24-105 actually in the car. And if I had a Q3 same would have happened. Not bringing it with me because although smaller , too large for the occasion. Same happened to me with the X100. Although smaller then a system camera, too large to fit in a pocket. You need a bag or carry it on a strap. So if I need a bag anyway, what is the point, except for weight. That is also a part of holding me off for just a Q3.

The S9 with a Sigma 45mm or the LUMIX 18-40mm is close to the same size as the Q3 but as you say, it's not pocketable. If I need my hands free (i.e. not carry the S9 in my hand) then I use a 6 litre-size Wandrd Roam (Rogue) sling bag which is quite small and light and doesn't get in the way. And then I can add a few other lenses.

 

[RuleOfThirds]

If you look at my latest April thread pictures, I took twilight pictures nearby, I had the s5ii + 24-105, 50/1.8 and 35/1.8 with me. I think that is about the max weight I would carry in a shoulder bag. As soon as you take the camera out, and start using it, it is fine.

I had better taken a small backpack. But maybe always carrying is small, non camera, backpack is a nice option with a Q3. Also for the water bottle and some food. Enough room for a sweater

Don't get me wrong @dirk, congratulations on your very nice camera!!! I'm still trying hard to convince myself... Just also share the pictures, I'm very curious

 

[xaviergut]

But the 43mm, 45mm of 40mm focal length is not a problem for wide angle shots... You take two or three pictures and merge the in LR. It takes just 2 minutes.

 

[dirk]

The Ricoh GR line (GR, GR3, GR3x - all witj APS-C sensor) is one of the most underated cameras in the world.

Neither my already sold Fuji X100-X100V, nor my Leica Q3 43 can give me this flexibility in a tiny body with such a good image quality (for APS-C) and ergonomics/handling with only one hand.

contemplated the same thing, but then for the 28mm, sell of all camera gear stuff and just buy the q3

I could never do that and would not recommend it.

For me, there always has to be one real system available at the same time. Probably until I am so old, that even a Leica Q3 is too much for me.

Gear changes with use cases. The less use cases you have, the less gear you need. Gear is a tool to get a job done. At the moment I have to many different use cases to focus only on a Leica Q3 or only on a GR3 or only on a MLU.

The Leica Q3 43 helps me to get rid off other systems. My Fuji system is on sale and the next will probably be my MFT system.

I do not need 3 or 4 different systems anymore. AF and sensor technology is more or less the same for my use cases. No need for a Nikon AF anymore. The size of fullframe is decreasing (bodies and lenses), the size of Fuji X and MFT is increasing.

My thought behind the Leica Q3 43 is, that if I really want to use a small only, but do not want to use a smartphone, I have then a Leica Q3 43 and GR3/GR3x. For other situations I will use L-Mount with Sigma i-series lenses.

If I will see over the next 12 months how it goes. If even the Leica Q3 43 is too big for these use cases on the long run, I sell it again and stick with my GRs.

Would I sell my GRs, if I like the Leica after 12 months? No. Never.

(ok....maybe yes, if a new GR would come with features I want to have, but I can not think of any missing feature, except a brighter screen, which is technically not possible without making the camera bigger.)

But more options will be available in the future. Theee is a new Smartphone coming (Oppo 8} with a 1 inch sensor and a cooperation with Hasselblad I think. Unfortunately not sold in the US:



There are no photo tests out there yet, but this could make the life of photographers a lot easier. Less need for expensive cameras with smaller sensor sizes than fullframe as a second carry around system.

I used for around a year the Nikon 1 system. I was really impressed of the image quality of a 1 inch sensor.

The Sony RX100 had/has also a 1 inch sensor, but somehow I did not like the handling.

To sum it up, do not buy a Leica Q3 to sell your only other system. It should in my view be only an addition to a real system.

For Leica M users this is different. If you want to have AF, rwo Leica Q3 (28mm and 43mm) make in my view more sense that a Leica M11 with a 28mm and 35mm or 50mm.

 

[xaviergut]

Sony does not offer pixel binning.

Sorry about my ignorance regarding sensor technology, Dirk, but do you mean high res shot?

 

[dirk]

You take two or three pictures and merge the in LR. It takes just 2 minutes.

I never tried hat. Is this possible in Lightroom 6 already? Or in Capture one or DXO? (I do not want to upgrade my LR6}

 

[xaviergut]

I never tried hat. Is this possible in Lightroom 6 already? Or in Capture one or DXO? (I do not want to upgrade my LR6}

I do it in both versions of Lightroom, the classic and the simplified one.

 

[dirk]

Sorry about my ignorance regarding sensor technology, Dirk, but do you mean high res shot?

No. Pixel binning (Leica calls it differently, forgot the marketing term) is a technique used with many smartphones. They have an official resolution of i.e. 50MP, but they merge the pixel to get higher dynamic range. As a consequence of this merging, you end up with "only" 12 MP. In your smartphone settings, you can change the resolution back to 50MP, if you want to.

I doubt, that I will get better DR in the Q3 in real life situations, but it decreases the file size significantly. RAW and Jpeg. If you do not want to shoot always with 60MP, this is a great feature. I think I would not have bought the Leica without this pixel binning. My standard setting is slightly above 30MP, I do not remember the exact number anymore.

 

[dirk]

I do it in both versions of Lightroom, the classic and the simplified one.

The last non-subscription one? If yes, where do I find this feature within LR?

 

[Jayneboo]

No. Pixel binning (Leica calls it differently, forgot the marketing term) is a technique used with many smartphones. They have an official resolution of i.e. 50MP, but they merge the pixel to get higher dynamic range. As a consequence of this merging, you end up with "only" 12 MP. In your smartphone settings, you can change the resolution back to 50MP, if you want to.

I doubt, that I will get better DR in the Q3 in real life situations, but it decreases the file size significantly. RAW and Jpeg. If you do not want to shoot always with 60MP, this is a great feature. I think I would not have bought the Leica without this pixel binning. My standard setting is slightly above 30MP, I do not remember the exact number anymore.

Dirk you can do this with High Megapixel Sony bodies too, not that it would be a reason for you to try one .



File Size Estimates:

• Large (L): Around 70 MB.
• Medium (M): Around 50 MB.
• Small (S): Around 40 MB.

 

[xaviergut]

The last non-subscription one? If yes, where do I find this feature within LR?

In the Lightroom (non classic) version you have to choose the 2 or 3 pictures that you want to merge. Then you go to Photo / Photo Merge (the last option in the list) and there you have three options: HDR Merge, Panorama Merge or HDR Panorama Merge. I choose normally the second one, panorama merge. There are again three options: spherical, cylindrical and perspective. I choose "spherical" with the "fill edges" option marked too.
It creates a new dng, that you can edit again.

 

[dirk]

Dirk you can do this with High Megapixel Sony bodies too

I am not sure whether this is the same. If you compress a file you loose dynamic range as far as I know.

And the problem of size and weight is unchanged. Same as with L-Mount vs. Leica Q3. Sony is no different.

not that it would be a reason for you to try one .

No, do not worry, I do not want to have even more cameras. I want to downsize significantly. My use cases and the industry/products changed a lot over the last 6-7 years. I do not need all this gear anymore.

 

[dirk]

In the Lightroom (non classic) version you have to choose the 2 or 3 pictures that you want to merge. Then you go to Photo / Photo Merge (the last option in the list) and there you have three options: HDR Merge, Panorama Merge or HDR Panorama Merge. I choose normally the second one, panorama merge. There are again three options: spherical, cylindrical and perspective. I choose "spherical" with the "fill edges" option marked too.
It creates a new dng, that you can edit again.

Thank you. I will try that when I am back.

 

[RuleOfThirds]

The Ricoh GR line (GR, GR3, GR3x - all witj APS-C sensor) is one of the most underated cameras in the world.

Neither my already sold Fuji X100-X100V, nor my Leica Q3 43 can give me this flexibility in a tiny body with such a good image quality (for APS-C) and ergonomics/handling with only one hand.



I could never do that and would not recommend it.

For me, there always has to be one real system available at the same time. Probably until I am so old, that even a Leica Q3 is too much for me.

Gear changes with use cases. The less use cases you have, the less gear you need. Gear is a tool to get a job done. At the moment I have to many different use cases to focus only on a Leica Q3 or only on a GR3 or only on a MLU.

The Leica Q3 43 helps me to get rid off other systems. My Fuji system is on sale and the next will probably be my MFT system.

I do not need 3 or 4 different systems anymore. AF and sensor technology is more or less the same for my use cases. No need for a Nikon AF anymore. The size of fullframe is decreasing (bodies and lenses), the size of Fuji X and MFT is increasing.

My thought behind the Leica Q3 43 is, that if I really want to use a small only, but do not want to use a smartphone, I have then a Leica Q3 43 and GR3/GR3x. For other situations I will use L-Mount with Sigma i-series lenses.

If I will see over the next 12 months how it goes. If even the Leica Q3 43 is too big for these use cases on the long run, I sell it again and stick with my GRs.

Would I sell my GRs, if I like the Leica after 12 months? No. Never.

(ok....maybe yes, if a new GR would come with features I want to have, but I can not think of any missing feature, except a brighter screen, which is technically not possible without making the camera bigger.)

But more options will be available in the future. Theee is a new Smartphone coming (Oppo 8} with a 1 inch sensor and a cooperation with Hasselblad I think. Unfortunately not sold in the US:



There are no photo tests out there yet, but this could make the life of photographers a lot easier. Less need for expensive cameras with smaller sensor sizes than fullframe as a second carry around system.

I used for around a year the Nikon 1 system. I was really impressed of the image quality of a 1 inch sensor.

The Sony RX100 had/has also a 1 inch sensor, but somehow I did not like the handling.

To sum it up, do not buy a Leica Q3 to sell your only other system. It should in my view be only an addition to a real system.

For Leica M users this is different. If you want to have AF, rwo Leica Q3 (28mm and 43mm) make in my view more sense that a Leica M11 with a 28mm and 35mm or 50mm.

Thanx for that YouTube link! I'm deeply integrated in Apple stuff, and I live in Netherlands so, it probably will come here too.... I'm on an iPhone 12 mini still, got my battery replaced so it is actually like new. It runs the latest iOS so I see no reason to upgrade anytime soon. I had a Pixel 8 last year for a while as backup phone because my provider had troubles with an iOS update. But shocked to find out that my feb. 2021 phone was faster in almost any task then a then current gen Pixel 8. Only the camera of the pixel was slightly better. (or must I say, different).

But that Oppo might make me sell the GR3, although I really don't like all that computational stuff behind closed doors what makes a phone picture look artificial and unrealistic.