Leica Q3

I've been involved in fine art photography for 50 years and owned many fine cameras over the years, including a film M3. For the type of work I do, the Q3 is the best camera I've ever used. How do I know? The final image product is extremely high quality, the lens is razor sharp and when combined with the new firmware upgrade to 4.0, the autofocus is stunning. All these features combined mean more great shots I would have missed before, especially in fluid street shooting environments. Low light is amazing. ISO 3200 is as good as ISO 64 and improved sensitivity extends all the way to at least ISO 6400. Start up speed is good, but when shooting "moments" you just leave the camera running and carry spare batteries. There is virtually no shutter lag, though for proper autofocus a simple "double tap" on the shutter hits almost every time. I reviewed over 300,000 digital images I shot over the past 25 years and all of the missed shots from before, I can now make with the Q3. I never believed a better camera would make a better photographer, but the Q3 proved me wrong.

As a previous M user that finally left film for digital in the late 1990's (due to slide film processing and availability issues). Pros are that the Q3 embodies many of the pleasant aspects of Leica M shooting in a digital form such as 28-90 mm frame lines in a small, quiet, lightweight package with a fixed "Leica sharp", high speed, macro focusing 28 mm lens. It's 60 MP sensor allows just enough resolution for digitally cropped 75 and 90 mm shooting but very little room for additional cropping. Cons are the fact that the camera used to come with a battery charger but is no longer the case. Also TTL flash unit options are limited to just 2 larger shoe mount units.

The Q3 produces amazing quality images straight out of the camera. Following a recent trip I imported the pictures I'd taken into Light Room and none of them needed any processing. The images were beautiful as they were. I'm very happy with this camera, it's a great everyday and travel camera. I will be pulling the trigger on the Q3 43 too in the not too distant future.

I bought a Q3 in the fall of last year in anticipation of a big trip to explore Italy and Greece. I just returned from that trip and WOW the quality of the photos that I took!. This is my third Leica and I know that many people reject the idea that a Camera can make your pictures better, or that a Camera Brand can produce photos with a special "look", but its true. And I have many friends who are commenting on how good the photos from the trip are who have been relatively silent about my hobby until now. I love using this camera and because of that, I take many more photos(about 8k discrete images on this trip) so perhaps that, and the fact that the sensor and the lens on this camera are spectacular and work together to produce the sharpest most true colored photos I have ever seen, let alone taken myself is the answer to that mysterious and legendary "Leica Look". All I know is that my father saw and acknowledged the "look" back in the 70s before digital photography was close to being a "thing".

My main camera is the M10-R + Summilux 50mm. In looking to add a lens to my kit for tighter environments, I decided to add the Q3 instead. With a fixed 28mm lens and frame lines to crop in to 35mm and other focal lengths, I figured this would be more beneficial for me. Having a closer focus distance and macro mode are added bonuses for me, especially for those food shots or product photography. The manual focus experience is close enough experience to manual Leica lenses. Video specs are great, but shutter angle or cine mode like on the SL line would be great. The lack of audio inputs holds it back as well. Other than that, I’ve found it great for b-rolls and static shots. Autofocus while great for photos, I’ve had issues with it in video. Overall, fits my needs for what I was mainly looking for.

Received the Q3 two days ago. Photographed a wedding today. This camera is a dream come true. The Q3 preformed excellent both indoor & outdoors with excellent exposures. The Q3 is absolutely whisper quiet , the perfect camera for this venue. One camera that can cover the entire event, without all the hassle associated with a DLSR cameras and lenses. This camera preformed extremely fast and quiet. This allows me to be much more creative in composing the images. This is a game changing instrument for me a will be a welcome change into a new why of photography. It’s like being reborn from old school style of photography. I love this LEICA Q3.

Sensor, lens, body and software come together perfectly in the Q3. The sum is greater than its parts- this camera is a joy to use and produces images with unrivaled color, detail, and finesse.

I finally received my Leica Q3 on September 29, 2023 after a long 2-month pre—ordered wait! It is a small yet very powerful full frame camera. First, I familiarized myself with all the settings and tried out the features and functionalities that I needed for my photography: different lighting situations - from low light indoor to harsh light outdoor, macro for insects and flowers, portraiture from whole body to head shots (Digital Zoom), manual and auto focusing - on manual - magnifying works perfectly; on eye auto- focusing- you can even choose left or right eye! All live up to my expectations and my satisfaction. If it were a human being, it has great eyes (f1.7 with very high usable ISO), great flexibility (fast auto focusing, and a Leica first : tiltable 3” displa), good brain (full frame BSI CMOS sensor) and wisdom and experience ( Leica firmware). It does all I want it to do. It’s worth every penny of it.

This is my first Leica although I have been eyeing one for a good bit of time. Price point is super high like any Leica product. The Q3 is the perfect camera for what I was looking for in my next gear. It’s small, powerful and simple. Being able to transfer photos faster and remote control the camera from the app is amazing. 60 MP is also amazing, this allows for crops and compositions within the full res images. The flip screen is a cool addition although I have yet to utilize in the real world. One of the biggest issues is how easily the camera takes cosmetic damage (dents and scratches). Another issue is the grip could be much better, the thumb indent just doesn’t cut it.