Leica Q3 hands-on: First impressions by a man who came back to the fold -

A little over a year ago, I sold my Leica Q-P in a clearance frenzy. It fell victim as collateral damage to a purge that swept through my hypertrophic collection of analogue cameras in the best McCarthy manner. When the Q timidly pointed out that it was, after all, digital, the chairman of the “Committee for Un-Digital Activities” just sneered and dropped the hammer. Off they went to work camps in eBay only to leave me Q-less for limited time. So, here we go with the Leica Q3 hands-on.

Back to what had happened during these mysterious clearances: The Leica Ms had sided with the committee at the time. Malicious tongues claim that they were also simply jealous of the Q.

In fact, it later turned out that it was all about upgrading with new lenses. A kind of “deep-state” conspiracy by the Ms, who deny it to this day, but who, according to the old principle of “cui bono?”, can be considered the only masterminds behind the founding of the infamous committee.

Time passed rapidly, and I came to appreciate the profound truth in the paraphrased words from Loriot, one of German’s most famous humourists and actors, “A life without a Leica Q is possible, but pointless”.

The Leica Q3 hands-on came faster than I had thought

I waited for the Q3, whenever it deigned to appear. Then came the day. I was just about to publish Jono Slack’s review (which he had sent me two days earlier) when an email from the small photographic shop (around the corner from Berlin’s Kurfüstendamm on Fasanenstrasse) arrived with the tidings that they had reserved one for me and whether I wanted it… or not. I was about to ask them if the earth was still round. And I found myself writing this Leica Q3 hands-on earlier than I had expected.

The leap of faith

Until now, I had invariably trusted that a new Leica M or Q model would not disappoint, and that was also the case this time round.

As usual, I thank the analogue “Oskar Barnack gene” in the Leica DNA, a counterpart to the Neanderthal gene of Europeans. Similar to the latter, the Oskar Barnack gene reduces susceptibilities to certain diseases that go around in the camera world.

Above all, the notorious control-button rash (urticaria sonyferum) is worth mentioning. Affected devices sprout more and more buttons whose designation often seems inaccurate because they are increasingly freely assignable, and in the end, no one knows what is controlled where and with what or even by whom. In addition, the menu structures branch out like varicose veins on Aunt Bessie’s calf.

Another scourge is the automatics, nowadays invariably with a touch of AI. This is becoming more and more widespread (even the Q3 can’t escape it, see below) and may be a blessing for those users whose own IQ doesn’t exceed that of a toaster. For most others, it is highly irritating when the camera wants to do the thinking for you. Because it’s actually dumb as a box of rocks.

It is dangerous for those who do not realise this. If you let the camera have its way, neurological problems cannot be ruled out. The synapses just burst away, and in the skull it sounds like a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

Leica Q3 hands-on: First settings

The Q3 arrived the following afternoon. The first thing I did (no, no unboxing video, I haven’t sunk that low yet) was to plug it into my iPad Pro’s charger (whence the M11 also receives its juice) using the USB-C socket. While the camera was charging, I looked at the changes in the morphology and adjusted the menu to my liking along the way. A good first step with a new camera and also for this Leica Q3 hands-on.

In essence, these are the following points: File format DNG only (L-DNG), Auto white balance, Exposure metering method “Bright areas emphasised”, AF mode “Field” (or “Spot”, as the case may be), Image stabilisation “Auto”, Shutter type Hybrid, Perspective correction off, Auto playback off, The display should definitely show spirit level, histogram and highlight clipping, Max. ISO value (for now) 25,000

I set the diopter compensation on the viewfinder (a bit fiddly) and activated “EVF Extended” in the menu. This ensures that the display doesn’t show live view even if I don’t have an eye on the viewfinder. It does, however, display the picture review or the menu when needed. The clever thing is that the viewfinder image appears on the display as soon as you flip it down.

It’s all simple and clean, the Leica Q3 hands-on demonstrates

What the Leica Q3 hands-on also shows: This camera retains the reassuringly small number of controls exhibited on previous Qs. The only real change has been to the back of the camera to make room for the flip-up display. I was surprised by how quickly I came to appreciate the usefulness of this innovation.

I will spare myself the detailed description of the differences between the Q or Q2 here (for such is exhaustively covered in Jono’s Review); the important thing is that the Das Wesentliche (pun intended) photo functions and especially the manual controls remain the same.

The assignment of the function keys

Fortunately, there is a manageable number of them. Because at some point you really don’t know what’s where if you haven’t used a “many options camera” from another brand for a fortnight. With the Q, I have assigned the two buttons to the left of the thumb rest differently to the factory setting.

I sometimes need AE-L to lock the exposure somewhere other than directly in the subject, then pan, focus and hold with the shutter halfway down, recompose again and finally release. Sounds complicated, “but it’s not”. AE-L is on the right of the two buttons.

On the left is the factory preset for the viewfinder frames, but I don’t need that. Instead, I use it to enlarge the image when setting the focus manually. My feathers are always ruffled when magnification is set automatically as the focus is adjusted.

I usually focus by sight first and then fine-tune with magnification (and without focus peaking — which bothers me more than it helps).

The thumbwheel remains in and after the Leica Q3 hands-on for exposure compensation (it was a little nicer to reach on the “classic” Q, but maybe I have weirdly placed thumbs), and the button on the wheel controls ISO values.

Leica Q3 hands-on paperwork: A look at the operating instructions

There is no need for an expensive second battery; the one in the camera lasts a long time. And, if necessary, you can simply connect a small power pack when out and about and continue taking pictures.

Normally, with M or Q Leicas, you hardly ever need to consult the surprisingly comprehensive operating instructions. Anything that is not self-explanatory is familiar from the previous models.

But sometimes things change, or something new is added, and then it is misplaced arrogance not to read up on the new features. I recommend compartmentalising in this respect. In other words, study the things you personally need and simply ignore the rest (for example, for me, that’s everything related to video, which already occupies a substantial part of the manual).

The Q3’s viewfinder is quite impressive

Looking through the higher-resolution viewfinder (the image quality is impressive compared to that on the Q2), I tried to identify all the icons displayed at the bottom and top. Two of them had question marks flashing in my mind, and that was the cue for the instruction manual.

The first icon was “iAF”, and, lo and behold, the camera’s autofocus is not only quick of thought (it is) but now intelligent! Unfortunately, it didn’t check my method of aiming at my subject with Field or Spot, holding focus and then swiping to the intended composition. The “intelligent” focus then thinks the subject is moving and starts tracking, which usually ends up with the focus being off after the usual recomposition.

I killed it immediately (it is apparently a factory setting) and replaced it with AFs. If I need something else, it is immediately available in the quick access menu (a very useful feature, as the Leica Q3 hands-on shows, by the way).

So one should develop a healthy distrust of functions that are preceded by a small “i”. This continued with iDR, on a similar track, though not as destructive.

A function that, according to the instructions, supposedly only applies to JPGs, namely when the dynamic depth of the subject exceeds that of the sensor. This symbol also lit up in the display, and when I consulted the manual, I was surprised that it was there at all (if it only affects JPGs) because I have only ever set DNGs as output. And, as with the M, there is now the Highlight Weighted exposure metering option to help protect the highlights.

One more learning of the Leica Q3 hands-on: iDR is tricky and affects both JPGs and DNGs

The truth is that iDR affects the camera’s decision on exposure parameters in any case. Even if the user has set “DNG only”. A short test series with the same subject (with very bright and dark areas) showed that with or without iDR, the camera chooses different ISO (with auto ISO) and time values (with aperture priority).

Since the camera’s JPG engine generates the screen images, you could also see that the shadows were clearly lifted when iDR was on. So it works, but the information that DNGs are not affected is, unfortunately, nonsense. By the way, iDR seems to be even more concerned about preserving the highlights because you don’t have to worry about the shadows with the sensor. The JPG engine simply raises them more when iDR is switched on.

I have left iDR on for now; it can’t hurt, but the statement that the function only affects JPGs is incorrect.

After that was settled and the camera was sufficiently charged, I went outside to take photos. In the evening, I took photos of the sunset; sorry, so arbitrary, but a good test for the capabilities of the sensor.

Essential in a Leica Q3 hands-on: A quick sensor check

The first results did not disappoint me (spoiled as I am by the M11). In LightRoom, I could pull on the shadows until it (the image) became scary. The next day I did a short sensor test indoors. I put the Q3 on a tripod and shot the X-Rite ColorChecker card. At first, because of Base-ISO.

The lowest ISO value that can be set on the Q3 is 50. Although one can assume that this is a pull value (that is, lower than the optimum value for the dynamic range of the sensor), this is not mentioned in the operating instructions.

But the fact that Auto-ISO starts at 100 speaks volumes. A simple test confirmed my assumption: two photos, one at ISO 50, deliberately overexposed (with burnt-out parts of the image), the second at ISO 100 with the same aperture and half the exposure time (equivalent exposure).

Still looking for the real base ISO

Both photos (DNGs) opened in LR; the highlights are taken back as far as possible. With the ISO 50 photo, much less recovery is possible than with the similarly exposed 100 ISO image, which consequently has a better dynamic range. ISO 100 is, therefore, either base ISO or very close to it. Leica could easily mention this in the operating instructions (or in the technical data, where there is also no indication). I do not know why I had to explore this in my Leica Q3 hands-on when I would have preferred to use my time for taking images.

I would really like to know why Wetzlar does not clearly disclose such important information. With the M10, it took almost two years until they realised that the base ISO was 200, not 100), and until then, many people must have relinquished dynamics unnecessarily. With the M10-M, the base ISO is not 160 but somewhere around ISO 400, and you have to find this out through reverse engineering. It’s sad, isn’t it?

Some tests bring us closer to the question of ISO-lessness

The second, an actually more important test, is designed to check the sensor for the property of “invariance” or ISO-lessness.

At ISO 100, the first photo is exposed “normally”, and then an exposure series is created: In this case, seven photos with -1 EV to -7 EV intervals. Subsequently, the DNGs are again pulled up in LR by the corresponding exposure values (slider “Exposure”), -6 and -7 EV with mask, because the exposure slider only goes up to +5 EV.

Above left: 200% magnification with the “neutral” exposure on the left, underexposed by 5 EV on the right and “pulled up” in LR. Above right: …so that you can even see the noise — Underexposed by 7 EV (!!) on the right and pulled up (which is only possible in LR with an additional mask)

The test in the Leica Q3 hands-on showed that the sensor has huge potential in the shadows and that it is, therefore, better to expose sparingly in order to get the much more sensitive highlights. You can get the shadows without risking significant noise. With increasing ISO, of course, this is lost. I had expected this result because it is probably a similar sensor to the M11.

But no Q has ever had such a power package behind the lens. Which, by the way (see the Siemens star on the Whibal card in the picture above), has no problem with the resolution and has the usual good imaging quality, albeit with some use of software (SDC=Software Distortion Correction) to make the size possible.

“Triple resolution”, by the way, is something I’ve been ticking off since the M11. It doesn’t create any advantages to work with lower resolutions; I always stick with L-DNG.

You will certainly soon be able to read about all these subtleties exhaustively in Sean Reid’s review.

The pinnacle of the Leica Q3 hands-on: My ultimate practice test

It is all well and good testing something like this in private, but it’s as boring as hell. When the Q2 was new, it happened to be Der Hermann Leuchtet (a light show at the giant memorial of Arminius the Cheruscan, who defeated the Roman army nearby in 9 AD at the infamous battle of Teutoburgerwald), and that was a worthy challenge in which the camera did very well.

The glowing sword man was not an option at this time of the year, but in Herford last week, there was the “Hoeker-Fest”, a folk festival occupying the whole town centre with many stages and demonstrations.

There, on Friday evening, I went during my Leica Q3 hands-on in search of interesting subjects, preferably in low light, but you have to be patient at the beginning of June… Nothing really drew me away until 10 pm, but then the ballet performance of the “Deutsche Tanzcompanie” to the music of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” began in the open air on the town hall square. A hammer piece, the music, anyway. “O Fortuna” is heavy metal for choristers (such as me).

I had positioned myself early in one of the front rows, but it was not at all necessary to remain stationary. Many audience members drifted around the stage, and it was no problem to change perspective. After ten, it finally became increasingly dark, but the sky held its residual luminance for a long time.

All manual, but auto ISO: A good way to go in this part of the Leica Q3 hands-on

Usually, I always shoot in A mode (that is, Aperture, or aperture priority, as with the M11). But not now. I set the aperture to f/1.7 and the exposure compensation to -1EV because of the spotlights on the stage.

I then went to 1/125s on the time dial; it was now fully manual, in M mode. Actually, I cheated because one thing remained on auto, namely ISO.

Firstly, I wanted to make use of the light intensity of the lens and also a certain amount of cropping of the intended subjects, and secondly, I didn’t want to go below 1/125s. This speed is ideal because it is short enough to capture the dancers but still long enough to result in a desirable motion blur here and there, thus introducing more dynamics (in the general sense) into the photos.

Exceptional performance, both by dancers and camera

What the dancers offered was exceptional. The light was constantly changing, and that was the desired challenge. Repeatedly I had to make an exposure correction down (and back), especially when the stage went completely dark, and the dancers were holding lights. That’s when -3 EV were necessary. Of course, I could have fixed the ISO at that moment, but this seemed easier.

I had the autofocus set to AFs and the mode to “Field”. I aimed, recomposed if necessary (if there was time) and pulled the trigger. Despite the relatively poor lighting conditions, the camera sometimes nailed the intended subject faster than I could look.

The dancers flitted by, I snapped away, and the result was sharp. There may be faster cameras out there, but I haven’t yet had one of those in my hands. Some of the scenes I captured would hardly have been possible with the M11.

One more thing: Jono had rated the battery already positively by Jono, but I had taken the precaution of carrying a small power pack (5000mAH) with me to recharge “in the field” if necessary.

That turned out to be wholly superfluous. I brought home 500 L-DNGs, and the battery was not quite a quarter depleted. Well, with EVF extended, Bluetooth off (I wanted to do without obvious energy-consuming functions as a precaution), but I often had the flip-up display outside and the camera on almost all the time. You can definitely save on a second battery, and if necessary, a small and inexpensive power pack will give you reserve confidence).

The DNGs need relatively little processing

I arrived home after midnight and just had to look at the photos. The DNGs are very flexible in Lightroom, even at high ISO (if necessary), but need little processing outside of tonal values (brightness, highlights, black and white point, and some noise reduction if necessary).

With the strongly changing coloured lighting, the automatic white balance did a good job. The colours are Leica-like and best suited to the M11 (or M10, probably also SL) if you ever photograph events with several cameras.

It tops all I have seen from any Leica Q: The quintessence of the Leica Q3 hands-on

After my impromptu “studio test”, I had relatively high expectations, but the results under real-life conditions did not disappoint. In short, the image quality of the combination of the 60MP CMOS BSI sensor with the 28mm Summilux tops anything that has come out of a Q model so far, and that wasn’t bad either.

One Saturday, I went on a long bike tour through Lippe and took the Q3 with me. There were poppy fields, a market in Lemgo and a visit to the Hexenbürgermeisterhaus, die Externsteine, the best of weather… and more than sufficient subject matte. The Q3 delivered in spades.

Sample image for Leica Q3 hands-on shows the image quality — Market in Lemgo: The Pickert stand. What the Schwaben call Maultasche are Pickert in Eastern Westfalia. Then there is, of course, the accompanying kale (the “Lippe palm”), while the Maultasche is a delicacy in its own right…

Leica Q3 hands-on period over: Final word

I love rangefinder photography and have practised it excessively with the Leica M11, M10-M and M6 since I relinquished the Leica Q-P.

But I am not immediately curled around the Q3 and shouting “my treasure” like some overzealous Gollum. I never embrace a camera and shout “mein Schatzzz” in a hoarse voice, yet I now enjoy the Q3 again and also appreciate shooting with autofocus for a change.

Moreover, although the Q is anything but hollow (it feels very dense and sits well in the hand), those who usually swing their digital Ms find the Q light by comparison.

Even before, I enjoyed taking the Q with me on hikes, on the bike, and so on. That’s coming back now. Besides, a Q is the ideal camera for family celebrations or even when you hand it to someone completely clueless about photography. It immediately transforms into a point-and-shoot. For the connoisseur, the Q3 has oodles of creative potential.