Leica Q3 or Sell for Digital M

[theBear]

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Took delivery of my Q3 yesterday in London and am torn…so very torn.

I have an M6 2022 release with a 35mm Summicron which I absolutely love. I love it so much I’ve realised I need a digital M as I’ve already gone through 20 rolls of film in the last three months. At this pace I’ll be spending around £2,000 on film, development and scanning a year which is clearly unattainable.

In a perfect world I’d have an M11-D which I appreciate doesn’t exist yet but I’ll do everything I can to secure one when they are released. Sure the M10-D would be fine also although one they aren’t available and two I know id regret not having the M11-D when it is released.

I come from Fujifilm system so always wanted the Q for the form factor and simplicity.

Wondering if I should just sell the Q3 and get myself a cheaper digital M to tide me over until the M11-D is released.

Any help/thoughts welcome! Thanks in advance.

[Olaf_ZG]

Question is: why did you bought the Q in the first place ( instead of a M)?

[theBear]

It’s a good Q (pun not intended).

Since selling my digital system I sorted of always wanted one.

Only as I sit here with a Q in a box all sealed up that I have a fear of “have I made a mistake” and the realisation that I love the M.

I do think that the AF would be great to use sometimes tho as MF does obv get a bit tiring in some circumstances.

[dpitt]

22 hours ago, theBear said:

It’s a good Q (pun not intended).

Since selling my digital system I sorted of always wanted one.

Only as I sit here with a Q in a box all sealed up that I have a fear of “have I made a mistake” and the realisation that I love the M.

I do think that the AF would be great to use sometimes tho as MF does obv get a bit tiring in some circumstances.

It depends if you really want to shoot with a 28mm Summilux on the M10. In that case you are maybe better off keeping the Q3 rather than buying the lens. If you have other M lenses or are prepared to buy used or slower lenses it makes perfectly sense to me.

Any M is a joy to use. AF is overrated IMO, certainly with lenses up to 50mm.

[JoshuaR]

Only you can decide what's best for you, but here's my experience.

I've switched back and forth a lot between Q and M, because I love the practicality and convenience of the Q series but love the tactility and fun of the M series. I started into Leica with a Q2, then got a film M, which led me to sell the Q2 to get a digital M. Then I sold the digital M to get a Q2 again. Then after a while I sold the Q2 to get a digital M again. Now I have an M10 and an MP and am saving up for another Q2. 

All in all, my selling and buying has been a huge (and I mean huge!) waste of time and money. I should've just and accepted from the beginning that what I wanted was a Q series camera, a digital M, and an analogue M. That, for me, is the ideal setup.

I think that, early on, I failed to wrap my head around the long-term-investment aspect of Leica. With my previous camera systems, I was always buying and selling. I got in the habit of swapping gear around. This was (for me) a mistake. I wasted a lot of money. I should've just been patient.

Note that if you give up on the idea of owning a screenless digital M, and simply decide that you want an M10, you'd be able to own the trifecta of film M/digital M/Q much more quickly.

[ravinj]

On 6/16/2023 at 4:29 PM, theBear said:

It’s a good Q (pun not intended).

Since selling my digital system I sorted of always wanted one.

Only as I sit here with a Q in a box all sealed up that I have a fear of “have I made a mistake” and the realisation that I love the M.

I do think that the AF would be great to use sometimes tho as MF does obv get a bit tiring in some circumstances.

Not sure, why do you "fear that you have made a mistake" with the Q3. Why not use it instead of boxing it up and then decide whether to keep it or not. I don't have the Q3, but with my experience using the Q2, the M is not a replacement for it. And vice-versa. The MF implementation in the Q is one of the best I have experienced in a digital camera. 

[theBear]

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56 minutes ago, JoshuaRothman said:

Only you can decide what's best for you, but here's my experience.

I've switched back and forth a lot between Q and M, because I love the practicality and convenience of the Q series but love the tactility and fun of the M series. I started into Leica with a Q2, then got a film M, which led me to sell the Q2 to get a digital M. Then I sold the digital M to get a Q2 again. Then after a while I sold the Q2 to get a digital M again. Now I have an M10 and an MP and am saving up for another Q2. 

All in all, my selling and buying has been a huge (and I mean huge!) waste of time and money. I should've just and accepted from the beginning that what I wanted was a Q series camera, a digital M, and an analogue M. That, for me, is the ideal setup.

I think that, early on, I failed to wrap my head around the long-term-investment aspect of Leica. With my previous camera systems, I was always buying and selling. I got in the habit of swapping gear around. This was (for me) a mistake. I wasted a lot of money. I should've just been patient.

Note that if you give up on the idea of owning a screenless digital M, and simply decide that you want an M10, you'd be able to own the trifecta of film M/digital M/Q much more quickly.

Thank you! This is essentially spot on I think. Ultimately I want to own all three. The digital and analogue M because they work so well together and the Q because it’s just an amazing every day carry around.

I’ve just been watching a video by the Art of Photography where he mentions there is no back button focus functionality. This may be not necessary but historical lot I’ve used it with MF to lock in focus quickly when necessary. I understand I can use AF and then engage the MF to tweak the focus but is there a way to immediately get back into AF once you’ve engaged the MF on the lens? Thinking for the next shot. I guess I’ve mostly done this as I’ve not been able to rely on the AF before but perhaps now I’ll be able to with the Q3.

 

Thank you for your advice think it’s exactly what I was looking for.

[JoshuaR]

Glad to be helpful. And yes, that's right: there is no way to pop out of MF and into AF by means of back-button focus. That said, I've found the AF/MF system on the Q cameras to be fantastic in lots of other ways.

[NicoX]

May I chip in?

Let me start off by saying, photography is a hobby for me, which I started in 2019. It's been quite an expensive hobby too for that matter, but hey, #noragrets.

I started with Fujifilm, and acquired all high-end lenses as I was "discovering" my genre of photography. Wanted to do landscapes, wildlife, macro, people, street, the whole shebang. 

I then switched to Olympus/OM-System when the OM-1 was released. The specs blew my mind, and I absolutely wanted the 150-400mm f4.5 (300-800mm FF eq.), fresh from a trip to Costa Rica I had just done. Sold all my Fujifilm gear (nothing against Fujifilm, great gear), and gradually (you guessed it) acquired all high-end lenses for MFT mount.

And then I became a father. Gone were the landscape/wildlife/macro days. The gear I started using the most were the smaller bodies I acquired afterwards (OM-5 and Pen-F) and smaller lenses (mostly for portrait/family pictures, usually in B&W).

And then the Leica M11 Monochrom was released. Mind blown again. Quickly came to the conclusion it was pointless to keep gear to let it sit on a desk with close to no use. So thought I'd sell most of my gear to acquire the M11M and 1 lens (a 35mm or a 50mm), and live happily ever after. Except that meant selling for roughly 15k EUR of gear. Which in turn meant to sell the aforementioned OM-1 and 150-400mm (and other gear too), which I wasn't ready to do (and still wouldn't). So that lead to finding budget for the M11M and 1 Voigtländer lens instead (or 2 depending on how well I'd sell my gear... or maybe 3... you probably see where this is going...).

But then the Q3 was released. Mind what? Yes, blown again. I jumped on it. I have it. It's literally looking at me whilst I type this. It's my first step into Leica. And at the time of writing, I genuinely think I won't need anything else for at least a few years. I always have it with me. The gear I decided not to sell (the OM-1 and 150-400mm lens, plus an ultra wide angle lens and a standard zoom. And a macro lens. And a portrait lens (but a longer one). Gear Retention Syndrom?) isn't seeing any action at the moment. Yes, it's 28mm. But I love the digital zoom. I love the form factor. I love the rendering. I love the monochrom rendition for JPGs. I just love it.

Will I ever want a Digital M? I obviously tried using one. It's a VASTLY different experience than an OM-1. The Q3 is a less brutal transition. And it's less brutal for the wallet. I'm happy with that. I'll stick with that.

For now at least. 🙂

 

[Ko.Fe.]

On 6/16/2023 at 3:33 PM, theBear said:

Took delivery of my Q3 yesterday in London and am torn…so very torn.

I have an M6 2022 release with a 35mm Summicron which I absolutely love. I love it so much I’ve realised I need a digital M as I’ve already gone through 20 rolls of film in the last three months. At this pace I’ll be spending around £2,000 on film, development and scanning a year which is clearly unattainable.

In a perfect world I’d have an M11-D which I appreciate doesn’t exist yet but I’ll do everything I can to secure one when they are released. Sure the M10-D would be fine also although one they aren’t available and two I know id regret not having the M11-D when it is released.

I come from Fujifilm system so always wanted the Q for the form factor and simplicity.

Wondering if I should just sell the Q3 and get myself a cheaper digital M to tide me over until the M11-D is released.

Any help/thoughts welcome! Thanks in advance.

With film you will save a lot with your own scanner and very simple darkroom. BW is super easy, C41 is same, but much less choice of chemicals. Main part of the charges by the lab is time. If you spend your onw time, it is less expensive (somewhat). I quit from film M in 2022, because I don't have time anymore.  

Q series can't replace OVF with RF. At least to me. Completely different method of visualization. Some are finding it has more limitations than benefits.

Some M have third party half cases with removable cover of the screen. Just be aware, digital M is less forgiving on exposure comparing to film. Don't know about M11, but up to M10 metering was not always as good as on mirrorless like Q3 or FujiFilm. So, it is good to check exposure, while screen is off most of time.

Personally, I'm finding M8/M9 to be closer to film Ms. No artificially amplified high ISO, 1600-3200 is just as high as I would usually push on film

And I don't know why, but silver M8 feels closer to M3.  

[hexx]

Also, this might not apply to more recent digital Ms, but my M6 (early 90s) seems to have a better finder than my M240. Would recommend to try one of the digital Ms to see if you like it. 
 

I used to develop B&W at home and it’s quite easy once you learn how to load the film on the “spindle” and place to tank blind. 
 

Can’t do that anymore because of our extremely curious cat - it would be either licking chemicals or scratching drying film. Still have M6 and few rolls of film in the fridge though. 

[theBear]

3 hours ago, NicoX said:

May I chip in?

Let me start off by saying, photography is a hobby for me, which I started in 2019. It's been quite an expensive hobby too for that matter, but hey, #noragrets.

I started with Fujifilm, and acquired all high-end lenses as I was "discovering" my genre of photography. Wanted to do landscapes, wildlife, macro, people, street, the whole shebang. 

I then switched to Olympus/OM-System when the OM-1 was released. The specs blew my mind, and I absolutely wanted the 150-400mm f4.5 (300-800mm FF eq.), fresh from a trip to Costa Rica I had just done. Sold all my Fujifilm gear (nothing against Fujifilm, great gear), and gradually (you guessed it) acquired all high-end lenses for MFT mount.

And then I became a father. Gone were the landscape/wildlife/macro days. The gear I started using the most were the smaller bodies I acquired afterwards (OM-5 and Pen-F) and smaller lenses (mostly for portrait/family pictures, usually in B&W).

And then the Leica M11 Monochrom was released. Mind blown again. Quickly came to the conclusion it was pointless to keep gear to let it sit on a desk with close to no use. So thought I'd sell most of my gear to acquire the M11M and 1 lens (a 35mm or a 50mm), and live happily ever after. Except that meant selling for roughly 15k EUR of gear. Which in turn meant to sell the aforementioned OM-1 and 150-400mm (and other gear too), which I wasn't ready to do (and still wouldn't). So that lead to finding budget for the M11M and 1 Voigtländer lens instead (or 2 depending on how well I'd sell my gear... or maybe 3... you probably see where this is going...).

But then the Q3 was released. Mind what? Yes, blown again. I jumped on it. I have it. It's literally looking at me whilst I type this. It's my first step into Leica. And at the time of writing, I genuinely think I won't need anything else for at least a few years. I always have it with me. The gear I decided not to sell (the OM-1 and 150-400mm lens, plus an ultra wide angle lens and a standard zoom. And a macro lens. And a portrait lens (but a longer one). Gear Retention Syndrom?) isn't seeing any action at the moment. Yes, it's 28mm. But I love the digital zoom. I love the form factor. I love the rendering. I love the monochrom rendition for JPGs. I just love it.

Will I ever want a Digital M? I obviously tried using one. It's a VASTLY different experience than an OM-1. The Q3 is a less brutal transition. And it's less brutal for the wallet. I'm happy with that. I'll stick with that.

For now at least. 🙂

 

Loved this post! I’ve a similar story but started my modern photography journey with Fujifilm and have been trading them since. Partly to maximise the sales price and trade at a good price and thus minimise my actual outlay…so I’ll often buy lenses in Japan or the US and then sell them in perfect condition in the UK for a negligible difference.

I think I’m very heavily leaning towards taking the Q3 from its box. Keeping on the Leica mailing list so I can be alerted when the M11-D is released and then never looking at another photography/rumor website ever again hahah.

[theBear]

2 hours ago, Ko.Fe. said:

With film you will save a lot with your own scanner and very simple darkroom. BW is super easy, C41 is same, but much less choice of chemicals. Main part of the charges by the lab is time. If you spend your onw time, it is less expensive (somewhat). I quit from film M in 2022, because I don't have time anymore.  

Q series can't replace OVF with RF. At least to me. Completely different method of visualization. Some are finding it has more limitations than benefits.

Some M have third party half cases with removable cover of the screen. Just be aware, digital M is less forgiving on exposure comparing to film. Don't know about M11, but up to M10 metering was not always as good as on mirrorless like Q3 or FujiFilm. So, it is good to check exposure, while screen is off most of time.

Personally, I'm finding M8/M9 to be closer to film Ms. No artificially amplified high ISO, 1600-3200 is just as high as I would usually push on film

And I don't know why, but silver M8 feels closer to M3.  

More choose words of wisdom. Maybe I’ll have to actually try and borrow an M11 and M10 and assess the difference.

 

I’ve been blown away by the exposure in the M6. I’m either very lucky or the lab are doing some fantastic adjustments for me!