Q3 as a cinema camera?

[kinetic]

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Is anyone using the Q3 as a cinema camera? With it's 8K video and other specs, it seems like it would be pretty good.

I've been tinkering with possibly getting a Sony FX3 and a very minimal rig setup, but thinking maybe if the Q3 is viable, it would be a good second camera to have and also, when needed, be used to produce some videos.

I work with a full production crew, so it doesn't need to be used for professional work, but for fun or if I want to test some concepts, I think it would be good to have a decent quality camera for it. I'm also looking for more reasons to get a Q3 to augment my M11

Anyway, I'd love to hear from people who've used it this way!

 

ps. I haven't seen any cages/half-cages etc. for it, but maybe I could rig something up to mount a top handle, mic, etc.

[FrozenInTime]

Shockingly bad review of Q3 video capabilities from Camera West ( Leica Store San Francisco ).

 

 

[Cogito]

4 hours ago, kinetic said:

I've been tinkering with possibly getting a Sony FX3 and a very minimal rig setup

Personally prefer A7Siii instead of the FX3 because of the (very good) EVF. If you only use it with an external recorder (Atomos) then the FX3 is fine. Either way, you might have to rationalize a Q3 some other way (a fixed prime lens cinema camera with serious rolling shutter seems limiting.) I do see many Q’s on sets, seen more than a few DP’s with monochrom Leicas, but used for stills.

[clifak]

6 hours ago, FrozenInTime said:

Shockingly bad review of Q3 video capabilities from Camera West ( Leica Store San Francisco ).

 

 

The creator of that video seems confused about the rolling shutter. He even attributes it to the camera's optical image stabilization(OIS), when in fact, the reason rolling shutter is so bad is due to the size/speed of the sensor and complete lack of in-body stabilization(IBIS).

To OP... A cinema camera, no, but I've done some testing with my Q3 and find it have decent video capability with several caveats.
- The camera needs to be locked down or stabilized on a gimbal. Without that, rolling shutter will rear its head. 
- Autofocus with AFc in video mode is currently a bit buggy. I tend to only shoot video with manual focus so not a huge issue for me. I have tested it filming myself stationary using AFc. If I'm the only person in the shot and the shot isn't too busy it keeps focus alright but struggles if there's a lot going on or too many people.
- There's currently no way to feed it an external mic.

The 35mm and 50mm crop modes are usable in video depending on the resolution you record but I wouldn't go beyond that. When using a crop mode the video will auto frame and rescale to the resolution you've set. It's important to note that it doesn't crop in until you hit record so if you're using an external recorder it'll always be the full display(1080p is the only res that captures full sensor, 4k and 8k have a slight crop) on the external footage unless you record to both the camera and the external recorder at the same time.  Of course if you record in 8k you can punch in a lot in post and not use the digital in-camera crops at all. I only have a Ninja V so I haven't been able to test 8k external recording.

The Q3 is the first Leica I've tested video with so it's also my first time messing with L-Log. With my limited testing I find L-Log to be a solid transform and if used with the 10-bit 422 options in camera or similar external recorded options it holds up well. That said, I'm not a fan of the built-in monitoring LUTs and think the ones provided by Leica for the SL2-S are much better. Thankfully, you can load custom ones into the camera, including the official SL2-S. You can also use them in post if you wish.

I still have a lot of testing I'd like to do before deciding how usable it actually is given the fixed lens and other limitations, but here's a timestamped review that shows some talking head footage recorded with the Q3. https://youtu.be/cxeTQh72zvE?t=297

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by clifak

[LocalHero1953]

Note that the Q3 still has a 30 minute limit on internal recording, if that's important to you (talking heads?)

[Le Chef]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Note that the Q3 still has a 30 minute limit on internal recording, if that's important to you (talking heads?)

 But that’s only Once in a Lifetime. 😉

[LocalHero1953]

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1 minute ago, Le Chef said:

 But that’s only Once in a Lifetime. 😉

😁

But sadly, it's the main reason I will not be getting the Q3.

[nariza7]

The video specs of the Q3 was what drew me over since I'd prefer 4k 60p to match with my a7siii. It'd be nice if I could take photos, and press a single button to go into video mode to capture something as opposed to putting it back in the bag and grabbing the a7siii out. What makes me hesitate now is that the ois stabilization isn't that good (from watching the camera west guy and a few other youtubers) when handheld. Seems ok when it's locked in a place like someone previously said. Otherwise, I'm not a fan of post-stabilization because of the weird random warping/jello effect from stabilizing rolling shutter. Also the bitrate is double or more than that of the a7siii, so bigger files, though I can live with that. The shaky handheld video is the main culprit that's making me hesitate. If they introduced some form of digital stabilization (like sony), it may make me feel a little better. Again though, this is a photo camera so I understand that might not be a priority for the Q3 to have.  

[clifak]

10 minutes ago, nariza7 said:

The video specs of the Q3 was what drew me over since I'd prefer 4k 60p to match with my a7siii. It'd be nice if I could take photos, and press a single button to go into video mode to capture something as opposed to putting it back in the bag and grabbing the a7siii out. What makes me hesitate now is that the ois stabilization isn't that good (from watching the camera west guy and a few other youtubers) when handheld. Seems ok when it's locked in a place like someone previously said. Otherwise, I'm not a fan of post-stabilization because of the weird random warping/jello effect from stabilizing rolling shutter. Also the bitrate is double or more than that of the a7siii, so bigger files, though I can live with that. The shaky handheld video is the main culprit that's making me hesitate. If they introduced some form of digital stabilization (like sony), it may make me feel a little better. Again though, this is a photo camera so I understand that might not be a priority for the Q3 to have.  

OIS has never been a replacement for IBIS. The OIS on the Q3 is solid but it has a massive megapixel sensor to contend with so you'll never get the same sort of stabilization, or even close, to the a7s3 or any camera with decent IBIS. 

[nariza7]

Yeah, maybe it is the high mp sensor that makes it look super shaky despite OIS. Def can't compare to IBIS like you said. I just assumed it would've been somewhat close to the BMPCC 6k with EF stabilized lenses (still shaky when moving, but you can tell theres some stabilization whereas the camera west video just looks like theres no stabilization when moving at all), but yeah, that high mp FF sensor might make it tougher. Could also be that the examples im looking at are at 24p or 30p (not as smooth) and not 60p that I'm used to looking at. Maybe 60p will make the rolling shutter look just a little less bad. Not sure as I haven't seen much examples of 4k 60p with movement for the Q3

Edited June 23, 2023 by nariza7

[nariza7]

Actually, can anyone with a Q3 see if OIS is still really shaky if set to On instead of Auto? What if the Auto setting doesn't kick in stabilization as much or only at certain times (due to their algorithm)

[bobtodrick]

Sorry, but the Q3’s forte wasn’t meant to be a cinema camera.

”Hi…just wondering how the Ferrari 488 works as a delivery van?”

Different tool for different jobs people.

[nariza7]

I agree that its forte is not on the video side, but they did add enough video specs/features for me at least to consider how it can be utilized. At least with the capability to do 4k, 60p, log profile, etc. The 8k 30p is overkill for me though heh. Might be nice for those working in classic cinema 24p frame rate though, either in 8k or downsampling it to 4k for improved image quality. I would agree that it's probably not that good/reliable for professional use in terms of rolling shutter, rigging, overheating(?), extended video recording, and maybe other stuff. 

[Meos]

Very interested in this too. 

I’m not a professional videographer, mostly making personal videos and videos for YouTube.

My main concerns are the 30 minute recording limit - I find it especially annoying that they couldn’t/won’t do away with it at a low bitrate 1080p/30fps or something to at least have the option for extended record times.

Not being able to charge the camera through usb-c whilst having a microphone plugged in with a dongle is also a limitation for my use case, but I could record audio externally.

Another issue is the not fully articulated screen, but I could also use an external monitor. 

It just seems like Leica could have relatively easily ‘solved’ (most of) these issues and have made it a much more usable/serious video camera, despite video not being the camera’s forte, because the camera is held back because of these things, despite it’s fantastic video specs. 

Having said all of that - I got a call from the local Leica store yesterday, and will likely be picking up a Q3 this weekend, despite these drawbacks. I feel drawn to the atypical use case of using this as my main video camera for both YouTube and personal/travel video (and photography!) and am excited to explore the possibilities and capabilities of the camera. 

[jaapv]

You bought a very nice camera-but maybe not the first choice as a Video camera. The fixed focal length is a handicap, you lack a zoom, focus pulling is difficult  I think that the design is more aimed at the occasional “moving photograph” like the M240 was. So I am not surprised that there are hardware compromises.