Q3 - Are you happy or disappointed?

[FusionX.Photo]

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6 hours ago, Voxen said:

Zone focusing at f/1.7 is almost impossible to me when subject is close, say 1 to 2 meters from the camera, because then the DOF is just too shallow. Maybe you are skilled enough to manage sharp images of close ups at f/1.7, I know I’m not 

I do zone focusing at f/8 or f/11 to achieve almost infinite focus distance, while setting my shutter speed to 1/500 to freeze movements.

Depending on the available light, this often raises auto ISO up to 6400 or more.

That’s why I’d be happy to shoot at f/1.7 whatever subject distance is, with reliable face/eye detection.

I don’t know where to start having read that, no offence but there’s a multitude of errors going on, to me isolating the subject should be the first requirement and at those apertures you’re making life very difficult for yourself.

[Miltz]

So far I’m Happy. The biggest surprise is low light autofocus. The camera can see and nail in almost complete darkness which is crazy. It beats out my Nikon Z6 which I never expected. I need to do more testing. I will say that face/eye detection is very poor in low light but as long as regular autofocus works I’m happy. 

[Voxen]

2 hours ago, FusionX.Photo said:

I don’t know where to start having read that, no offence but there’s a multitude of errors going on, to me isolating the subject should be the first requirement and at those apertures you’re making life very difficult for yourself.

No offence taken. What I’m saying is not magic, it’s what famous street photographers are doing since ages.

Common settings among what I learnt from them is (more or less) f/8 to f/11, 1/250 to 1/500, pre-focus to 1 to 3 meters and let the auto ISO do the rest.

This ensure an in-focus zone from 1m to infinity (more or less again).

Now at f/1.7 the depth of field is so shallow that I don’t get how you can zone focus, but I’d be glad to learn!

About isolating the subject as first requirement, I don’t get it either. Some shots are better wide open but others are best when everything is in focus. So I’d say it depends on the situation and personal style/preferences.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Voxen

[jplotkin]

On 8/28/2023 at 1:45 PM, dancook said:

I was a little disappointed, 

Hip-shooting the Q/Q2 as I'm walking past the subject, f1.7 wide area focus - I could get close shots, I loved the 1.7 look when it hit - but it'll be pot luck to whether the AF choose a bright skyline over the closer subject.

The Q3 had a flipscreen, face detection and a screw thread which made it much easier for me to press the shutter with the thumb in my discrete hand position - but it didn't take long to see that with multiple faces available the face detection went bananas... and that with the AF did nothing to improve on what I was doing with the Q2.

It was not the upgrade I hoped, I sold it and did some street photography with the Hasselblad X2D, 38V and zone focussing instead.

I would expect that zone focusing for street photography at f8-f11 will yield very similar results on Q2 vs Q3.

But did you try (I'm sure you did) point-and-release using spot focus on the flip screen, facing up towards you, with the Q3 positioned at your hip? I would think this is the main advantage for street shooting on Q3 vs Q2, if you really want shallow depth of field on the street. This is the really the only type of use that is attracting me to the Q3 (using the flip screen with point-and-release spot focus, as opposed to AF). If you tried this, how well did it work?

 

[JTLeica]

3 hours ago, Voxen said:

No offence taken. What I’m saying is not magic, it’s what famous street photographers are doing since ages.

Common settings among what I learnt from them is (more or less) f/8 to f/11, 1/250 to 1/500, pre-focus to 1 to 3 meters and let the auto ISO do the rest.

This ensure an in-focus zone from 1m to infinity (more or less again).

Now at f/1.7 the depth of field is so shallow that I don’t get how you can zone focus, but I’d be glad to learn!

About isolating the subject as first requirement, I don’t get it either. Some shots are better wide open but others are best when everything is in focus. So I’d say it depends on the situation and personal style/preferences.

Why are you zone focussing at F1.7? The camera has solid autofocus options, one of which should suit most situations. You don't zone focus, wide open, that isn't a thing.

Shoot at F8/F11 and zone focus if you want.

Show wide open, with autofocus, or manual with magnification.

[JTLeica]

5 hours ago, Miltz said:

So far I’m Happy. The biggest surprise is low light autofocus. The camera can see and nail in almost complete darkness which is crazy. It beats out my Nikon Z6 which I never expected. I need to do more testing. I will say that face/eye detection is very poor in low light but as long as regular autofocus works I’m happy. 

It is better than the Z6? Wow. That is one thing I love about the Nikon Z, low light focus is spot on, so if it's better than that that's awesome. I am always amazed what the Nikon picks up shooting dark landscapes. 

[Patrick NL]

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Yesterday I returned from a few days in Germany. I had my Q3 and my Fujifilm X-T3 with 10-24/4 and 90/2. After a few days I left the Fujifilm stuff in the hotel; I hardly used it. The Q3 is marvelous! The lens is amazing, the autofocus reliable, the manual focus works great if you need it, I can select 18 or 36 mpix if I do not need the full 60, the colors are really great, etc. Stitching multiple images together in Lightroom works like a dream; I cannot even see where the stitches are!

Next holiday I do not think I'll bring more camera gear unless it is as a backup...

[rich_]

I find that it's a good improvement on the Q2. The autofocus and connectivity updates with the better wireless and USB C charging make things easier for me. I prefer the buttons on the right hand side and the flippy screen is handy when i use a tripod. 
Resolution or sensor wise I can't say i've noticed that much difference but I haven't really tested it in extreme lighting conditions which might highlight it to my eye. 

[Miltz]

8 hours ago, JTLeica said:

It is better than the Z6? Wow. That is one thing I love about the Nikon Z, low light focus is spot on, so if it's better than that that's awesome. I am always amazed what the Nikon picks up shooting dark landscapes. 

Yes. I agree. The Nikon low light autofocus is excellent. I expected the Q3 to lose and lose bad. I took images in almost complete darkness and on the LCD I could barely see anything. Went home loaded the raw files and raised the exposure and I’m like wow, it nailed focus in the dark. I will also say the low light image quality is better than the Nikon Z6 so far in my testing. Unfortunately the face detection/eye detection is awful in low light on the Q3 so I don’t recommend it at all. But since the camera can focus in dark conditions, I expect it will get better with firmware updates. 

[JTLeica]

3 hours ago, Miltz said:

Yes. I agree. The Nikon low light autofocus is excellent. I expected the Q3 to lose and lose bad. I took images in almost complete darkness and on the LCD I could barely see anything. Went home loaded the raw files and raised the exposure and I’m like wow, it nailed focus in the dark. I will also say the low light image quality is better than the Nikon Z6 so far in my testing. Unfortunately the face detection/eye detection is awful in low light on the Q3 so I don’t recommend it at all. But since the camera can focus in dark conditions, I expect it will get better with firmware updates. 

Thank for describing this, that’s great to know. So often I’m taking images in sunset or after sunset where the foreground say is very dull. I assumed the Leica would be poor at this like you, maybe that’s an improved contrast detect system. I thought pdaf was bad in low light but maybe it’s not.

Im very lucky to have the Q3 before my Cornwall trip next week. Will be sure to post some images here

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, JTLeica said:

Thank for describing this, that’s great to know. So often I’m taking images in sunset or after sunset where the foreground say is very dull. I assumed the Leica would be poor at this like you, maybe that’s an improved contrast detect system. I thought pdaf was bad in low light but maybe it’s not.

Im very lucky to have the Q3 before my Cornwall trip next week. Will be sure to post some images here

There's a coincidence! I got my Q3 yesterday and I'm off to Polzeath in Cornwall next week too! I'll keep an eye out for you!

[Miltz]

3 hours ago, JTLeica said:

Thank for describing this, that’s great to know. So often I’m taking images in sunset or after sunset where the foreground say is very dull. I assumed the Leica would be poor at this like you, maybe that’s an improved contrast detect system. I thought pdaf was bad in low light but maybe it’s not.

Im very lucky to have the Q3 before my Cornwall trip next week. Will be sure to post some images here

Speaking of sunsets, I took a few test shots of that as well and the look is totally different than Nikon. The Leica almost crushes the blacks. It’s super contrast, while the Nikon looks HDR like in comparison. I need to explore this more but keep that in mind if this is your first Q. The Q2 was similar. I’m talking intense sunsets here. I believe it’s the metering of highlights compared to Nikon.

[William K.]

I've had earlier Q versions and since May, the Q3; I agree with other comments about the improvements in the Q3, especially the improved image quality when cropping in the equivalent 35 and 50 focal length field of views.  It's a great "carry-around" camera and avoids the "which lenses should I take today" discussion.   If I know upfront that a wider or longer than ~50mm lens will be needed, I will take the SL2 or M depending on the subject.  But it is my "grab and go" camera and I do like the new tilting screen for both high and low angle shots and the ability to angle the screen for candid shots. 

[Aram Langhans]

On 9/1/2023 at 8:15 AM, Miltz said:

So far I’m Happy. The biggest surprise is low light autofocus. The camera can see and nail in almost complete darkness which is crazy. It beats out my Nikon Z6 which I never expected. I need to do more testing. I will say that face/eye detection is very poor in low light but as long as regular autofocus works I’m happy. 

I've had mine for about a week.  Two nights ago I took it with me on our evening walk.  I was taking a shot of the town below our hill and my wife was walking up the hill.  I did not even see her it was so dark but when I went to take the photo it immediately locked on to her coming up the hill.  I was amazed.  My Q2 would never have done that.  Not sure about my Nikon Z7 as I have not tried anything like that.   Overall it is a mixed bag about how I like it vs the Q2, which is a very fine camera in its own right, but there are definite improvements on the Q3 and focusing is one of those areas. Attached is the unprocessed RAW file and my wife can be seen coming around the corner.  

I also processed it bringing up the shadows.  I was a bit disappointed in that I don't think it did that any better than my Q2 would have.  Quite a bit of shadow noise.  Of course, it was fairly dark.

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[Miltz]

3 hours ago, Aram Langhans said:

I've had mine for about a week.  Two nights ago I took it with me on our evening walk.  I was taking a shot of the town below our hill and my wife was walking up the hill.  I did not even see her it was so dark but when I went to take the photo it immediately locked on to her coming up the hill.  I was amazed.  My Q2 would never have done that.  Not sure about my Nikon Z7 as I have not tried anything like that.   Overall it is a mixed bag about how I like it vs the Q2, which is a very fine camera in its own right, but there are definite improvements on the Q3 and focusing is one of those areas. Attached is the unprocessed RAW file and my wife can be seen coming around the corner.  

I also processed it bringing up the shadows.  I was a bit disappointed in that I don't think it did that any better than my Q2 would have.  Quite a bit of shadow noise.  Of course, it was fairly dark.

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The Q3 is way better than the Q2 under those conditions. The sensor is superior is every metric. What ISO was it? It also depends how you processed it. The Nikon can definitely focus too under those conditions, it’s just a bit slower. 

[StefanoGili]

Got my Q3 since July 7th and i must confess i'm still learning how the camera "thinks". Today i've found a particular behaviour that i was not used to find in other cameras, or maybe i don't remember.

Sometimes i use AUTO ISO and exposure compensation to achieve the exposure i want for that photo. Yesterday i've used exp compensation, setting -2 stop.... Today i went out to shoot in the middle of the day, and i was shooting manual ISO. Usually in full sun, i use ISO 100 1/500 f8...but the EVF was really dark while the light meter was telling me i was overexposed by 2 stops... 

I wasn't figuring out what was happening until I checked exp compensation that was left at minus 2 stops from the night before...i've moved exp compensation to 0 and voitlà..the evf image was perfect with the meter indicating the correct exposure. 

This sounds really strange to me, but is my first Leica and i dunno if it MUST work like this...

[JTLeica]

31 minutes ago, StefanoGili said:

Got my Q3 since July 7th and i must confess i'm still learning how the camera "thinks". Today i've found a particular behaviour that i was not used to find in other cameras, or maybe i don't remember.

Sometimes i use AUTO ISO and exposure compensation to achieve the exposure i want for that photo. Yesterday i've used exp compensation, setting -2 stop.... Today i went out to shoot in the middle of the day, and i was shooting manual ISO. Usually in full sun, i use ISO 100 1/500 f8...but the EVF was really dark while the light meter was telling me i was overexposed by 2 stops... 

I wasn't figuring out what was happening until I checked exp compensation that was left at minus 2 stops from the night before...i've moved exp compensation to 0 and voitlà..the evf image was perfect with the meter indicating the correct exposure. 

This sounds really strange to me, but is my first Leica and i dunno if it MUST work like this...

If I understand you correctly, when the camera is showing as underexposed but the image looks ok, or dark in your example, its because you have moved the exposure compensation to say -1,-2,-3 or whatever, but your image is not 'meeting that requirement' because you have already manually set it. So you are telling the exposure comp that you want to underexpose the image by 2 stops, but your manual ISO Shutter and Aperture is the only thing effecting exposure, and if you have set those so that your exposure it at 0 (not over or under) the camera will 'warn' you that you're not meeting your desired exposure comp... It doesnt make a difference to the image.

I have explained that horribly. Sorry

[StefanoGili]

20 minutes ago, JTLeica said:

If I understand you correctly, when the camera is showing as underexposed but the image looks ok, or dark in your example, its because you have moved the exposure compensation to say -1,-2,-3 or whatever, but your image is not 'meeting that requirement' because you have already manually set it. So you are telling the exposure comp that you want to underexpose the image by 2 stops, but your manual ISO Shutter and Aperture is the only thing effecting exposure, and if you have set those so that your exposure it at 0 (not over or under) the camera will 'warn' you that you're not meeting your desired exposure comp... It doesnt make a difference to the image.

I have explained that horribly. Sorry

Yes it sounds correct... even if it became difficult to explain.. I was not expecting that, but now it sounds more "normal" that the meter shows you the exposure calculated applying the compensation, even if you are in manual mode. Obiouvsly if you set iso / shutter / aperture to match the correct exposition on the light meter, you will obtain an image with the "compensated" exposure.

[JTLeica]

4 minutes ago, StefanoGili said:

Yes it sounds correct... even if it became difficult to explain.. I was not expecting that, but now it sounds more "normal" that the meter shows you the exposure calculated applying the compensation, even if you are in manual mode. Obiouvsly if you set iso / shutter / aperture to match the correct exposition on the light meter, you will obtain an image with the "compensated" exposure.

I think it's basically, mainly, due to the camera having a physical aperture ring, physical shutter dial and physical ISO dial that all overrides any compensation dialled in. Also, you cant compensate when fully manual. Come to think of it, my Nikon works similarly.

Your compensation dial goes from controlling the variable in a P, S, A mode, or acting just as a guide to you as the photographer in M mode. You might shoot a scene like snow, where you know you want to overexpose by a stop all day, but still manually control everything, or shoot sunsets with underexposing everything by a stop, but still want to shoot manually.

Your question has made me think it through and work out why haha

Edited September 6, 2023 by JTLeica

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[Aram Langhans]

OK.  Well, here is a new quirk I discovered yesterday while out for my first real shoot with the Q3 since I received it 10 days ago.  Not sure if I can call it a disappointment, but it might take some getting used to.  I noticed when I hit the shutter button, and it takes a photo it is acting like there is a large shutter delay.  The viewfinder stays dark for quite a bit longer than the Q2.  My friend was shooting my Q2, so I traded back and indeed, the Q2 response is very fast.  Hit button, quick black out, then back to the viewfinder.  And I was using shutter speeds around 1/200 or so, so it was not that the shutter was open for a long time. I did not remember reading this in any review I read while deciding to upgrade or not.  I am assuming the delay is in teh viewfinder recovery and not the actual shutter release though I have not tested that yet.  I see there is now a whole thread started in the forum about this.  For me, with the kind of photos I take, this will not force me to return the camera and stick with my Q2, but I do have to admit it is a bit annoying at times.  But I might get used to it.  But should I on a $6000 camera? 

Here is the thread that has started to discuss this issue.,

Q3 viewfinder blackout is a pain - Leica Q3 / Leica Q2 / Leica Q - Leica Forum (l-camera-forum.com)