Thumb Support for Q3 - too good to be true?

[David Wien]

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2 hours ago, egrossman said:

Why would anyone go to the trouble of generating a hologram for a relatively inexpensive product? I don't have an answer. This thumb support appears indistinguishable from those available for sale in Leica Stores. If I were to hazzard a guess, I agree with Jaap, that these thumb rests were made in the same factory as the original ones.

 

It also seems to me that mine probably never left Europe.

David

[David Wien]

7 hours ago, jaapv said:

It may well be that it was made in the same factory that makes the real Leica ones. No patents were infringed ( Leica themselves copied the design from existing ones) but of course the addition of genuine-looking branding is not allowed, although it appears that such offenses do not attract much attention from the forces of law in China. 

Are there, in fact any applicable copyright or trademark laws in China?

David

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[jaapv]

Yes there are. China has acceded to international treaties. 

[Siriusone59]

Could it be that those are the original thumb rests that the Leica distributors were waiting for and somehow the shipment ended up in the wrong place?  I think this sort of thing happens occasionally.  Leica still waiting for their order from the "sweatshop"🙄 while Motoqueen is selling them.🫣

[JohnSantaF4]

8 hours ago, jaapv said:

Yes there are. China has acceded to international treaties. 

How can one validate that the Q3 itself is not a knockoff? That is a bigger concern, isn’t it?

[Corius]

3 hours ago, JohnSantaF4 said:

How can one validate that the Q3 itself is not a knockoff? That is a bigger concern, isn’t it?

Try the camera for a few days and see if it has any bugs or annoyances.

If it doesn't then it's a knockoff.

[cookedart]

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Received the MotoQueen and it seems like it is a dead ringer for the official. I'm almost leaning towards it being an Amazon mixup with the real ones getting shipped in place of the knockoff. I'd have to see them side by side, but the box is official looking with a hologram and Leica logo, with it saying it's made in Portugal. Mine even came with a Leica branded two pack of screen protectors. 

The thumb grip itself seems larger than it needs to be for my purposes, but the extra throw on both function buttons makes fn2 especially much more tactile. Also my concern about the exposure compensation dial being out of the way or awkward to each with the thumb rest in place is unfounded, it works great. 

[cookedart]

One warning I've found when wearing my Q3 with the MotoQueen thumb support. It's just loose enough in the hot shoe that if it gets bumped dangling at my side, the thumb support can be knocked out of place. Luckily I noticed before it fell out completely! I've secured it with some gaffers tape but I would advise testing how tight it is in your hot shoe, lest you risk losing it at an inopportune moment.

[Dannyred]

15 hours ago, cookedart said:

One warning I've found when wearing my Q3 with the MotoQueen thumb support. It's just loose enough in the hot shoe that if it gets bumped dangling at my side, the thumb support can be knocked out of place. Luckily I noticed before it fell out completely! I've secured it with some gaffers tape but I would advise testing how tight it is in your hot shoe, lest you risk losing it at an inopportune moment.

Thanks for the heads up - I just checked my q3 > motoqueen 'connection - it's solid - no play - I'll keep an eye out in case it starts to wiggle with more use. again - thanks - btw - i just got an email from B&H - as of that email - earlier today - they just received the official Leica thumb grip in black and it's iin stock - of course that could change quickly. I'll do another post so more people can see the notice.

[Dannyred]

 

email from B&H today Mar 17, 2024

Good News!

Leica Thumb Support Q3 (Aluminum, Black) is now in stock!     GET YOURS

Please note: This notification is sent on a first-come-first-served basis. The item was in stock and available for online purchase at the time we sent this email. However, we cannot guarantee that this item will remain available. To confirm availability for in-store purchase at our NYC SuperStore in person, please call 800-718-5999.

[cookedart]

8 hours ago, Dannyred said:

Thanks for the heads up - I just checked my q3 > motoqueen 'connection - it's solid - no play - I'll keep an eye out in case it starts to wiggle with more use. again - thanks - btw - i just got an email from B&H - as of that email - earlier today - they just received the official Leica thumb grip in black and it's iin stock - of course that could change quickly. I'll do another post so more people can see the notice.

To be clear, it didn't feel like there was any play in mine whatsoever either, but when moving around all day shooting, I found the grip in two different situations partly slipping off. I'm sure it bumped against my body in a specific direction to cause it to move. I don't think it feels especially wiggly, but tightening it up gas definitely made it feel rock solid now.