Bgood Posted February 25 Share #1 Posted February 25 Advertisement (gone after registration) I bought a Q3 a few months ago. I owned a Leica M6 many years ago but sold it when digital came along. I am mainly a Canon shooter but wanted a smaller full frame camera. The Q3 is a joy to hold and use. I just want to pick it up. I use it with the Leica thumb grip which I find makes it easier to hold. I recently shared my thoughts about the Q3 and a few images on my blog if you are interested. I am tempted to buy a digital M but it's been a long time since i relied on manual focus. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Hi Bgood, Take a look here New Q3 Owner. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
David Wien Posted February 25 Share #2 Posted February 25 (edited) Welcome to the forum! I also added a Q3 to my Canon R6. Any advice you can give here to help those who, like me, are struggling a little to get used to the different philosophy of the operation of the Leica, would be appreciated! 😃 David Edited February 25 by David Wien Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strokerpete Posted February 25 Share #3 Posted February 25 Hi Bgood and David, I have the same story like you both and added my Q3 this month to my Nikon Z9. While waiting some month for my Q3 I found a very interesting Youtube clip of Hudson Henry which helped me a lot starting with my new Q3. Here is the link: Leica Q3 Setup Video & Full Menu Guide" width="200"> At the end you will find some free, downloadable user profiles which I used for some days to get used to the new stuff. Maybe it helps you too. Best regards from Germany, Peter 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgood Posted February 25 Author Share #4 Posted February 25 Thank you David and Peter for the warm welcome. David: I don't find the Q3 hard to use coming from the R5. I lot of the time I am in auto mode and adjust exposure compensation with the knob on the top right. The salesman at the Leica store in Washington suggested that setting. If I need to move the focus point, which happens a lot, I do it with my thumb on the rear LCD. If I need a minimum shutter speed I switch to shutter priority. I don't often use aperture priority. Peter: I watched the same setup video while I was waiting for my Q3 but after I got it I just use it the way I described. I want to keep things simple with thus camera. I am still getting used to the menu system. Canon for me is second nature. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Wien Posted February 25 Share #5 Posted February 25 Thanks for your help, David and Peter! My experience is different. When I pick up the Canon I can make it do what I want after several years practice, and I expect the same will be true with the Leica after a while. I am used to using aperture mode, and this may be my problem, since, whereas I often use f/8 on the R6 (even with my RF16 lens), I can get the same results with the Leica on f/2, which takes a bit of getting used to. I dont get on with using my thumb on the screen to move the focus point, as it often gets moved when I dont want it, so I turn off the screen sensitivity, leave it centre, focus, and then recompose. Using exposure compensation in full auto just changes the stop-shutter combination for the same exposure, and I find I need to temporarily select f/1.7 for it to work as I expect. I shoot raw, and have discovered that I can recover 2EV of highlight over-exposure in post processing, which is more than I can with the Canon. I am not complaining, of course, just getting used to how the Leica reacts differently to what appear to be the same controls as on the Canon. I started watching the video, but I was so irritated by the presentation that I gave up. I will try again! 😃 The weather has generally been pretty unhelpful here since I got the Q3 at the end of November. This was a rare day, and I had to lift the shadows to show any activity in the square: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Best. David Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Best. David ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/389798-new-q3-owner/?do=findComment&comment=5056024'>More sharing options...
MCINFANTRY Posted February 25 Share #6 Posted February 25 I am waiting to catch a q3 in stock, and im coming from an Canon r, and rf70-200 f2.8 as a walk around lens… im trying to learn vicariously! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Chef Posted February 25 Share #7 Posted February 25 Advertisement (gone after registration) 45 minutes ago, MCINFANTRY said: im trying to learn vicariously You can download the instruction manual from the Leica website and pre-read how to set the Q3 up and how to use it. It will save you time and frustration. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblood Posted February 26 Share #8 Posted February 26 Hi I just would like to tag along this post. Hope it is okay. Just got a resale 5 month-old Q3 yesterday from an owner. I hope it is good buy at USD 5.5K with a new Leica half case. Very exciting to learn all about this camera. Hoping that the learning curve is not steep. I come from a Nikon D850. I have been reading the manual and YouTube to get a faster start. Hailing from the tropical Singapore. Tien 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Wien Posted February 26 Share #9 Posted February 26 Welcome and congratulations! It sounds like a good price in the context of lack of new supplies. Heck out the threads on the half case. Some have reported that it scratches the camera, and suggested ways to prevent this. Show us your pictures! David 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgood Posted February 26 Author Share #10 Posted February 26 (edited) David: I think I should have been more specific by explaining that when I am in auto mode, have auto ISO on so the exposure compensation does make the image darker for lighter. Blueblood: Congratulations on your Q3. Getting the half case was good! I find the camera very easy to use and love it. It has a satisfying feel to the camera especially when I press the shutter release. I also like the photos. I made this photo this morning at Lake Needwood in Maryland, where I frequently walk. The camera is so easy to carry. It's a great camera to always have with you. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited February 26 by Bgood Added a sentence. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/389798-new-q3-owner/?do=findComment&comment=5058548'>More sharing options...
huwm Posted February 27 Share #11 Posted February 27 I was initially underwhelmed coming from the Q2 but have grown to appreciate it, flip screen, better EVF and low light performance. Anecdotally I seem to prefer the 'look' of mid sized raw to large, does anyone else? Obviously less resolution but only an issue if pixel peaking which I am trying to wean myself out of. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Wien Posted February 27 Share #12 Posted February 27 7 minutes ago, huwm said: Anecdotally I seem to prefer the 'look' of mid sized raw to large, does anyone else? Obviously less resolution but only an issue if pixel peaking which I am trying to wean myself out of. Could you demonstrate this with examples and describe why you think lower resolution is better? David Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwm Posted February 27 Share #13 Posted February 27 (edited) Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited February 27 by huwm resizing image Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/389798-new-q3-owner/?do=findComment&comment=5059931'>More sharing options...
huwm Posted February 27 Share #14 Posted February 27 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Had a look for similar files, am sure I have another pair These are unadulterated dng resized with preview Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Had a look for similar files, am sure I have another pair These are unadulterated dng resized with preview ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/389798-new-q3-owner/?do=findComment&comment=5059935'>More sharing options...
huwm Posted February 27 Share #15 Posted February 27 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/389798-new-q3-owner/?do=findComment&comment=5059939'>More sharing options...
huwm Posted February 27 Share #16 Posted February 27 (edited) Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Looking again I suspect it's a matter of personal taste and knowing what it actually looked like/what I wanted to capture Cold and overcast in Antwerp All I usually do is bring up the shadows a bit tbh and straighten the horizons 🤨 I have probably messed up the resizing 😅 Edited February 27 by huwm Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Looking again I suspect it's a matter of personal taste and knowing what it actually looked like/what I wanted to capture Cold and overcast in Antwerp All I usually do is bring up the shadows a bit tbh and straighten the horizons 🤨 I have probably messed up the resizing 😅 ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/389798-new-q3-owner/?do=findComment&comment=5059940'>More sharing options...
David Wien Posted February 27 Share #17 Posted February 27 I accept that it is difficult to do this experiment here, but thanks for trying! Could you give explanations of which is which. For instance, I enjoy the first picture more than the first, because of the greater detail (size related). David Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwm Posted February 27 Share #18 Posted February 27 Yes The 1st and 3rd are mid sized dng The 1st is probably the only one that will survive the 'cull' Looking forwards I feel the advantage of the large size dng will be cropability and I will try to get the hang of using the 35-50-75 lines This is something I'm not really accustomed to as I've tended towards a what you see is what you get framing style 😬 carrying an SL2S with a zoom to facilitate this Really looking forwards to spending more time with this camera as an always with me carry when I do Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Wien Posted February 27 Share #19 Posted February 27 (edited) I have found that there is indeed a learning curve involved. I came to Leica and the Q3 from a Canon EOS R6, whose only real disadvantage is that one needs to have the appropriate lens at all times, and carrying them all with me is heavy work! I am impressed by the ability to get excellent results by cropping Q3 photos generously. I give an unexpected example of this on another forum (posting at the top of the page). The full size of a Q3 image is 9520 x 6336 Px, and I often reduce this to 2000 x 1331 Px, which results in a file size of the order of 1.5 MB. In doing this, I find it advantageous to start with a full-size raw file in PhotoLab6, make the adjustments to levels, denoise if necessary, etc, and save as a full-size 16-bit tiff. I sometimes find sharpness is improved by Toppaz Sharpen AI, but far less often than I do with the 20MB Canon photos. (I dont have expensive L-series Canon lenses!) Because I am more used to using it for the final stages I then move to Photoshop CS5, where I reduce the size to c. 2000 in the long dimension and do minimal unsharp masking before saving as high quality .jpg. What amazes me is that the quality of a Q3 photo shows clearly even after it has been reduce so much This was the reason that I took an interest in the Q3 in the first place, having seen "low resolution" files of its output on DPRevived.com, and recognised their quality even though the images were much reduced. I then investigated, and discovered what camera had taken them. (Fuji 100MP photos give the same impression, but are out of my price range and use heavy gear.) For these reasons, I shoot the largest size of raw file. By the way, in my last post I meant to write: "I enjoy the first picture more than the second, because of the greater detail (size related)." Sorry! I wouldnt presume to tell anyone how to frame their shots, but I would observe that you had no choice in the case of those taken of the other side of the water; and this is often the case with me: I cant get any closer and when I am limited to the excellent 28mm lens, I crop. But I leave the decision of how much to crop until I get home in front of the computer. I dont use the 335-50-75 lines at all. David Edited February 27 by David Wien 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgood Posted Wednesday at 01:11 PM Author Share #20 Posted Wednesday at 01:11 PM A quick update. The SD card on my Q3 will no longer snap into place. This happened while I was on a trip. When I got home I took to back to the Leica Store in Washington, DC, where I puchased the camera. They are sending it to Leica in NJ for a repair. I have become quite attached to the Q3. I don't know how long the repair will take. I did look at the M11-P while I was in the store but I remain undecided. There just is something different about a Leica. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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