Got in a lot of time with new Q3, WOW! image quality

[ALScott]

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This past weekend I was on a trip to see granddaughter and was able to shoot a lot with the Q3.  For me, it has a bit of a learning curve.  Coming from EOS equipment and always setting up AF on the back to use with my thumb was a bigger change than I thought it would be.  Plus, the AF is so quiet it's weird not to have a sort of feel of it working.   I am still not used to the PASM modes, not sure I fully understand them.  I was getting a ton of motion blur and soft focus but then switched to choosing aperture and shutter speed and leaving auto ISO on.  That seemed to work better for me.  What i can't get down is the focus modes, single, continuous and iAF.  I am really still in the dark on the AF Metering Modes.  I mostly stuck with Field as it seemed to be the simplest and most straightforward.  I tried the sports mode with tracking and it did not really seem to do well, a lot of out of focus pics of her on a scooter.  It may be me but I would have nailed 95%+ of those with my Canon.  Image quality in every sense crushes anything I have ever had before.  It blew my mind when reviewing the pics.  I do love the camera and am super glad I bought it.  If anyone has tips on AF and Metering Modes it would be appreciated.  Yes, I have read the manual.  

[David Wien]

26 minutes ago, ALScott said:

This past weekend I was on a trip to see granddaughter and was able to shoot a lot with the Q3.  For me, it has a bit of a learning curve.  Coming from EOS equipment and always setting up AF on the back to use with my thumb was a bigger change than I thought it would be.  Plus, the AF is so quiet it's weird not to have a sort of feel of it working.   I am still not used to the PASM modes, not sure I fully understand them.  I was getting a ton of motion blur and soft focus but then switched to choosing aperture and shutter speed and leaving auto ISO on.  That seemed to work better for me.  What i can't get down is the focus modes, single, continuous and iAF.  I am really still in the dark on the AF Metering Modes.  I mostly stuck with Field as it seemed to be the simplest and most straightforward.  I tried the sports mode with tracking and it did not really seem to do well, a lot of out of focus pics of her on a scooter.  It may be me but I would have nailed 95%+ of those with my Canon.  Image quality in every sense crushes anything I have ever had before.  It blew my mind when reviewing the pics.  I do love the camera and am super glad I bought it.  If anyone has tips on AF and Metering Modes it would be appreciated.  Yes, I have read the manual.  

Congratulations on your Q3, AL. I am also still making the transition from EOS R6 (which I keep for ultra wide and telephoto needs). I use the Fv option on the Canon and find that I can transfer that thinking to the Leica (and make the adjustments faster on the Q3!); but generally the transition involves a steep learning curve. The method you describe is one that I use half the time. The other option I use is setting aperture and ISO, and letting the camera choose shutter speed (i.e. auto, as long as it is not too slow!) Sorry, I have not tried Afc focussing yet, but it should work with your granddaughter. As far as metering is concerned, I use spot and set focus on the half press, then recomposing the scene. If you use spot also on focussing, both measurements happen together. If you are saving raw, there are usually about 2 stops safety margin, and you can back highlights off in post-processing. However, there is no substitute for practising.

David

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[M Street Photographer]

I have also been the new owner of a Q3 for four days, but I can tell you about my photography experience.

Children and action can of course sometimes be very fast and so I would definitely choose the following setting:

AFS single field, manual mode, Auto ISO up too 6.400 and time 1/500 or 1/1000, the apture is free from 1.7 to 5.6, thats ever sharp.

Of course, you can also use the AF tracking AFC with single spot here. However, it only works halfway well. If the object is moving from right to left it works fine, if it is moving towards you the AFC on the Q3 gets worse. Alternatively, you can also activate face focus or eye focus. The most important thing is to choose a short exposure time for fast objects. Just try some of our advice.

 

Edited March 19 by M Street Photographer

[Le Chef]

I would read Jono Slack’s review of the Q3 and the settings he prefers.

https://www.slack.co.uk/leica-q3.html

[David Wien]

An alternative authoritative description of menu settings is here.

David

Edited March 19 by David Wien

[bwhip]

You might find this helpful as well:

https://www.overgaard.dk/Leica-Q3-digital-rangefinder-camera-the-perfect-menu.html

[charles tay]

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11 hours ago, ALScott said:

This past weekend I was on a trip to see granddaughter and was able to shoot a lot with the Q3.  For me, it has a bit of a learning curve.  Coming from EOS equipment and always setting up AF on the back to use with my thumb was a bigger change than I thought it would be.  Plus, the AF is so quiet it's weird not to have a sort of feel of it working.   I am still not used to the PASM modes, not sure I fully understand them.  I was getting a ton of motion blur and soft focus but then switched to choosing aperture and shutter speed and leaving auto ISO on.  That seemed to work better for me.  What i can't get down is the focus modes, single, continuous and iAF.  I am really still in the dark on the AF Metering Modes.  I mostly stuck with Field as it seemed to be the simplest and most straightforward.  I tried the sports mode with tracking and it did not really seem to do well, a lot of out of focus pics of her on a scooter.  It may be me but I would have nailed 95%+ of those with my Canon.  Image quality in every sense crushes anything I have ever had before.  It blew my mind when reviewing the pics.  I do love the camera and am super glad I bought it.  If anyone has tips on AF and Metering Modes it would be appreciated.  Yes, I have read the manual.  

Congratulations on your new camera! I used to own a Leica Q2, but I sold it to switch to a Fuji XT5. However, after a while, I missed the iconic look of the Leica Q, so I decided to switch back.

As a new user, it is recommended to get a screen protector for the LCD and one for the EVF to prevent scratches. I have scratched my Leica Q2 EVF in the past and had to get it replaced.

I just got my Leica Q3 less than a week ago and I'm still learning how to use it. I've been experimenting with the iAF and subject tracking features, as well as trying out some shots using the 2 FPS. To help me learn, I've been watching videos on the Red Dot Forum and Leica Australia YouTube channels to learn about the different settings and menu options.

[Viv]

I get good results with my Q2. As someone who grew up shooting film, I never use auto ISO.

[Qwertynm]

AF with little kids is not the Q3s strong suit in my experience. I use spot-AF and face-tracking and switch between the two as face tracking doesn't reliably work with small humans

[algrove]

I just leave mine on eye/detect and single AF. Also set my Auto ISO to 50,000 with min SS of 1/500. In this way if camera ever its your Auto ISO setting it will reduce your desired min SS down to a slower SS. This I do not want to happen. I used to set my Auto ISO to 6400 and all too often it would hit that and then automatically reduce my SS to slower levels I was not happy with, espcially now that it has 60MP.

[adrianh]

If you don't shoot sports or fast moving objects/animals then 1/500 is way over the top (if you don't have any trembling issues). 1/125 should be fine usually. If you are in the bright sun, it does not matter, but the moment you are somewhere inside, you are pushing the ISO very fast towards high values. I agree that noise is better than camera shake, but still...

[ALScott]

Sports was my bag the entire time I was a working photographer and I almost never went over 1/500.  I just figured out tonight that if you press down on the ISO dial it allows you to choose whatever ISO up to AUTO.  So, tonight I was true manual which is mostly what I shot in my working days.  Back then though 25,000 ISO was never on the table.  It worked out great.  I laughed out loud at myself when I realized you had to press down to have full ISO control.  I am loving this camera.  Now I am trying to decide if I go M11 or SL3 for next one.  I never thought either would even be in play when I got Q3.

[charles tay]

6 hours ago, ALScott said:

Sports was my bag the entire time I was a working photographer and I almost never went over 1/500.  I just figured out tonight that if you press down on the ISO dial it allows you to choose whatever ISO up to AUTO.  So, tonight I was true manual which is mostly what I shot in my working days.  Back then though 25,000 ISO was never on the table.  It worked out great.  I laughed out loud at myself when I realized you had to press down to have full ISO control.  I am loving this camera.  Now I am trying to decide if I go M11 or SL3 for next one.  I never thought either would even be in play when I got Q3.

As soon as I got Q3 and loved the image quality, I started looking at SL3. I sold all my Fuji Gears and ordered SL3 after some consideration.

I chose the SL3 over the m11 because of its interchangeable lens system, body design, and processor. The most important thing is that I can use Manual M lenses, L mount lenses, and APO SL lenses if I want. As of now, I only have a Leica 50mm M lens to mount on the SL body.