Does the Leica Q3 freeze like the M11?

[sebben]

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I am curious to know how reliable the Leica Q3 is for users. Has anyone had any problems? Does the Does the Leica Q3 freeze like the M11? Does the autofocus track well with phase detect or is it also weird like the SL3?

Trying to figure out if I should buy a used Q2, used Q3 or Leica Elmarit-M 2.8/28mm ASPH.

Edited June 26, 2024 by sebben

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[egrossman]

I own the Q3 and it hasn’t frozen on me yet. I’ve owned it a couple of months.

[sebben]

1 minute ago, egrossman said:

I own the Q3 and it hasn’t frozen on me yet. I’ve owned it a couple of months.

How is the autofocus? 

[egrossman]

Good (by Leica standards).

 

[Miltz]

Have the Camera since September. No issues.

[gotium]

Have been using a Q3 since August, no freezes. AF is excellent, by my standards. Even eye-detect is really good - not up to Sony level, but really quite good. It even finds the eye behind the eyeglasses most times. 

[Avatar]

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Got my Q3 last August. Love the autofocus, mostly use face body, etc detection.

I've shot about 2500 frames, zero issues..spectacular camera and the images are very close to my M11 (before I sold it).

Spectacular camera, zero complaints.

I'd much rather own the Q3 over the Q2. All the little things add up to a lot of reasons..but there's many threads I am sure that go into that!

 

 

Edited June 27, 2024 by Avatar

[ChrisQ3]

8 hours ago, sebben said:

I am curious to know how reliable the Leica Q3 is for users. Has anyone had any problems? Does the Does the Leica Q3 freeze like the M11? Does the autofocus track well with phase detect or is it also weird like the SL3?

Trying to figure out if I should buy a used Q2, used Q3 or Leica Elmarit-M 2.8/28mm ASPH.

Yes!!! Unfortunately despite having the latest firmware, my Q3 freezes quite regularly. I can’t find any commonality in when it freezes… It can happen once a month or three times a day… I have experimented with both the mechanical or electronic shutter, different ISO’s, shutter speeds etc etc - there appears no one setting that causes it.  So frustrating when with a client, having to remove the handgrip, before removing the battery.  (My Fuji’s have never once done this!)  I adore the Q3, but these freezes, are really frustrating!!! 

Edited June 27, 2024 by ChrisQ3
Typo

[JNK100]

I have had a Q3 for eights months with no issues at all.

"Freezing" will be caused by poorly-formatted cards or unsuitable cards.

[Simone_DF]

10 hours ago, sebben said:

Does the autofocus track well with phase detect or is it also weird like the SL3?

It’s the same Maestro IV chip and the same 60mp sensor, all powered by the same technology. 
I’d expect the SL3 autofocus to be better performing than the Q3, because lenses also make a difference, and I doubt the lens of the Q has the same high performance motors of more recent offerings.

[Qwertynm]

I have had my Q3 since launch in may 2023 and it froze on FW 1.1 once and then never again. I use a Sony Tough M 128GB V60 card and always format the card in camera. Others have had success with San Disk cards well. There are many threads on here already discussing this.

Eye-Body-Autofocus has become much better since launch. It was a jittery mess at first and is now much more composed but still not on par with my Canon R5 in AF-C. But with a 28mm it's not that big of a deal and usually works well enough.

I can't echo @ChrisQ3's experience and if this were my camera, I'd bring it back to Leica ASAP as this is certainly a faulty camera.

If you can live with 28mm fixed FL and the cropping-concept of the Q series, then it's a marvelous tool despite it's quirks.

[sebben]

6 minutes ago, Qwertynm said:

If you can live with 28mm fixed FL and the cropping-concept of the Q series, then it's a marvelous tool despite it's quirks.

I had the original Leica Q but the viewfinder was not the best experience. I also wasn't a particular fan of the lens.

I suppose this time around I am drawn to the photo quality of the sensor of the Q3 and the improved EVF. I do worry though if every time I use it I will wonder again why I am not just shooting the M. 

Wide-Angle photography with a realtime view is somewhat of a draw. 

 

 

[Photo_Rick]

Auto-focus:  It's fine.  Among recently-manufactured cameras, I have only Nikon Z5, Z6ii, to compare it with but I have no issues.

Freezing:  Yes.  I communicated with Leica on this but received no response other than to acknowledge my concern.  I think the recent firmware upgrade may have helped this but I cannot be certain.  I think -- again, not positive -- at least part of the "freezing:" issue may be changing position of the power switch when the camera is booting or shutting down.  After all, it's a computer and computers don't like this sort of thing much.  The Q3 takes a bit longer to start up than other cameras I have used and I think some of this may be the issue -- human factors really.  One must be patient.  (I absolutely do not believe the freezing issue is related to the SD card -- at least in my case.  I acknowledge the importance of using high quality cards and a good format.  That's not the issue here.)

Overall:  I'd buy it again.  In a minute.  The lens and that 60mp sensor, in particular, are extraordinary. 

 

Edited June 27, 2024 by Photo_Rick

[sebben]

@Photo_Rick

Does the EVF still drop in resolution when autofocusing, has the viewfinder black out improved? It is hard to know what has changed with the camera with the firmware updates.

[RobW0]

I have not had any problems with my Q3, but I also have not had any problems with my M11-P or M11-M. So I guess you can say my Q3 is the same as my M11’s. 

[gotium]

15 hours ago, sebben said:

I had the original Leica Q but the viewfinder was not the best experience. I also wasn't a particular fan of the lens.

I suppose this time around I am drawn to the photo quality of the sensor of the Q3 and the improved EVF.

I wouldn't get the Q3 over the original Q for either of those reasons. 

[Viewfinder_vandals]

personally i wouldnt get one of the new Models. Especially in this Price Range With this Problems 🥴

[Le Chef]

The Q3 viewfinder is a significant upgrade from the Q2.

I have no issues with the lens, but then I process all my shots in Lightroom.

And I have had no issues with blackouts or freezes.

Would I buy the Q3 again if mine was lost or stolen? Absolutely!

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[ChrisQ3]

On 6/27/2024 at 9:52 AM, Qwertynm said:

I have had my Q3 since launch in may 2023 and it froze on FW 1.1 once and then never again. I use a Sony Tough M 128GB V60 card and always format the card in camera. Others have had success with San Disk cards well. There are many threads on here already discussing this.

Eye-Body-Autofocus has become much better since launch. It was a jittery mess at first and is now much more composed but still not on par with my Canon R5 in AF-C. But with a 28mm it's not that big of a deal and usually works well enough.

I can't echo @ChrisQ3's experience and if this were my camera, I'd bring it back to Leica ASAP as this is certainly a faulty camera.

If you can live with 28mm fixed FL and the cropping-concept of the Q series, then it's a marvelous tool despite it's quirks.

I don't think its a faulty camera. I just think, like with a computer, it crashes occasionally.... As I say, it could happen just once a month, other times up to 3 times a day.... Its not a big deal, just so frustrating... 

[M11 for me]

vor 21 Stunden schrieb Viewfinder_vandals:

personally i wouldnt get one of the new Models. Especially in this Price Range With this Problems 🥴

In the video its stated that Q3 and M11 share the same sensor. This is wrong. First of all the DR is different. Only when shooting the Q3 in M-DNG you reach 15 Lightvalues of DR whereas the M11 does this with the full 60 MPix in DNG. The colour rendering is fully different too. Personally I prefer the sensor of the M11 but its a bit a question of taste: Q3 tends towards green whereas the M11 goes towards Magenta. In post you can adapt this of course. With the Q3 it takes me much longer to get the colours I want. I had to create a special import profile (Lightroom Classic) for the Q3. The M11 is doing fine straight out of cam (my view only!!).