Q Series - Simple tips for beginners, the confused and the lazy - please add yours.

[Le Chef]

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The save yourself grief and heartache tip.

Do a search of this forum for answers before you ask your question. The chances are that it's been asked before, maybe many times before. So for example "Shake", "Rattle", "Hum", will take you to the fact that it's normal for these noises to be heard coming from a Q, Q-P, Q2, Q2M, Q3 28, Q3 43. It's a byproduct of the OIS system.

If those search terms instead lead you to U2's home page, you're in the wrong forum...

[Rich1]

Bit off the wall - But if you like to keep your camera in your bag and want to know if it is worth taking it out of your bag i.e. are you in best position / distance from subject then “viewfinder” app on your phone is a quick way of checking.

You can set the phone camera to any film format 6x4, 5x4, 3x1, 5x7 etc and any focal length you want….in my case just set to 35mm full frame and 43mm. Also handy if you don’t want to advertise the £6k in your hand just to frame up to see if a shot is worth it.

[anonymoose]

On 9/16/2024 at 3:05 AM, shuttershaz said:

Perhaps people can give tips on the following two topics:

1. What "Profile" do you use in Lightroom?: Adobe Color, Adobe Standard v2, or Embedded
2. What is your typical aperture range? I find myself not going much past F5 usually

1. I'd say about 75% of the time I use Embedded. The other 25% of the time I use Adobe Color.

2. As for aperture:

- Portraits/still-life: f1.7-f2.8, sometimes stretch up to f4 if there's enough light. 

- Landscapes: f2.8-f4, sometimes down to f1.7 if I find some interesting foreground, sometimes up to f7.1 depending on lighting conditions and the scene

Edited January 4 by anonymoose

[stuny]

The vast majority of the time I keep the aperture at 1.7, but if I need more depth of field, or less light I stop down accordingly.

[Rich1]

Most will know but newbies may not - fine tune shutter speed in small increments than the main top dial by using the dial on far right used for ISO, used for ISO when pressing button on dial

[saxbike]

I am a new owner of the Q3 but have been experiencing digital photography for over 16 years and film before then. I want to thank everyone for posting these tips as they have been very helpful in getting me oriented to the Q3.  I am very impressed with Profiles and have been making extensive use of them.  I initially downloaded a set of profiles from Hudson Henry but have since transformed them into my working solutions.  Here is what I have ended up with:  #1 - standard walk around, handheld, color, DNG only; #2 - Monochrome high contrast, dng & jpg; #3 - Landscape on tripod, image stabilization off, spot metering, grid and level, dng only; #4 - Portrait/people, eye-face detect, AFc, NAT, auto iso, high shutter speed; #5 - Action  AFc, tracking, jpg only, 800 iso, NAT; #6 - Architecture Perspective control on, dng & jpg, iaF, STD color.

[motard]

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Am 2.1.2025 um 16:23 schrieb Rich1:

... But if you like to keep your camera in your bag and want to know ..... “viewfinder” app on your phone is a quick way of checking....

even more quick and more simple: regard the scene through a slide-frame: the distance between your eye and the frame is the same as the focal length you need to have the same picture as you see in the frame

[rich_]

Thanks for sharing. I've owned the Q1,2,3,43 and i only discovered that today after reading your message that the center circle of the scroll wheel to the righthand of the shutter top down, was a button that lets you set ISO (Or probably other things) 🤦‍♂️ - I'm not sure when this was added but very useful. I'd never tried to push down on the center part before!

On 1/12/2025 at 5:54 AM, Rich1 said:

Most will know but newbies may not - fine tune shutter speed in small increments than the main top dial by using the dial on far right used for ISO, used for ISO when pressing button on dial

 

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[ianforber]

2 hours ago, rich_ said:

Thanks for sharing. I've owned the Q1,2,3,43 and i only discovered that today after reading your message that the center circle of the scroll wheel to the righthand of the shutter top down, was a button that lets you set ISO (Or probably other things) 🤦‍♂️ - I'm not sure when this was added but very useful. I'd never tried to push down on the center part before!

 

 

Yes, it’s a function button. You can set it up so that a long press brings up a list of options you want to assign to it (I have ISO and user profile but you can have a longer list of options)). Choose which one you want to use and the a quick press of the inner button activates that role to the wheel. Unless you e changed the role of the wheel completely, when you have finished and you’re ready to take a picture, a half (full?) press of the shutter button reverts the wheel to being an exposure compensation wheel. 

[Aram Langhans]

On 1/20/2025 at 10:09 AM, motard said:

even more quick and more simple: regard the scene through a slide-frame: the distance between your eye and the frame is the same as the focal length you need to have the same picture as you see in the frame

Interesting.   Since when is it a bother to swing a Q up to the eye and actually look through the viewfinder?  It is such a nice small(ish) camera that if I am out with it, it is never in a bag but around my neck or in my hand always ready. 

[Aram Langhans]

11 minutes ago, ianforber said:

Yes, it’s a function button. You can set it up so that a long press brings up a list of options you want to assign to it (I have ISO and user profile but you can have a longer list of options)). Choose which one you want to use and the a quick press of the inner button activates that role to the wheel. Unless you e changed the role of the wheel completely, when you have finished and you’re ready to take a picture, a half (full?) press of the shutter button reverts the wheel to being an exposure compensation wheel. 

Mine is set to switch between the EVF and the back screen modes of operation.  ISO is easily changed with quick menu.  I love how you can personalize all the buttons to suit your particular style of shooting.  And I love profiles.  I don't know why every brand of camera has not jumped all over this one.

[mantelknopf]

Mine is set to AF Lock. With the new firmware you fix the focus as long as you want.

[Ramki]

On 7/14/2024 at 3:55 AM, Trankster said:

User Profiles (page 61). When your settings are perfected for a particular situation, save the settings to a User Profile (menu 4).  You have 6 profiles available which can be named.  For instance, I have profiles for general purposes (my starting point), mono, B&W high contrast, action (grandkids) and landscape. Start with user profile 1 and build other profiles from there. You can save your profiles by exporting (menu 4, manage profiles, export) which is important when updating firmware or resetting the  camera.

EVF-LCD Settings (page 66).  My display setting (menu 5) is set to EVF extended as I mainly focus and compose through viewfinder.

Customize function buttons (menu 5 Customize Control) for your most common functions.  For instance, my function button 2 is set for AE-L to lock exposure and thumbwheel button is set for user profile.

Favorites menu (page 58).  Can assign your most used menu items (menu 4 customized control). 

 

Hi. Is there a tutorial that teaches beginners how to set these profiles and the best recommended settings(though personal preference varies) for different genre?

[Ramki]

On 1/20/2025 at 11:14 PM, saxbike said:

I am a new owner of the Q3 but have been experiencing digital photography for over 16 years and film before then. I want to thank everyone for posting these tips as they have been very helpful in getting me oriented to the Q3.  I am very impressed with Profiles and have been making extensive use of them.  I initially downloaded a set of profiles from Hudson Henry but have since transformed them into my working solutions.  Here is what I have ended up with:  #1 - standard walk around, handheld, color, DNG only; #2 - Monochrome high contrast, dng & jpg; #3 - Landscape on tripod, image stabilization off, spot metering, grid and level, dng only; #4 - Portrait/people, eye-face detect, AFc, NAT, auto iso, high shutter speed; #5 - Action  AFc, tracking, jpg only, 800 iso, NAT; #6 - Architecture Perspective control on, dng & jpg, iaF, STD color.

Hi can you please let me know the settings that use for different genre? Why switch IS off for landscape? Hope you don't mind my questions. I am just started to learn photography.

[Tarekith]

1 hour ago, Ramki said:

Hi can you please let me know the settings that use for different genre? Why switch IS off for landscape? Hope you don't mind my questions. I am just started to learn photography.

If you’re doing landscape then usually you’re using a tripod so there’s no need to have image stabilization on. If you’re not using a tripod for landscape, obviously leave it on. Though to be honest, I’ve always left it on for all my cameras even on a tripod.  Never had any issues with sharpness as a result. 

Edited February 6 by Tarekith

[Trankster]

2 hours ago, Ramki said:

Hi. Is there a tutorial that teaches beginners how to set these profiles and the best recommended settings(though personal preference varies) for different genre?

You might check out videos from Mathphotographer on YouTube 

Once you find the settings you prefer you can save those as your first profile. Then, build additional profiles as needed that serve your needs and style.

[saxbike]

On 2/6/2025 at 8:59 AM, Ramki said:

Hi can you please let me know the settings that use for different genre? Why switch IS off for landscape? Hope you don't mind my questions. I am just started to learn photography.

I apologize for not responding sooner.  Someone else gave the reason for turning off IS when shooting on a tripod.  I have shot many times on a tripod, forgetting to turn off IS, and only rarely have I seen flaws that could be attributed to the IS system.  These have usually occurred in very long exposures, but I would rather turn it off to eliminate that excuse.  My Landscape/Tripod settings include spot focus (I use the screen to select focus point most of the time), grid lines, DNG only, no IS, level on, histogram on.  I have another profile for shooting action, such as my grandkids' basketball games.  These settings include AFc, tracking, jpg only, four fps mode, and VIVID.  I also have a profile for people/portraits:  AFc, face/eye detect, DNG+jpg, NAT.  My B&W profile uses the Monochrome HC and results in DNG+jpg.  Finally I have a profile for architecture that utilizes the perspective control for the jpgs.  I like to use it even though I will ultimately edit the DNG in Capture One and correct the perspective in post.  Having the jpg with PC is valuable to me as it helps me to compose and estimate the image area that will be lost to the PC.

I have been photographing for many years, but the Q3 is new to me (one month).  However, I seem to have adapted to it very well and have been impressed with how intuitive the camera is.

[PeterCL]

Ramki -- Hudson Henry has a complete video that goes through how to set up the Q3.  It is totally applicable to the Q3 43 as well.

He goes into detail about how the create User Profiles, and, in addition, he gives a link to his User Profiles which you can download and install on your camera.  I did this, and I had no problems. After I installed them, the only thing I've changed (so far) is his settings for the F1 button.

[PeterCL]

Oops, forgot to include a link to the Hudson Henry video.

 

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[Ramki]

On 1/20/2025 at 11:14 PM, saxbike said:

I am a new owner of the Q3 but have been experiencing digital photography for over 16 years and film before then. I want to thank everyone for posting these tips as they have been very helpful in getting me oriented to the Q3.  I am very impressed with Profiles and have been making extensive use of them.  I initially downloaded a set of profiles from Hudson Henry but have since transformed them into my working solutions.  Here is what I have ended up with:  #1 - standard walk around, handheld, color, DNG only; #2 - Monochrome high contrast, dng & jpg; #3 - Landscape on tripod, image stabilization off, spot metering, grid and level, dng only; #4 - Portrait/people, eye-face detect, AFc, NAT, auto iso, high shutter speed; #5 - Action  AFc, tracking, jpg only, 800 iso, NAT; #6 - Architecture Perspective control on, dng & jpg, iaF, STD color.

Hi can you please let me know the settings that use for different genre? Why switch IS off for landscape? Hope you don't mind my questions. I am just started to learn photography.