The new Leica Q3 43 - Review by Jonathan Slack

[jonoslack]

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42 minutes ago, Falco63 said:

Hello, Was Erica's portrait re-recorded at 120 in post production or is it an image out of the case without modification

 

Hi There

It was cropped in post processing (not re-recorded) to the same size as the 120mm frame lines would reproduce rather than actually cropping in camera. Other than the cropping there is a bit of usual contrast adjustment, but nothing radical. 

Is that what you meant?

[Falco63]

Yes absolutely, thank you

I wonder if the direct cropping in the camera (90-120-150) is of correct quality without post production processing.

I haven't bought the Q3 43 yet and I don't want to buy a Nikon zf hybrid with several lenses to carry

If the Q3 43 does the job on all focal lengths it's great to have a compact and easy-to-transport device

Thank you in advance for your help

[jonoslack]

25 minutes ago, Falco63 said:

Yes absolutely, thank you

I wonder if the direct cropping in the camera (90-120-150) is of correct quality without post production processing.

I haven't bought the Q3 43 yet and I don't want to buy a Nikon zf hybrid with several lenses to carry

If the Q3 43 does the job on all focal lengths it's great to have a compact and easy-to-transport device

Thank you in advance for your help

Well, if you shoot DNG, then the in camera cropping doesn’t actually crop it, it puts the crop marks int Lightroom as a directive. So it shows it cropped but you can still access the full image using the crop tool. The JPG will actually be cropped (but I don’t shoot JPG!). 
 

I personally feel that 150 is pushing it a bit, but it would be fine for an A4 print (and easily good enough for the internet)

All the best

 

[Falco63]

OK thank you very much

Good luck

[Smogg]

The Q3 43 is a great camera that is fun to shoot and produces beautiful pictures, but it can be made even better by adding the following options to the new firmware:

1. Correctly working focus lock

2. Quickly switch user profiles by swiping left-right instead of switching to video mode

3. Possibility to set auto-OIS to the desired speed

4. Disabling exposure preview in aperture priority mode and enabling preview only when the shutter button is half-pressed for better screen readability on a sunny day

5. Possibility to adjust auto-brightness of external screen

6. Ability to choose between frame and full screen when using Crop modes

[Leicaboy Norway]

57 minutes ago, Smogg said:

The Q3 43 is a great camera that is fun to shoot and produces beautiful pictures, but it can be made even better by adding the following options to the new firmware:

1. Correctly working focus lock

2. Quickly switch user profiles by swiping left-right instead of switching to video mode

3. Possibility to set auto-OIS to the desired speed

4. Disabling exposure preview in aperture priority mode and enabling preview only when the shutter button is half-pressed for better screen readability on a sunny day

5. Possibility to adjust auto-brightness of external screen

6. Ability to choose between frame and full screen when using Crop modes

 

Edited October 30, 2024 by Leicaboy Norway

[LocalHero1953]

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To those with the Q3 43, though I guess it's the same with the Q3. Does it use the same customisable Quick Menu and new icons as were introduced with the SL3? I know the SL3 came later than the Q3, but they might have been brought in by firmware update.

[Smogg]

5 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

To those with the Q3 43, though I guess it's the same with the Q3. Does it use the same customisable Quick Menu and new icons as were introduced with the SL3? I know the SL3 came later than the Q3, but they might have been brought in by firmware update.

Q3 43 is no different from Q3 in terms of menu and settings

[LocalHero1953]

4 minutes ago, Smogg said:

Q3 43 is no different from Q3 in terms of menu and settings

And does the Q3 (with latest firmware) use the SL3 customisable Quick Menu? I suspect the answer is no, but I'm just curious.

[Smogg]

7 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

And does the Q3 (with latest firmware) use the SL3 customisable Quick Menu? I suspect the answer is no, but I'm just curious.

No, there is no such functionality. In addition, a number of settings are simplified and cannot be adjusted compared to SL3

[Smogg]

I had an idea to make a website that would simulate the menu of different Leica cameras with different firmware. I even started writing a program. However, I eventually abandoned this idea, because I could not make it look nice.

[jonoslack]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

And does the Q3 (with latest firmware) use the SL3 customisable Quick Menu? I suspect the answer is no, but I'm just curious.

Not at the moment Paul - it would be a great update 🤞

[jonoslack]

3 hours ago, Smogg said:

The Q3 43 is a great camera that is fun to shoot and produces beautiful pictures, but it can be made even better by adding the following options to the new firmware:

1. Correctly working focus lock

2. Quickly switch user profiles by swiping left-right instead of switching to video mode

3. Possibility to set auto-OIS to the desired speed

4. Disabling exposure preview in aperture priority mode and enabling preview only when the shutter button is half-pressed for better screen readability on a sunny day

5. Possibility to adjust auto-brightness of external screen

6. Ability to choose between frame and full screen when using Crop modes

The AF-L will I'm sure be sorted so it works like the Q3. . . . not perfect 

I wish they would properly implement BBF. 

. . . . . . 

I also agree about 6. great update. 

best

Jono

[LocalHero1953]

25 minutes ago, jonoslack said:

Not at the moment Paul - it would be a great update 🤞

I will find out if they eventually do - I ordered one from Red Dot yesterday!

[jonoslack]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I will find out if they eventually do - I ordered one from Red Dot yesterday!

I'm sure you won't be disappointed - I love mine!

 

[LocalHero1953]

On 10/29/2024 at 2:20 PM, jonoslack said:

As for the noise, I'm not shooting critical indoor low light stuff like yours very often - I tend to use auto-iso and allow it to go to 25,000 (hoping it won't need to!). I haven't had much issue with noise - and I have used it in low light a fair amount. I tend to shoot it wide open anyway. Of course it has 'the same' sensor as the SL3 - but I would have thought it would be a great backup for your SL2-S.

 

Among my first photos today were these three, shot at ISO 12,500 and f/16. I have applied no noise reduction and I find them astonishing. The noise is visible but not at all ugly, and I'm sure I could easily remove it if I didn't quite like its film grain texture. They were at 12,500 because that was the maximum I'd allowed in the AutoISO settings.

[Daniel C.1975]

Am 4.10.2024 um 17:49 schrieb Cogito:

As promised report, received Alphagvrd black grip yesterday. It *is* darker and I think they've done as good a job as they could have, but not as grippy as original leatherette. My local Leica store, Los Angeles, is in the process of gearing up to do first party leatherette replacements and should be ready to go in about six weeks, I'll have standard Q3 black grip installed then.

Alphagvrd, $10 shipped:

https://alphagvrd.com/products/leica-q3-protection-skin-cover-wrap?srsltid=AfmBOoqifCSMrpGbrQlxwWDUEofhaC3W8XVIHCHhmAgOuxj9TAd9NQ70

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

Thanks, looks nice enough. Though, I would stick to the original to easily distinguish the 28 from 43mm in my bag. 😉

Oh man, I start to talk me😄 into something I said will not happen just a few weeks ago 

Edited November 10, 2024 by Daniel C.1975

[anonymoose]

I rented the Q3 43 for several days to see how it compares to the Q3. Observations:

• Menu system is slightly laggier on the 43 for some weird reason (both on same software version)
• 43 has a harder time with AF and I'm missing a noticeable number of shots (of a 1 year old that doesn't move that much) as a result
• Compression of the 43 is nice especially when you crop in 
• Undoubtedly better detail resolution when you crop
• Rendering of foreground is somewhat swirly (see below)
• 43mm focal length is interesting. Definitely "feels" like it's right between a 35 and 50 where it feels wide enough for landscape shots, but also intimate enough for portraits.
• The loss from f1.7 to f2 has resulted in noticeably noisier pictures for me

I'm keeping my Q3. The ~$3,000 USD to "upgrade" is not worth it at all. The AF issues alone make it a non-starter for me unless I only photograph my daughter with my Sony.

A few shots with the Q3 43 from Yosemite:

 

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Edited November 15, 2024 by anonymoose

[aficionados]

On 11/15/2024 at 11:19 AM, anonymoose said:

I rented the Q3 43 for several days to see how it compares to the Q3. Observations:

• Menu system is slightly laggier on the 43 for some weird reason (both on same software version)
• 43 has a harder time with AF and I'm missing a noticeable number of shots (of a 1 year old that doesn't move that much) as a result
• Compression of the 43 is nice especially when you crop in 
• Undoubtedly better detail resolution when you crop
• Rendering of foreground is somewhat swirly (see below)
• 43mm focal length is interesting. Definitely "feels" like it's right between a 35 and 50 where it feels wide enough for landscape shots, but also intimate enough for portraits.
• The loss from f1.7 to f2 has resulted in noticeably noisier pictures for me

I'm keeping my Q3. The ~$3,000 USD to "upgrade" is not worth it at all. The AF issues alone make it a non-starter for me unless I only photograph my daughter with my Sony.

A few shots with the Q3 43 from Yosemite:

 

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

I don’t know you what you talking about on point 1 and 2.

Comparing to Q3, the 43 has exactly same lagging and focusing speed. I don’t miss anything at all. Maybe you rented a lemon.

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[jmschuh]

No, the AF of the Q3 43 is indeed slower in low light than the AF of the Q 28, perhaps because more lens weight has to be moved internally. In my comparisons between the two cameras, however, I can clearly see that the Q3 43 finds it more difficult to focus quickly in low light.

On the other hand, I don't agree with his point that the difference between f1.7 and f2.0 leads to more noise. It's less than half an aperture difference. You have to look hard to see any difference. With the resolution and the actual low magnification factor, you shouldn't actually notice any noise in practice, unless you really push the camera to the limit with nonsensical settings (unnecessarily small aperture or short exposure time). For photographic practice, the difference of less than half an aperture is completely insignificant.

I also cannot confirm that the menus react more slowly.