Hello from a new Leica owner with a Q3

[Oxfordian]

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Hi, for a good while I had been considering a complete overhaul of my photography kit, which had grown out of control, it was Nikon based and a mix of 'F' and 'Z' mount kit with lots of duplication.

But no matter how often I sat down and lay all the kit out I could not make a decision about what to keep, do I keep the DSLR gear or the Mirrorless or a combination of, round and round I went not making a decision yet knowing that a decision had to be made. The other aspect was what did I want, I could have updated to the latest Z gear but that didn't fill me with any excitement, the Nikon kit is good, but owning a Z8 or Z9 just wasn't appealing.

Somewhere along the road the seed had been sown that I wanted a Leica, but what Leica.

A trip to London in February bought matters to a head, not far from our hotel was the Fuji store at Covent Garden, a visit there to play around with a X100VI whetted my appetite, I knew that having a fixed lens camera was the way forward, but they didn't have stock and there was no time frame when stock would be available. Day two and off to the next shop on my list to get a look at their selection of pre-loved Leica, and there standing the store holding a mint Q3 was the lightbulb moment.

A discussion about price, an offer to throw in a memory card, do a deal on some Leica accessories and some 30 minutes later I am walking out of the store a proud owner of a Q3.

What a revelation, it is brilliant, I just love using this camera, it takes me all the way back to those days of wandering around clutching a film camera with a lens and snapping what I saw, no big heavy bag to carry, no zooming the lens in and out to get the right aspect, just me and a camera containing a sensor with lots of mega pixels and a wonderful lump of glass stuck in front of that sensor. Absolute joy.

Back home and the Q3 excites every time I pick it up, my Nikon kit has been culled (in reality it was easy), two camera, six lenses and some accessories off to the p/x shop to help fund the purchase leaving me with a Zf plus two lenses taking me from 24 to 400mm for those moments when the Q3 isn't the right camera.

Initial results are astonishing, I'm spending less time editing and more time with my mouth open just stunned at what this camera achieves, for the first time in many a year I am seeing real photographic images on my screen not snaps, I am so excited about what I'm going to be able to achieve with this camera in the months and years to come.

The threads on the forum are great and provide useful insights and advice to a newbie owner and I hope to participate more fully in due course.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I do tend to rabbit a bit when posting, if you made it this far, thanks. 

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Tarekith]

Good call on the Q3!  I bought an X100VI late last year to use as my walk around fixed length fix, and to be honest it was soooo cheap feeling that I never enjoyed using it and sold it soon after.  While there’s obviously a huge difference in price compared to the Q3, the Q is just such a better built camera that’s something I look forward to using every day.

[keeping_a_balance]

Congratulations on buying the gateway drug to an M body.

Jokes aside, the Q is great, you will have fun.  

[Oxfordian]

13 minutes ago, keeping_a_balance said:

Congratulations on buying the gateway drug to an M body.

Jokes aside, the Q is great, you will have fun.  

Haha, I would like to say that the Q3 is all the Leica that I'll ever want, but that would be a lie as I'm already I'm looking at other Leica stuff and wondering how much I'll get for the rest of my Nikon kit.

Can I be saved?

 

[JNK100]

1 hour ago, Oxfordian said:

Haha, I would like to say that the Q3 is all the Leica that I'll ever want, but that would be a lie as I'm already I'm looking at other Leica stuff and wondering how much I'll get for the rest of my Nikon kit.

Can I be saved?

There is no known way of saving someone from this situation. I suggest you accept your fate whilst enjoying your Q3 which you surely will....

 

[RichardHurst]

I was in the same position but with Sony gear. So glad i sold it all to Park Cameras and picked up the Q3, the images are so detailed and the Jpegs are stunning. Now I always shoot in RAW but have been blown away by the jpegs also. My back is also thanking me now I've ditched the big Shimoda back pack and the 22kg it held. Now I have a tasty leather messenger style bag from Compagnon and a nice small/light peak design carbon trim pod. Happy days!

[taos]

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Congratulations on your purchase!

It’s been a month since I bought a Leica Q3 28, how happy! The photos are all beautiful, I’m especially surprised for the portraits that are sublimated by the "grain" of the image that fixes in an absolute way what I see at the moment, especially black and white Bern. uh....   Am I speaking correctly?... I went through a Sony and then a Lumix but I finally found what I was looking for, a discreet, compact and practical camera, very intuitive. I got myself a Billingham Compact Stonaway bag very beautiful and practical, no more need anything else a small bag and a small camera that makes very nice photos! Enjoy....