chris_tribble Posted June 4 Share #1 Posted June 4 Advertisement (gone after registration) I’m just back from a journey to see a friend from my childhood (after a 60 year gap)! Travelling by train we passed through Brussels on our way to Ülm in Bavaria and thence to a village half a hour to the south. After a few days there, it was down to Switzerland to see family, back up for a concert my friend was singing in, and then home through Brussels again. A great journey and a great reunion. In the past I’d have taken M10 + 35 and either a 75 or 90. This time I took just the Q3 43 - and it was a delight. I was happy cropping some shots beyond 90, and rarely felt the lack of a wider focal length. As an example of the versatility of the camera, some incidental observations of landscapes, (a lot of) Baroque churches, and various street scenes can be found at: https://www.ctribble.co.uk/galleries/PERSONAL/A_spring_journey_2025/ I’d be interested to hear how others feel about this, and what you’ll be packing for the next trip. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 4 Posted June 4 Hi chris_tribble, Take a look here Q3 43 - The ideal travel companion. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Le Chef Posted June 4 Share #2 Posted June 4 I think a lot of it depends on what you like to shoot. If you look at the EXIF data from your past shots that should help you decide. Most of my shots are in the 16mm to 50mm range with a bias to 28mm. While I have a Q3 43 it gets used for certain types of street photography, whereas the Q3 28 is much more of a Swiss Army knife with the ability to crop in Lightroom later. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinj Posted June 5 Share #3 Posted June 5 4 hours ago, chris_tribble said: I’m just back from a journey to see a friend from my childhood (after a 60 year gap)! Travelling by train we passed through Brussels on our way to Ülm in Bavaria and thence to a village half a hour to the south. After a few days there, it was down to Switzerland to see family, back up for a concert my friend was singing in, and then home through Brussels again. A great journey and a great reunion. In the past I’d have taken M10 + 35 and either a 75 or 90. This time I took just the Q3 43 - and it was a delight. I was happy cropping some shots beyond 90, and rarely felt the lack of a wider focal length. As an example of the versatility of the camera, some incidental observations of landscapes, (a lot of) Baroque churches, and various street scenes can be found at: https://www.ctribble.co.uk/galleries/PERSONAL/A_spring_journey_2025/ I’d be interested to hear how others feel about this, and what you’ll be packing for the next trip. If the focal length works, then the Q3 43 is a great do-it-all camera for travel. This is assuming one is okay with no redundancy - in case that one camera malfunctions or is lost. Some of my most memorable photos ever are from a trip along Highway 1 in California with one camera, one lens - M9 and 50'Lux. And I had only one battery. I stopped shooting when the battery ran out and turned back to San Francisco. I can certainly see Q3 28 or Q3 43 fitting the bill for such a trip, though I am still conflicted about the 28 vs 43. Keeping both for now. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trankster Posted June 5 Share #4 Posted June 5 With several plane trips in 2024 and 2025 this year to see the grandkids and a visit to Yosemite in March, I was quite satisfied with the Q3 43 as my only camera. I rarely felt the need for anything wider and just stepped back or changed location (reverse zoom with my feet) to get more in the frame when desired. Also, if I find the need for wide or ultra wide angle I could always (blasphemy I know!) use my smartphone. I do have another camera system with ultra wide and long telephoto lenses currently sitting on a shelf which I am keeping for special situations. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinj Posted June 5 Share #5 Posted June 5 To add, I use stitched panos with the Q for those rare occasions when I want to go wide. Works nicely for my use. And with cropping one can cover a really wide range. [url=https://flic.kr/p/2r91JRx][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54568287873_961aa21b0e_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2r91JRx]z-small-Q2-Yosemite-42[/url] [url=https://flic.kr/p/2r8V7HV][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54567190767_e23ba14c7f.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2r8V7HV]z-small-Q2-Yosemite-52[/url] 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarekith Posted June 5 Share #6 Posted June 5 27 minutes ago, Trankster said: With several plane trips in 2024 and 2025 this year to see the grandkids and a visit to Yosemite in March, I was quite satisfied with the Q3 43 as my only camera. I rarely felt the need for anything wider and just stepped back or changed location (reverse zoom with my feet) to get more in the frame when desired. Also, if I find the need for wide or ultra wide angle I could always (blasphemy I know!) use my smartphone. I do have another camera system with ultra wide and long telephoto lenses currently sitting on a shelf which I am keeping for special situations. Pretty much exactly my thoughts about the Q43 as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithlaban.co.uk Posted June 5 Share #7 Posted June 5 Advertisement (gone after registration) My two trips so far this year have totalled a month away. On the first I packed my Q3 43, a Nikon Z7 body and 4 lenses. The Nikon and lenses never left the accommodation. Packed the same for the second trip and apart from one day I shot the Q3 43 exclusively. But that single exceptional day was very important and preplanned, shooting with the Nikon Z7 with a 85mm for further reach. There's no doubt the Q3 43 has become my favourite carry-around camera. But all that said, I would never travel with only one camera/lens. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted June 5 Author Share #8 Posted June 5 8 hours ago, ravinj said: To add, I use stitched panos with the Q for those rare occasions when I want to go wide. Works nicely for my use. And with cropping one can cover a really wide range. [url=https://flic.kr/p/2r91JRx][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54568287873_961aa21b0e_c.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2r91JRx]z-small-Q2-Yosemite-42[/url] [url=https://flic.kr/p/2r8V7HV][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54567190767_e23ba14c7f.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/2r8V7HV]z-small-Q2-Yosemite-52[/url] @ravinj Afraid these didn't show. Can try re-posting? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted June 5 Share #9 Posted June 5 It’s down to trying to link to Flickr. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted June 5 Author Share #10 Posted June 5 (edited) 36 minutes ago, keithlaban.co.uk said: My two trips so far this year have totalled a month away. On the first I packed my Q3 43, a Nikon Z7 body and 4 lenses. The Nikon and lenses never left the accommodation. Packed the same for the second trip and apart from one day I shot the Q3 43 exclusively. But that single exceptional day was very important and preplanned, shooting with the Nikon Z7 with a 85mm for further reach. There's no doubt the Q3 43 has become my favourite carry-around camera. But all that said, I would never travel with only one camera/lens. 9 hours ago, Trankster said: With several plane trips in 2024 and 2025 this year to see the grandkids and a visit to Yosemite in March, I was quite satisfied with the Q3 43 as my only camera. I rarely felt the need for anything wider and just stepped back or changed location (reverse zoom with my feet) to get more in the frame when desired. Also, if I find the need for wide or ultra wide angle I could always (blasphemy I know!) use my smartphone. I do have another camera system with ultra wide and long telephoto lenses currently sitting on a shelf which I am keeping for special situations. A couple of thoughts. Shooting wide - I agree that pano in LR can give real confidence for shots that would other require an xpan or cropped very wide lens. Example below - just two images stitched in LR Classic. OK - it wouldn't work for an estate agent doing interiors, but it's great for my purposes. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Shooting longer - for printing up to A3+ I'm growing in confidence that output from the Q3 43 will give great results at 75 - and also at 90. Original showing crop area below + selected image and 100% zone. The selected image prints very well - and clearly it works for web! Edited June 5 by chris_tribble Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Shooting longer - for printing up to A3+ I'm growing in confidence that output from the Q3 43 will give great results at 75 - and also at 90. Original showing crop area below + selected image and 100% zone. The selected image prints very well - and clearly it works for web! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/421891-q3-43-the-ideal-travel-companion/?do=findComment&comment=5812786'>More sharing options...
Oxfordian Posted June 5 Share #11 Posted June 5 I am very happy with the wide aspect of my Q3/28, I like the FOV that the 28mm gives me, if I am going to need anything longer then I can add my SL2 and a lens or two into the bag. The Q3/43 was given consideration but I felt the overall view was too narrow, I feel that there are situations where a 28 or thereabouts is of more use to my photography that the 43. But thanks to Leica we have choice of two great cameras, I am more than happy to travel with just the Q3, camera reliability is much better now than it ever has been and I always have a phone in my pocket should the worst happen. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc_P Posted June 5 Share #12 Posted June 5 Completely agree with Chris. The Q3 43 is imho a gamechanger: near ApoSummicron L-Mount lens quality (the Q3 28 Summilux isn‘t for sure in this legue) in a compact format with 61MPix sensor. Crop, stitch for wide. Small and performant… Easy EDC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simone_DF Posted June 5 Share #13 Posted June 5 Last winter I went to Morocco only with the Q43, plus a film camera with a 35mm. At the beginning I was a bit concerned, I thought I was going to miss shots in the narrow souks etc, but in the end that was not a problem at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithlaban.co.uk Posted June 5 Share #14 Posted June 5 40 minutes ago, chris_tribble said: A couple of thoughts. Shooting wide - I agree that pano in LR can give real confidence for shots that would other require an xpan or cropped very wide lens. Example below - just two images stitched in LR Classic. OK - it wouldn't work for an estate agent doing interiors, but it's great for my purposes. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Shooting longer - for printing up to A3+ I'm growing in confidence that output from the Q3 43 will give great results at 75 - and also at 90. Original showing crop area below + selected image and 100% zone. The selected image prints very well - and clearly it works for web! Generally I'm happy to crop to a chosen format/proportion in post with the Q3 43 and do so regularly, particularly 1:1. That said, I prefer having alternative focal lenses at hand when needed rather than stitching or working with extreme crops. No doubt this is a hangover to my days when I was getting requests from corporate clients for files at up to 84 inches long side. Old habits die hard! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 5 Share #15 Posted June 5 1 hour ago, chris_tribble said: @ravinj Afraid these didn't show. Can try re-posting? “How to post” Can be found at the top of many image threads Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinj Posted June 5 Share #16 Posted June 5 (edited) 11 hours ago, chris_tribble said: @ravinj Afraid these didn't show. Can try re-posting? @chris_tribble been a while since I posted. Flickr used to work earlier. Nothing special here, except to show the multi-image panos (Q2 in this case) stitched in Lightroom. Colors and sharpening is mangled due to uploads. Larger versions upload here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qYjiIx9Z22KAtQlIGdKetHGrUjOB1iEa?usp=sharing Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited June 5 by ravinj 5 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/421891-q3-43-the-ideal-travel-companion/?do=findComment&comment=5813063'>More sharing options...
setuporg Posted June 6 Share #17 Posted June 6 Q3 43 is perfect for travel. I can say it's the first Leica everyday camera that is sufficient in most situations. Good for travel, low light, kids (video), etc. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianforber Posted June 7 Share #18 Posted June 7 I prefer having the extra width of the 28mm and cropping as needed. Although I have a Q2 rather than the Q3, I’ve never had a problem cropping beyond 100mm. I know some think I’m throwing pixels away but I bought the camera specifically because it allowed such dramatic crops: metadata of my pics showed I tend to shoot at either end of a standard zoom , ie 28 or 80. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaP75 Posted June 27 Share #19 Posted June 27 Not sure if I’d consider the Q3 43 as the ideal travel companion, or the only camera I’d take while traveling due to the quite narrow field of view. However it matches perfectly the Q3 to cover 90% of my shooting while in the streets. Both of them fit easily inside a “Billingham for Leica” bag, originally thought for an M camera kit. Q3 for “inclusive” pictures and landscapes, Q3 43 for environmental portraits (with no distorsion) and close ups. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now