Landscape: Leica Q3 or M or yet another?

[SrMi]

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1 hour ago, jaapv said:

Who worries? Not me. But leaving gear in the car is rather inviting.

Nothing stealable must be visible from the outside.

[ravinj]

Don't keep anything stealable in the car if you are planning to be away from it even for a short duration. Cars will get broken in, things visible or not. If in doubt, visit San Francisco.

And, get theft insurance on camera gear. In any case, don't leave memory cards with photos in the car. Or important documents either. 

Even in places like Iceland, gangs are targeting tourists and their valuables. A shame as I thought that place was immune to this. 

https://www.icelandreview.com/news/jewellery-shops-tourists-targeted-by-organised-criminals/?srsltid=AfmBOoqF0csPbSkZ1tYtp4AVxb2X2KjQZQv4igpEGvFgQWdEW2R8yJUu

 

[keithlaban.co.uk]

Even my professional insurance for camera gear was limited to a measly £1000 for theft from a locked car and everything needed to be hidden from view.

[jankap]

24 minutes ago, ravinj said:

Don't keep anything stealable in the car if you are planning to be away from it even for a short duration. Cars will get broken in, things visible or not. If in doubt, visit San Francisco.

I was on a photo tour in Europe some years ago. Two persons leading and four customers. During the lunch times the customers left their gear in the car, no high value stuff.  The leaders put their gear in two backpacks and walked with Leicas and a Hassy - or calculated otherwise with 20.000+ Euro - around. I don´t know the weight, they carried.😅

Edited July 27 by jankap

[ravinj]

Just now, jankap said:

I was on a photo tour in Europe some years ago. Two persons leading and four customers. During the lunch time the customers left their gear in the car, no high value stuff.  The leaders put their gear in two backpacks and walked with Leicas and a Hassy - or calculated otherwise with 20.000+ Euro - around. I don´t know the weight, they carried.

Thankfully, I don't make money with photography. So I just carry what will fit in my backpack for that day. Everything else stays in a safe at the hotel (which is not 100% "safe" either but better than leaving in the car). 

Years ago, I stayed at a very nice bed and breakfast near Glacier National Park (Montana). Set on 100 acres of pristine land. I asked the owner how will I get in through the main door if I am late at night. He said the doors are never locked and he has enough guns, no worries. Lovely place and lovely host - you just walked in and out whenever, no locks, plenty of wine and treats too. Simplicity at its best.

 

[jankap]

On tour - as a tourist -  I carry all my gear in a backpack: Sigma fp, Elmar 90mm, Summicron R 50mm and Elmarit R 15mm. It is always with me then.

I think, that at home in Nuremberg cars can be opened too. No risk, no fun.

------

One sentence in favor of the iPhone. Since a couple of months I experiment with lenticular printing. I want it for snapshots, so no tripod. For one print I need 6 to 12 photos, that are taken in a linear row. That is not easy with my fp + Elmarit, because of the weight. Here the iPhone comes in.

For the prints on prism paper, I send the photos to "Digi-Art, Neue Visuelle Medien" in Apen/Germany.

Edited July 27 by jankap

[SrMi]

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2 hours ago, ravinj said:

Don't keep anything stealable in the car if you are planning to be away from it even for a short duration. Cars will get broken in, things visible or not. If in doubt, visit San Francisco.

And, get theft insurance on camera gear. In any case, don't leave memory cards with photos in the car. Or important documents either. 

Even in places like Iceland, gangs are targeting tourists and their valuables. A shame as I thought that place was immune to this. 

https://www.icelandreview.com/news/jewellery-shops-tourists-targeted-by-organised-criminals/?srsltid=AfmBOoqF0csPbSkZ1tYtp4AVxb2X2KjQZQv4igpEGvFgQWdEW2R8yJUu

 

Car break-ins in San Francisco have significantly decreased, reaching a 22-year low in 2024. Specifically, 2024 saw approximately 8,500 reported car break-ins, a substantial drop from the 21,800 reported in 2022.\

Records prior to 2003 were not available, hence the 22-year low.

Thieves are looking for easy targets, so removing or hiding valuables is crucial. 

 

[ravinj]

Remove first. There are not many places to hide stuff in a vehicle. And the gangs running the operation are experts at smash and grab in less than a minute and they know where people "hide" things. 

In any case if someone wants to roll a dice and feel lucky, then great. 

[jaapv]

OTOH I forgot my camera bag at a filling station in Finland, left it on the pump and only found out hours later. After driving back 200 km it was still sitting there…

[Mikep996]

My wife had the same thing happen...in New York!!  Went back over an hour later and it was still there.  

[Oxfordian]

On 7/26/2025 at 6:18 PM, Alexander108 said:

The relevant words are "limit yourself".

I decided that I don't visit these great places most likely the last time in my life only to learn that I limited myself too much and don't get the images I see but cannot capture. 

Of course, I fully agree that this approach may be different for a lot of people. This is my view at it. There is no right or wrong. 

You're right there is no right or wrong on what gear to take because we are all different.

My view on big trips is to take the minimum that I feel is necessary, this is mainly because I want to enjoy what I'm seeing not worrying about which camera / lens combination I require, or be bogged down carrying a huge rucksack full of gear, I did that when photographing sport for the local paper, it was a real pain in the.....

I did both Rome and Venice with one camera and a 24-70/f4 plus a semi wide f1.8 prime for evenings. I did put a lightweight tripod in the suitcase for those night shots but it stayed in the case until it was needed, which was only a couple of times.

Enjoy your trip, I hope you get lots of great images.

[Le Chef]

On 7/26/2025 at 12:18 PM, Alexander108 said:

The relevant words are "limit yourself".

The relevant words are “challenge yourself”.

if you see a camera as limiting your creativity you’ve missed the point of owning one.

[F-train]

On 7/28/2025 at 11:13 PM, Mikep996 said:

My wife had the same thing happen...in New York!!  Went back over an hour later and it was still there.  

She left it at B&H….

[Alexander108]

vor 4 Stunden schrieb Le Chef:

The relevant words are “challenge yourself”.

if you see a camera as limiting your creativity you’ve missed the point of owning one.

I would say it depends on what you want to do. Are you travelling thousands of miles to challenge yourself or are you doing this to just get the best possible images. I'd say it's in the eye of the beholder. If shooting 16mm is essential for my landscape photography I believe no one can argue that I should limit / challenge myself and get the 28mm only. The same is true for 70-200mm.

One of my best landscape pictures was shot at 70mm. I guess my beloveds Q3 would not have been able to get this shot:

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Of course I would have come up with a very different composition. But isn't that the great thing that people have different ideas and use different gear? 

 

Edited July 30 by Alexander108

[F-train]

Why would you not have been able to get this shot with a Q?

[jankap]

The Q3 has an 28mm and a sensor with 60 Mpixel. So cropping to 70mm would give (28/70)2 x 60 -> 9,6 Mpixel. That is not much, 3500 x 2600 pixel.

It depends, for a monitor or the forum it is ok, but for a print... 

Another question is, if the 70mm photo was perhaps cropped to publish it on the forum.

[jankap]

3 hours ago, F-train said:

Why would you not have been able to get this shot with a Q?

The Q3 has an 28mm lens and a sensor with 60 Mpixel. So cropping to 70mm gives (28/70)2 x 60 -> 9,6 Mpixel. That is not much, around 3600 x 2400 pixel. For what the photo has to be used? For a monitor or the forum it is ok, but for a print... 

Another question is, perhaps the 70mm photo was cropped to publish it on the forum.

Edited July 31 by jankap

[Alexander108]

vor 13 Minuten schrieb jankap:

Another question is, if the 70mm photo was perhaps cropped to publish it on the forum.

 

Am 30.7.2025 um 09:07 schrieb Alexander108:

One of my best landscape pictures was shot at 70mm. 

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Edited July 31 by Alexander108
Added info

[Qwertynm]

boy, do I have a testimage for you  Q3 vs R5 with RF 70-200/4 at 70mm

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[Miltz]

Honestly… if you want light weight and wide angles you have to go with Olympus. I have the Q3 and Q3 43. 28mm isn’t wide enough. The ultra wide on Olympus are tiny and great quality. No way the sensor compares, but unless you plan to print 60x40 you’ll be fine.