What is the life of a Q3?

[Kiwimac]

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I realise we don’t exactly know this yet. 
 

I’m asking as my biggest reason these days for not owning a pair of Q3 cameras is this:

 How long do they live and how long will they be repairable?

 Presently I have an M11-P, 28 Summilux, 50 Apo and LLL 35 Eight Element. 
 

My two preferred FLs are 35 and 50. 
 

If the M died, I can continue to use the lenses on another one or on an SL. 
 

If I sold all that and replaced it with, say, a Q3M and a Q3 43 will they be repairable and usable for, say, 20 years?

I ask because when they eventually die and are BER, all I have is a couple of unusually designed paperweights! 🤣

 

 Of course we can’t know for sure what will happen (my phone might include the ability to produce images of 100MP that beat a Hasselblad by then) but I’m sure more than a few here have considered something similar. 

[jdlaing]

You’ve already answered your question.

[bobtodrick]

26 minutes ago, Kiwimac said:

I realise we don’t exactly know this yet. 
 

I’m asking as my biggest reason these days for not owning a pair of Q3 cameras is this:

 How long do they live and how long will they be repairable?

 Presently I have an M11-P, 28 Summilux, 50 Apo and LLL 35 Eight Element. 
 

My two preferred FLs are 35 and 50. 
 

If the M died, I can continue to use the lenses on another one or on an SL. 
 

If I sold all that and replaced it with, say, a Q3M and a Q3 43 will they be repairable and usable for, say, 20 years?

I ask because when they eventually die and are BER, all I have is a couple of unusually designed paperweights! 🤣

 

 Of course we can’t know for sure what will happen (my phone might include the ability to produce images of 100MP that beat a Hasselblad by then) but I’m sure more than a few here have considered something similar. 

Well, first a 100MP sensor the size of your pinkie fingernail is not the same as a medium format 100MP sensor 😂

As to the life expectancy…as always that is a crap shoot, as it is with any camera.  My Q has 100000 frames, is eight years old and works flawlessly.  My son has a 15 year old Nikon D7000 that also has a lot of frames and works fine.

But I deal with on a regular basis (work in the retail world) cameras that have cacked after five or so years and are deemed unrepairable by the manufacturers service department.

[Jeff S]

Insurance 

[Kiwimac]

15 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Insurance 

Wouldn’t cover failure by age, only by accident, theft etc surely! When I bought my first M, an M6 TTL way back in 1998, they came with two useful benefits:

 

1) A free day of training at Leica in Milton Keynes

 2) A Leica Passport: any damage, no matter how it was caused, that rendered the camera unrepairable and Leica would replace the camera with a new one. 
 

Plus it only cost £2,000 new!

Edited 2 hours ago by Kiwimac

[Pieter12]

I think that was the reasoning to having two cameras. But beyond that, why should one just assume the camera has a limited lifespan?

[coleica]

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If I am still around in 20 years, it will be a bit of a miracle.  Buy and enjoy, for you don't know what the future holds.

Leica Q was first released in 2015.  Seems like plenty of copies still around, and I have not heard of any major singular issues with it.

Edited 2 hours ago by coleica

[Kiwimac]

1 minute ago, Pieter12 said:

I think that was the reasoning to having two cameras. But beyond that, why should one just assume the camera has a limited lifespan?

 Common sense and real life?

 Do you think it likely that Leica will still have access to parts for a Q3 in 2045? I suppose it’s possible but I think the chances of it being the case are pretty slim. It’s a far more electronic device than an M11. 

[Kiwimac]

50 minutes ago, bobtodrick said:

Well, first a 100MP sensor the size of your pinkie fingernail is not the same as a medium format 100MP sensor

Today, yes. In 20 years? With AI computational imagery? 
 

who knows?

[bobtodrick]

6 minutes ago, Kiwimac said:

Today, yes. In 20 years? With AI computational imagery? 
 

who knows?

Not to pick nits, but the same AI computational imagery could be applied to the far bigger sensor file…

[Kiwimac]

5 minutes ago, bobtodrick said:

Not to pick nits, but the same AI computational imagery could be applied to the far bigger sensor file…

Yes but why would you need to?

 

 If you could snap the image and then say “Hey Siri. Make this photo into a 200 MP file shot on a Hasselblad X15D using an XCD f0.5 100mm”

 why would you need a bigger file to begin with?

 

 Of course we’re photographers and not keen on that idea, but that certainly won’t stop it happening if someone works out how to do it. 
 

There was no such thing as a smartphone less than 20 years ago…

[Pieter12]

33 minutes ago, Kiwimac said:

 Common sense and real life?

 Do you think it likely that Leica will still have access to parts for a Q3 in 2045? I suppose it’s possible but I think the chances of it being the case are pretty slim. It’s a far more electronic device than an M11. 

Sure, there will be no support or parts. But failure is not inevitable.

[LeicaR10]

Kiwimac,   During the many years on the forum, the rule for parts availablity is 5 years.  Leica has a reputation to maintain cameras after 5 years a long as there are parts available in their inventory.   Similar to the S lenses and cameras.  If they have the parts for earlier models, they will attempt to repair them.  I personally have several Q cameras.  My Q2-M became unrepairable by Leica only because it took a 100+ ft fall while climbing up the east face of Mt Whitney in California back in October.  I have a Q from 2015 and it still works.  I give that as a loaner to my clients when their cameras malfunction.  Both Q3 and Q43 have not failed me when out in the wilderness and can't carry the big load up rough terrain.  The M11s and lenses do the bulk of my mountain work now.  Never an issue with them since the firmware issues were finally resolved.  I would think you are pretty safe with a Q3 or Q43 camera.  They simply work.  Just my two cents.  r/ Mark 

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, Kiwimac said:

Wouldn’t cover failure by age, only by accident, theft etc surely! 

Mine fortunately would, especially if not repairable; anything not covered by warranty, even due to my own stupidity.  But policies vary greatly, by company, by location and by individual circumstances and underwriting standards.

[bobtodrick]

41 minutes ago, Kiwimac said:

Yes but why would you need to?

 

 If you could snap the image and then say “Hey Siri. Make this photo into a 200 MP file shot on a Hasselblad X15D using an XCD f0.5 100mm”

 why would you need a bigger file to begin with?

 

 Of course we’re photographers and not keen on that idea, but that certainly won’t stop it happening if someone works out how to do it. 
 

There was no such thing as a smartphone less than 20 years ago…

Because as photographers we want the best possible image…even when it borders on the ridiculous…with it without AI  you’re going to get more from the bigger sensor.

Any further discussion is pointless…byebye.

[DenverSteve]

How about this Kiwi. You can buy one or two now and the money is gone.  If you hold on to them for 20 years they will be relatively worthless. Plus, you will have traded them in or sold them long before that.  BUT LET'S SAY 20 years is the lifespan.  Put $10 a week aside now and in 20 years when your Q3 dies, you will have $10,400 plus interest set aside for your next/last camera.  I've never heard of anyone buying a new product- tv, car, toaster... and asking what they would do in 20 years if it's no longer working. Why? Because it's pointless and you can't do anything about it.