Leica Q3: Exquisite (Which is Why We Bought One)

this video is brought to you by Squarespace the place to go for all of your website needs hop over to www.squarespace.com you for a free trial and if you like what you see and want to move forward receive 10 off your first order by using the discount code Hue at checkout thanks Squarespace between us Claudia and I have had every model of Leica queue in hand that is the original queue the QP the Q2 and Q2 monochrome but this one leica's just announced six grand okay 59.95 Q3 is the one we're buying it is an Exquisite embodiment of physics Electronics Humanity Heritage and how's this for a Kick In The Head value the one camera above all that epitomizes the minimalist no Optical compromise no fut's greatest joy most inspiring ridemores law try not to sell a kidney to buy it philosophy to which we adhere in our selection of gear most especially for our personal work so yeah let's get into it hey everybody I'm Hugh Brownstone for Three Blind Men and an elephant and yes after going Hands-On with the Q3 well we've already ordered one actually I said we didn't have enough cameras as it is that's because not only does the Q3 have the size industrial design cues build quality feel and hand menus Heritage and 60 megapixel sensor of my M11 resolution size weight and unobtrusiveness my SL2 can only dream about but now among other things a a new to Leica hybrid phase detect autofocus system that again my SL2 can only dream about B and also new to like a 1.8 million dot tilting rear screen that my SL2 and my M11 can only dream about while maintaining the previous q2's ip52 rating see the 5.7 million dot evf of my SL2 d a higher capacity 2200 milliamp hour battery within the same form factor of the one found in the Q2 and SL2 all within a slightly modified but essentially identical Q2 body that is save for a marginal increase in thickness due to the tilting screen along with relocated and reconfigured rear panel buttons did I mention that there is an additional assignable function button I don't think so so yeah there's that which in turn means e the same image stabilization of the Q2 and even original queue that my M11 still lacks f with the exact same knock my socks off integrated Auto focusing of course optional manual focusing macro focusing shut my mouth hard stops at minimum and infinity focusing distances sumulux 28 millimeter F 1.7 a circle which for any of us out there wondering whether or not a lens released eight years ago can really handle 60 megapixels I'm here to tell you full stop yeah it sure can in fact MTF charts this is the first time I've been able to get my hands on the MTF chart for the 28 1.7 Lux confirm what my eyes have been telling me for years this little sucker absolutely outperforms leica's dedicated interchangeable seven thousand eight hundred dollars sumalux 28 1.4 spherical with images like this [Music] this last one a crop of this I didn't expect that did I mention that the Q3 offers for the first time 90 millimeter frame lines suddenly that doesn't sound so silly so maybe you want to stop right here rewind a bit and replay what I just shared with you because what I'm telling you is this that 60 megapixel sensor I can now get shots I couldn't get with my M or my SL2 without changing lenses if I could swap lenses fast enough which I will tell you straight up I couldn't and of course the SL2 I couldn't get the same resolution no matter what that hybrid phase detect autofocus I can now get shots in Focus I couldn't get with my M or my SL2 that tilting rear screen ditto especially brilliant for Incognito Street work that 5.7 million.evf I can now punch in to review a shot immediately after I've taken it with a level of detail I couldn't get with my M11 even with the visoflex too those frame lines that some of us might assume are gimmicky I understand but it turns out they're terrific allowing me to frame up a section within my field of view with a degree of ease and precision never before possible on a full-frame m-sized camera finally that new Maestro 4 processor the secret sauce is to extracting the most from all of it put together but what I'm also telling you is this not only is Leica offering in the Q3 and image stabilized Auto focusing 28 millimeter sumalux optically superior to the legendary M version for thousands less but Leica is essentially throwing in the equivalent of a 60 megapixel Auto focusing evf only image stabilized nine thousand dollar M11 for free well okay except for the fact that you give up interchangeable lenses but if you think about it long and hard enough that's not quite right either because when cropped to a 35 millimeter field of view this new 60 megapixel Q3 is still using 39 megapixels and that is like getting a second prime like as legendary five thousand four hundred dollars sumulux M35 1.4 attached to a nine thousand dollar forty megapixel m10r for free two although while we're in the middle of this order by midnight tonight and get a free set of ginzu steak knives moment consider that cropped to a 50 millimeter field of view the Q3 is still using 19 megapixels which means hey you not only get the equivalent of a 35 flux mounted on an m10r for free but the equivalent of a four thousand five hundred dollar fifty millimeter F 1.4 sumulux M mounted to an 18 and a half megapixel M9 for free with better Optical performance than either lens foreign [Music] the only fast moderately fast 28 millimeter in like is lens catalog that's better is their slower APO sumacron sl28f2 but that bad boy is 5200 bucks by itself bigger and heavier than the Q3 with lens which I forgot to mention just so happens to be capable of recording up to 8K full width readout video that say it with me now my SL2 for which that Apple SL sumeron lens line is designed can only dream about I could go on and on there are accessories I'm not even going to talk about but let's not sweat a bunch of details beginning with more interesting to me a sentence that ends with a preposition my anthropomorphization of a camera to begin with OR the fact that on the one hand the Q3 is not a mini SL2 given the q3's thermal management and resulting limitations in recording times even at less than 8K resolution because of its small and not originally designed for it body the absence of mic and headphone Jacks and the inability of course to change lenses then again the Q3 does have a USBC port for charging or data transfer I like that and a sub-optimal but present micro HDMI port for mitigating some of those recording limit thermal management and Jack Lamentations when used with an external recorder and the Q3 introduces things the SL2 and M11 don't have like a first ever implementation of Leica looks that is software Luts to emulate well what precisely I'm not quite sure because they weren't available on the pre-production Q3 we had but I think this could become way interesting if Leica can bottle and agreed upon factory certified definition of what the Leica look actually is dramatically faster transfer speeds between the camera and leica's photos app even inductive charging like a freaking iPhone via an optional and optional charge accessory grip at just 200 more than the Q2 at the time of recording so what does any of this mean precisely to you well for those of us interested in Leica or specifically in a queue a great deal literally and figuratively first prices on used cues and q2s should come down at least a bit which is great for those of us who don't care about 60 megapixels or tilty screen but otherwise love the camera second the Q3 is relatively speaking and incredible value and to my way of thinking the ultimate no futs made in Germany Leica for those of us shooting Street and or travel and have both the inclination and financial wherewithal because what we now have is essentially an auto focusing image stabilized evf only Leica M with a very high performance integrated call it 28 to 51.7 zoom maybe even out to 75 or 90. depending on the characteristics of the image quality itself display size and viewing distance or okay fine if I didn't have its evf autofocus image stabilization and up to 8K video recording a call it and intimation perhaps of a mini SL2 at a fraction of the price of either when kitted with relevant lenses but would it be even better if that rear dial were just a bit more accessible well yes yes it would it be even better if the lens were a 20 or 24 rather than a 28. someday maybe like when the queue whatever Sports a couple of 100 megapixels it'll happen but until then the Q3 with the current 28 is such a compellingly small powerful and joyous product one that actually exceeded my expectations at the 75 and 90 millimeter fields of view that it may cause many of us to rethink our entire approach to Leica gear like uh boom I don't know maybe parking my SL2 here in the bat cave and going out on the street instead with our soon to be Q3 paired with my M11 and our LMR 24 3.8 maybe our apples Go part 92.8 if we feel the need for even more reach at the wide end maybe I'll break down and finally get a super LMR 21 or 18. maybe we'll even leave the s52 mounted on our RS3 Mini at home maybe even our insta360 once I've been able to spend enough time with the Q3 in video mode to determine if that's really feasible I suspect not but hey just noodling because this Q3 begs for that kind of out of the box thinking on the other hand for those of us not interested in Leica or simply unwilling or incapable of ponying up that kind of Dosh it won't mean a thing to you fair enough or Maybe it will perhaps if nothing else as an affirmation that say a one quarter of the price Fujifilm x100v or xc4 with the 27 2.8 pancake lens if you can even find one of them never mind getting either one of them at list price we'll do a whole lot of what the Q or Q2 can do still for a whole lot less money or that Sony and Nikon are doing a terrific job with their latest mirrorless lenses for far less money as well as long as one is willing to haul around bigger heavier bodies and swap lenses or that something like the iPhone 14 pro will give you an even greater focal range than the Q3 and an even smaller package with less futsing at zero marginal cost if you already happen to have one in your pocket and if your images are not destined for anything more demanding than Instagram or that you're just really happy with what you already have thank you very much although if any of these last few descriptions does describe you you probably knew this before you hit the play button thanks for watching anyway and of course that's fine too because as those of you who know me have heard from me so often yes it's about the gear but no it's not about the gear it's about the people it is in other words the photographer's heart mind gut and soul what one sees how one chooses to see it how one shares it that matter most of all of course this video is brought to you by Squarespace from Custom domains to beautiful 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Channel: Three Blind Men and An Elephant Productions

Views: 70,011

Keywords: Leica Q3, Leica, Q3

Id: 6oU7TSshhpI

Length: 16min 50sec (1010 seconds)

Published: Thu May 25 2023