“no photographer is as good as the simplest camera”

edward steichen

By 默默富酷

May 26^th, 2023

what, another camera review?

i know right. i am predictable - like market and neighbourhood visits by aspiring politicians during election time. but bear with me, this latest camera comes from a product lineage that i really liked.

i am referring to the long rumoured leica q3, the third variant of what i considered leica's best product in their digital photography journey.

the leica q is aesthetically beautiful, compact, expensive and a crowd pleaser - very similar to tom cruise, except one is related to science and the other to scientology.

i have long considered dumping my m system in favour for 2 q - one in colour and one in mono but sentiment gets the better of me.

what's new?

honestly, i don't know since i do not read specifications. i take the camera. i make some photos. i pen my thoughts based on what the experience. this is like a camera diary. for you gen z and alpha, a diary is what kids my generation spend time on. well, only the geeky kids really.

the one thing i can say about what the q3 is different is - an articulating screen. i am not really sure the use cases one need a swivel screen except for pervs who often shoot from ground level. this is a camera, not a vacuum cleaner, i don't need to navigate tight corners. and it is a standard feature in q3 should you need it.

the original q is already a rock star, i am not sure what else q3 has improved that i will need. iso is nearly see-in-the-dark. battery life lasts longer than my attention span. optics is gold standard even by leica's standards. autofocus, while not the best in the market, is instantaneous compared to my manual focusing. size is comparable to my m with a mid-size lens. weight is negligible compared to my body weight.

really. nothing to complain about the q3.

ok one thing. it still cost a bomb.

sorry i lied. at around usd 5,000, it will cost around 120 m67 grenades. so more than a bomb. but hey, it will be a blast using the q3.

“no photographer is as good as the simplest camera”

almost tsukiji

*sucks teeth*... actually not even close. made a couple of images and the q3 captured what i intended except for 1. i left the face detection on and when the face is covered, the focus was off the human subject.

insipid randoms

a quick spin and the leica q3 allows me to capture what i would usually make - insipid photos. i do want to call out for its ability to capture in extreme low light conditions. i made a photo of a worker painting the walls in a room not lit except for his touch. it was a lift, point and snap situation and the autofocus and shadow details are quite impressive.

portrait(s)

i have no budget to hire a model so this is my unwilling friend in exchange of 3 kibbles for his headshot. i would imagine the q3 as a capable tool for narcissistic headshots.

mono and monstrous size

while not as great as a dedicated mono camera like the m11 monochrom, but it is good enough. and for those pixel peepers, you will be glad to know that the huge 62.39 mp senor packs in a lot of detail when the photo is viewed 100%. like the crow that photobombed my mbs photo.

food for thought

during covid, i almost stopped photography as i wasn't out and abouts as much and the times when i was out, people were masked. but i dined out a lot more and i began to make photos of food. though i post less of it now at my semi-defunct ig account, i still record images of food.

i tried to use the leica q3 for this purpose and i have mixed feelings about it. the images are pretty but the macro mode isn't easy to control. it could be a user problem (i.e.me) but my ricoh gr does a better job. i'd hoped the leica q3 trumps in this department, and i would have jumped in purchasing one at launch day, but now i am not sure.