Leica Akademie Instructor, Nick Rains, has been in Europe with the new Q3. This is a 'first look' video, with Nick's opinions about many of the new features.
I like the look of the strong contrast B&Ws. I have one on order for next month. It’s going to be an interesting comparison with my M10R. I’ve seen your photo set up video. Very helpful thank you.
Hello Nick. Thanks for another great video and some amazing shots. What settings did you apply for the autofocus and will you be doing a settings video, like you did with the Q2?
The AF was just AFc using the Eye/Face Detect AF option. This uses the new Phase Detect mode and thus the smooth accurate eye tracking. That's about it. And yes I plan to do a 'menus and settings' video soon.
Is it worth moving to Q3 when we already have the Q2 and M11 ? and Only making picture & not video? Other topic, I am photographing a lot of kids and I would like to know if moving to the new Autofocus is worthly or the Q2 will remind ok ? Thank you
It’s all paid sponsorship 😂 Cameras were sent to the UA-camrs from Leica reviews were normally done weeks ago 😅 I work in this industry and all the reviews (or you can say ads / promotions ) supposed to release at a certain time .. all the brands do the same nowadays when they release something new .. but it doesn’t matter I still leica
If you don't care about AF or video then maybe your M11 is perfect for you. But if you want to relax and shoot super-casually then AF is certainly useful! For pure image quality, the M11 and Q3 should be very similar. Oh, and the Q3 has a proper weather sealing rating, the M11 does not, nor do M lenses.
The video is extremely good, easily on a par with the SL2-S. 8K allows cropping to 4K or to FHD so adds some useful options. The 4K mode in L-Log is beautifully smooth and easy to grade. The bit rate goes up to 600mbps too, this is very high for such a camera.
@@LeicaCameraAustralia Do Q shooters need 8K? No dedicated microphone port. Why not go for a SL2 if you want video? Tilt screen cant do portrait, (3-axis tilt). Why not change it up to a 35mm or 50mm lens, then chase the mp race. Seems to fall short on why people would upgrade from a Q2
Thanks Nick. I'm not sure that a flip screen and a larger sensor is enough to make me upgrade from my Q2. What would make my day would be to change the lens to 50mm.
To be honest, I don't even see a reason to upgrade the Q1 I'm using. The amazing lens is the same, Which is 99% of the reason for this camera... Unless you'll convince me otherwise, Especially for 3 times its price on the used market, Which keeps its value even 3 years after I purchased it, And I enjoy it a lot.
I’m happy that Q3 hasn’t changed to 50mm; that’s tighter than I want as my widest. My ideal focal length would be 40mm, but the 35mm crop will work for me. I’ll use the flip screen, and I’ll ignore the new ports.
Hi, thanks for the review. I feel his upgrade is good but also disappointing. The sensor, bottom charging, no constrains in low light, better EVF, great. 60mp, Tilt Screen, USBc door, not so good, last two spoil the Q2’s original aesthetics. Surprised Leica did not keep the fixed LCD and made a waist/eye level viewer like on other Leica cameras, I personally would pay for one if it was possible for the Q2. 60mp, not for me, either 24mp or the Q2’s would be more than enough. Thanks for sharing
Leica has finally listened to their users who don't want to wear a hair shirt - Tilt screen, USB-C on the side for a smart connection to iOS and not flaky WiFi, 8K L-Log 👋 Just 1 question, Nick - will it do remote shooting tethered to iOS?
8K is such a cheap marketing gimmick on the Q3. Surprised to see Leica fall to this stupid level of cheap consumer spec hype language. Take a look at the Arri 35 for example. One of the best, most expensive and most recent production cameras for cinema. It’s doesn’t shoot over sharpened “8K” which is a number for still photographers that think that means good video. Where a camera like the Arri destroys these toy video cameras is dynamic range and colour depth. Also the Q3 will have abysmal motion cadence with the slow read out from a high resolution sensor. When you sell these things, try not to repeat numbers that sell cameras to dads at electronic superstores - like 8K. It’s embarrassing. I love Leica for clear and simple design with purpose. A flip screen makes sense. Internal storage would have made sense. Trying to pretend to be a video camera with no sound inputs, ridiculously slow sensor that will turn anything to jello unless you’re on a rock solid tripod, no heat management and no storage solution suited for this application - just comes off as a bit of a joke. Just remove the video! What is it doing there?!
28mm is too wide for a fixed lens camera. We've been saying it since the Q 1. Could you imagine how good this camera could be if it had a 35 or 40mm Summilux attached to it. Digital cropping in camera is simply ridiculous (60+mp or not).
The tilt screen, while functional and desirable, is a big miss design wise. The body is outdated before it even hits shelves. If you disagree with this then you’re simply lying to yourself. A flush seamless countersunk flip out screen will be nice. And it will eventually happen, without adding the equivalent of an iPhone strapped to the back of the thing in thickness. That’s what Leica should have waited for, before rushing out this “me-too” feature version. Remember when the digital M’s were thicker than legacy film M’s, because of tech constraints and such. And then they weren’t. Why don’t you make the M12 thicker this time, so that it can have IBIS? Oh right, because looks do matter to some. We can all agree on the usefulness of the tilt screen. Can we all also agree that, this one, as it is now, looks like rubbish? You should have also added a flip up flash; I mean, since aesthetic seems to not matter anymore. I waited years to treat myself to a new Q3 and immediately backed off GAS’ing for it when I saw the side profile. A profile that Leica embarrassingly omits to show with the screen tucked away. Always extended, to cheat the eye into seeing a slimmer side profile. Internal memory would have been nice too. Best part of the Q3, a new higher capacity battery that works in the Q2.
IBIS compromises image quality for convenience (same with PDAF btw…), I’m glad they left it out. They still saved me 6K with this upgrade as I don’t like the screen, the PDAF and all of it’s video stuff. I’ll stick with my M11 for now, at least it doesn’t compromise image quality at all.
I'm interested in your opinion on IBIS. That is not my experience at all - I have used the SL2 and SL2-S extensively and see only benefits from the IBIS.
@@LeicaCameraAustralia The implementation of IBIS requires a lot of radical changes to the internal design of the camera body. The most important ones are the necessity to remove the heat sink from the sensor and to mechanically decouple it from the camera body (which is not the best idea in terms of stability to begin with). Not only you’re completely and permanently giving up the single most reliable mechanical stability (that can’t be replaced by any active IS no matter what), also the lack of proper heat dissipation in conjunction with a lot of additional components required for the system to work like magnets, CPUs, electrical cuircuits and eventually bigger batteries to handle the amount of additional power drain and add additional heat themselves, result in a higher operating temperature of the sensor and a reduction of SN ratio (more noise). This is quite a lot of irreversible “damage” to the internal design and it has to sacrifice a lot for very little use cases (if any at all) while having a lot of potential for things to go wrong when not needed (which is most of the time) so, while it can slightly improve a poor technique for sure, a perfectly executed capture it can only make worse. Turning it off (which is what most people recommend) does not solve any of those problems because when switched off the sensor is only trying not to move, with all the downsides mentioned above still being true. A lot of manufacturers initially have refused to implement this technology for exactly those reasons, untill they eventually realised that people won’t understand the problems anyway and started to make it a selling point instead. I understand that for daily use a slight drop in quality might be negligible and people are usually more impressed by extensive spec sheets than by actual quality, but I only pick a camera when I know I’m going to create an exceptional photograph with the best quality achievable and therefore “still good enough” is not an option for me and certainly isn not the reason why I would pay a premium price for a camera. That’s why from all Leicas the M11 is the only system that has convinced me so far. I will always do whatever it takes (tripod f.e.) to maintain my level of quality. For anything else my phone is always in my pocket, with “good enough” image quality for daily use and an amount of convenience that no camera will ever match. For any “artistic” photographs I want to rely on my own skills rather than a buttload of computaional aids and I don’t want any of those to sacrifice even the tiniest bit of image quality and user experience, at all.
You have ruined a beautiful design... My first Leica Q was bought as soon as it went on sale and I was happy with it for the next 5 years. This is definitely not a camera I will buy. It looks bad.
Great video, and you are such a brilliant presenter! So glad I found this channel.
Glad you enjoy it!
Thanks Nick. Great review as always.
I like the look of the strong contrast B&Ws. I have one on order for next month. It’s going to be an interesting comparison with my M10R. I’ve seen your photo set up video. Very helpful thank you.
Hope you enjoy it!
Leica Q3 has the same Sony sensor as in Sony A7RV?
Always enjoy. Thank you.
Hello Nick. Thanks for another great video and some amazing shots. What settings did you apply for the autofocus and will you be doing a settings video, like you did with the Q2?
The AF was just AFc using the Eye/Face Detect AF option. This uses the new Phase Detect mode and thus the smooth accurate eye tracking. That's about it. And yes I plan to do a 'menus and settings' video soon.
Is it worth moving to Q3 when we already have the Q2 and M11 ? and Only making picture & not video? Other topic, I am photographing a lot of kids and I would like to know if moving to the new Autofocus is worthly or the Q2 will remind ok ? Thank you
Are the B&W made in post or can you directly export in B&W?
They are in-camera jpegs - High Contrast B+W mode. Raw files will always be in colour but you can shoot both at the same time.
When is the reporter ❤ version coming out ?
Nick- Does that new Q3 battery also function in the Sl2S for example?
Yes it does. You need to use the new 2200mh Q3 battery in the Q3 to record video in 8K, but otherwise the SL2-S and Q3 batteries can be swapped.
You are pretty fast love your reviews
It’s all paid sponsorship 😂 Cameras were sent to the UA-camrs from Leica reviews were normally done weeks ago 😅 I work in this industry and all the reviews (or you can say ads / promotions ) supposed to release at a certain time .. all the brands do the same nowadays when they release something new .. but it doesn’t matter I still leica
Will there be a Q3 Titanium?
What is the use case for an M11 shooter who doesn’t care about video or autofocus? Is there a reason for me to buy the Q3?
If you don't care about AF or video then maybe your M11 is perfect for you. But if you want to relax and shoot super-casually then AF is certainly useful! For pure image quality, the M11 and Q3 should be very similar. Oh, and the Q3 has a proper weather sealing rating, the M11 does not, nor do M lenses.
4:27, what’s an iWatch?
A bump in MP, and bulky flip screen probably not enough to pull the trigger. Do we need 8k on this?
The video is extremely good, easily on a par with the SL2-S. 8K allows cropping to 4K or to FHD so adds some useful options. The 4K mode in L-Log is beautifully smooth and easy to grade. The bit rate goes up to 600mbps too, this is very high for such a camera.
And remember 60MP are huge files. Computer wise, Software wise, Storage wise - Everything is affected.
@@LeicaCameraAustralia Do Q shooters need 8K? No dedicated microphone port. Why not go for a SL2 if you want video? Tilt screen cant do portrait, (3-axis tilt). Why not change it up to a 35mm or 50mm lens, then chase the mp race. Seems to fall short on why people would upgrade from a Q2
Q3 has the same 28mm lens as Q2?
Yes, identical.
Thanks Nick. I'm not sure that a flip screen and a larger sensor is enough to make me upgrade from my Q2. What would make my day would be to change the lens to 50mm.
They will never do that! I’m surprised they added a tilt screen.
To be honest, I don't even see a reason to upgrade the Q1 I'm using. The amazing lens is the same, Which is 99% of the reason for this camera... Unless you'll convince me otherwise, Especially for 3 times its price on the used market, Which keeps its value even 3 years after I purchased it, And I enjoy it a lot.
If they did a 50mm , that will effect their M11 sales heavily.
Q series was made to complement the M11 , not to destroy it .
I’m happy that Q3 hasn’t changed to 50mm; that’s tighter than I want as my widest. My ideal focal length would be 40mm, but the 35mm crop will work for me. I’ll use the flip screen, and I’ll ignore the new ports.
According to the number of your black and white conversions I understand, you also wait for the Q3 Monochrom. 😅
Hi, thanks for the review. I feel his upgrade is good but also disappointing. The sensor, bottom charging, no constrains in low light, better EVF, great. 60mp, Tilt Screen, USBc door, not so good, last two spoil the Q2’s original aesthetics. Surprised Leica did not keep the fixed LCD and made a waist/eye level viewer like on other Leica cameras, I personally would pay for one if it was possible for the Q2. 60mp, not for me, either 24mp or the Q2’s would be more than enough. Thanks for sharing
We need 40/50mm non interchangeable lens with Q3! Many people just don't like 28mm..
And…what about the price?
Saw on another review recently, price US$6000
Leica has finally listened to their users who don't want to wear a hair shirt - Tilt screen, USB-C on the side for a smart connection to iOS and not flaky WiFi, 8K L-Log 👋
Just 1 question, Nick - will it do remote shooting tethered to iOS?
I don't know about tethering to iOS, sorry. It tethers to Lightroom on a laptop. Not tried C1P yet.
8K is such a cheap marketing gimmick on the Q3. Surprised to see Leica fall to this stupid level of cheap consumer spec hype language.
Take a look at the Arri 35 for example. One of the best, most expensive and most recent production cameras for cinema. It’s doesn’t shoot over sharpened “8K” which is a number for still photographers that think that means good video. Where a camera like the Arri destroys these toy video cameras is dynamic range and colour depth. Also the Q3 will have abysmal motion cadence with the slow read out from a high resolution sensor.
When you sell these things, try not to repeat numbers that sell cameras to dads at electronic superstores - like 8K. It’s embarrassing.
I love Leica for clear and simple design with purpose. A flip screen makes sense. Internal storage would have made sense.
Trying to pretend to be a video camera with no sound inputs, ridiculously slow sensor that will turn anything to jello unless you’re on a rock solid tripod, no heat management and no storage solution suited for this application - just comes off as a bit of a joke. Just remove the video! What is it doing there?!
Nice review Nick!
Thanks!
28mm is too wide for a fixed lens camera. We've been saying it since the Q 1. Could you imagine how good this camera could be if it had a 35 or 40mm Summilux attached to it. Digital cropping in camera is simply ridiculous (60+mp or not).
leica should add a panoramic crop with a firmware update !!! like fuji! the sensor resolution can handle it
That tilt screen sucks. It detracts from the beautiful camera. And I can’t imagine the decrease in water resistance! I will keep my Q2.
There is no change to the water resistance. It’s still rated the same as the Q and Q2.
The tilt screen, while functional and desirable, is a big miss design wise. The body is outdated before it even hits shelves. If you disagree with this then you’re simply lying to yourself.
A flush seamless countersunk flip out screen will be nice. And it will eventually happen, without adding the equivalent of an iPhone strapped to the back of the thing in thickness. That’s what Leica should have waited for, before rushing out this “me-too” feature version.
Remember when the digital M’s were thicker than legacy film M’s, because of tech constraints and such. And then they weren’t. Why don’t you make the M12 thicker this time, so that it can have IBIS? Oh right, because looks do matter to some.
We can all agree on the usefulness of the tilt screen.
Can we all also agree that, this one, as it is now, looks like rubbish? You should have also added a flip up flash; I mean, since aesthetic seems to not matter anymore.
I waited years to treat myself to a new Q3 and immediately backed off GAS’ing for it when I saw the side profile. A profile that Leica embarrassingly omits to show with the screen tucked away. Always extended, to cheat the eye into seeing a slimmer side profile.
Internal memory would have been nice too.
Best part of the Q3, a new higher capacity battery that works in the Q2.
Great ad for Leica ….. ‘Surprised you got such great B&W shots, can’t image the B&W sensor produces Berre r details than u got !? Thks Mate !
i would not buy it. have the q2 mono. only if it gets the 40mm or 50mm lens
WHERE IS IBIS??
The Q3 has image-stabilised elements inside the lens (OIS), this is highly effective too.
IBIS compromises image quality for convenience (same with PDAF btw…), I’m glad they left it out. They still saved me 6K with this upgrade as I don’t like the screen, the PDAF and all of it’s video stuff. I’ll stick with my M11 for now, at least it doesn’t compromise image quality at all.
I'm interested in your opinion on IBIS. That is not my experience at all - I have used the SL2 and SL2-S extensively and see only benefits from the IBIS.
@@LeicaCameraAustralia The implementation of IBIS requires a lot of radical changes to the internal design of the camera body. The most important ones are the necessity to remove the heat sink from the sensor and to mechanically decouple it from the camera body (which is not the best idea in terms of stability to begin with). Not only you’re completely and permanently giving up the single most reliable mechanical stability (that can’t be replaced by any active IS no matter what), also the lack of proper heat dissipation in conjunction with a lot of additional components required for the system to work like magnets, CPUs, electrical cuircuits and eventually bigger batteries to handle the amount of additional power drain and add additional heat themselves, result in a higher operating temperature of the sensor and a reduction of SN ratio (more noise). This is quite a lot of irreversible “damage” to the internal design and it has to sacrifice a lot for very little use cases (if any at all) while having a lot of potential for things to go wrong when not needed (which is most of the time) so, while it can slightly improve a poor technique for sure, a perfectly executed capture it can only make worse. Turning it off (which is what most people recommend) does not solve any of those problems because when switched off the sensor is only trying not to move, with all the downsides mentioned above still being true. A lot of manufacturers initially have refused to implement this technology for exactly those reasons, untill they eventually realised that people won’t understand the problems anyway and started to make it a selling point instead. I understand that for daily use a slight drop in quality might be negligible and people are usually more impressed by extensive spec sheets than by actual quality, but I only pick a camera when I know I’m going to create an exceptional photograph with the best quality achievable and therefore “still good enough” is not an option for me and certainly isn not the reason why I would pay a premium price for a camera. That’s why from all Leicas the M11 is the only system that has convinced me so far. I will always do whatever it takes (tripod f.e.) to maintain my level of quality. For anything else my phone is always in my pocket, with “good enough” image quality for daily use and an amount of convenience that no camera will ever match. For any “artistic” photographs I want to rely on my own skills rather than a buttload of computaional aids and I don’t want any of those to sacrifice even the tiniest bit of image quality and user experience, at all.
You have ruined a beautiful design...
My first Leica Q was bought as soon as it went on sale and I was happy with it for the next 5 years.
This is definitely not a camera I will buy. It looks bad.