Released last year, and still with a waitlist is the Leica Q3 43. A fixed lens full frame camera which many hail as the ultimate everyday carry and travel camera. But what else is it good at? Is it perfect?
Leica Singapore extended a loan to us for a month, and we took it on several trips. I took it to Japan and Phuket, and Stanley took the camera to Germany and finally we had the camera at our disposal for the Watches & Wonders trip. Here is my review, with additional viewpoints from Stanley.
Review: one month with the new Leica Q3 43
The Leica Q3 43 retails at USD 7,380 / SGD 9,900 (incl GST). The original Q3 is still available at USD 6,735 / SGD 9,600 (incl GST)
We will start with a very quick run through the specifications. Many other review websites and YouTube videos already cover this in detail.
In essence, this is the latest generation of Leica’s fixed lens camera. The journey began with the Q which was succeeded by the Q2 and then by the Q3. We reviewed the Q3 in this article. The Q3 had a built in Summilux 28mm f/1.7 lens. And the Q3 43 has this lens replaced with the APO-Summicron 43mm f/2.0 lens. This is the only change between the Q3 and the Q3 43. All other aspects, including the body (with the exception of the colour of the faux leather skin), the sensor, the electronics remain the same.
YouTube video: Leica Q3 43
Leica Q3 43 Positives
This is an amazing camera. It does so many things right…in fact almost everything superlatively well. The image quality is superb. The handling is excellent. Ergonomics are near perfect, especially when coupled with the wireless charging hand grip HG-DC-1 (a USD 370 accessory). The battery life could be better, but at approximately 330 shots on a full charge, it is not really poor.
But for me, the star of the show is the lens. The original Q3 (28) remains available, at a slightly lower price than the Q3 43. The key difference is the 43mm focal length. This is the focal length regarded closest to the human field of view when projected to a full frame sensor. Depending on how you measure, this “normal” focal length can range from 40 to 55mm. While the 28mm is a wide angle lens for a full frame camera. But even more important than this field of view difference is that the 43 carries the highly desirable Leica Apochromatic lens in the form of the APO-Summicron 43. Leica’s APO lens are the supreme statement of their best lenses. The APO-Summicron-SL lenses all offer state of the art optics and even the APO-Summicron-M lenses command a very high price. For example, the APO-Summicron-M 50mm retails at USD 9,945 and the Summicron-M 35mm has a B&H retail price of USD 9,090. Leica does not make a 43mm in the M series, but if they did, the pricing should be around the same level. Which in and of itself already justify the asking price of USD 7.4k for the full frame 60Mp camera plus the APO-Summicron 43mm lens.
The camera has rather compact dimensions of 130mm x 80.3mm x 97.6mm, and weighs in at 772g with battery, a bit heavier than the 28mm variant which weighs 743g. The 28mm model has the dimensions 130mm x 80.3mm x 92.6mm, due to the slightly longer lens on the 43. But overall, both are quite light to use as an everyday carry or for a trip.
Negatives
Is the Q3 43 perfect? Well no. No camera is. Here are the top three negatives in my books:
The autofocus is quite good, but not as fast nor as reliable as with my SL3-S. The same for the high ISO performance. The SL3-S, with only 24 Mp on a sensor of the same dimensions have larger pixels, and thus low light performance is superior.
Second, though the Q3 43 (as well as the Q3) can shoot videos up to 8k resolution (both DCI 8k as well as UHD 8k) on Long GOP 4:2:0 10 bit, the camera does not have a microphone input. And for shooting videos, one is left with the (admittedly rather good) built-in stereo microphones, or to use an external audio recorded.
And thirdly, the bottom plate of the camera, where the single SD card (yes, we too think there should be at least 2 x UHS II SD card, or even better like the SL3-S, be equipped with one CFExpress Type B plus a UHS II SD card) resides will be blocked by any tripod plate one might attach the camera on. Even the Leica handgrip mentioned above will block both the access to the SD card as well as the battery compartment. So though the 8k video is very impressive, we find that Leica is targeting the camera as a photography tool first, and for video shooters as a secondary add on.
Sample photographs
At a recent lunch reception at Maison Boulud at Marina Bay Sands, on invitation of The Hour Glass and Hublot.
Tokyo in mid March. Almost sakura.
Stanley’s journey through Stuttgart and Munich.
And some photographs from Lyon and Geneva.
Concluding thoughts
Many reviewers have already hailed the Q3, either this Q3 43 or the 28mm Q3, as the best camera for travel. Which one is better? It depends. Mostly on your preference of the field of view. The 43mm APO-Summicron is marginally sharper and has better image quality, but the advantage is tiny. So the difference in real life boils down to the field of view. Are you a street shooter? OR you shoot a lot of architecture, interiors or large groups in smaller spaces? The 28mm, with its faster f/1.7 Summilux lens may be an advantage. Do you shoot portraits? Then the 43 is perfect.
And choose either, you will be rewarded with a camera with excellent handling, superb photographs and videos.
