Leica Q3
Images that have been leaked prove that the Leica Q3 will bring a big change to the current line of small cameras.
When, not if, has been the question for a long time, and it looks like the wait for the reported Leica Q3 is almost over. The camera is expected to come out on May 26, and new pictures have leaked that, if they are real, reveal what street photography Leica fans have been hoping for: the Q3 will have a new tilt-screen design.
The Q3 leaked pictures, which come from Leica rumors(opens in new tab), say that the camera will have a touchscreen that you can tilt instead of a screen that flips out to the side.
A tilt-screen makes waist-level shooting, which has been a popular way to take street photos for a long time, even easier because you can look down to see what the camera sees. With a fixed screen like the one in the Leica Q2 and Leica Q2 Monochrom, you have to shoot blind.
The stories about the Leica Q3 have been going around for a while, and the latest ones say that the new camera will come out this year with a 60MP image sensor. We still don’t know if that will be true.
The Leica Q2 is a very famous camera and a favorite of DCW. The Leica Q2 (and special editions like the Leica Q2 Reporter) will be replaced by the Leica Q3.
Leica Q3 best deals
Leica Rumors has recently leaked pictures of the upcoming Q3, which suggest that the camera will be released soon. From what we can see, the Leica Q3 will change and adapt everything we know and love about the Q series.
The new tilt-screen is great, but the fixed-lens full-frame Q3 looks like a classic minimalist beauty with updated features that give it a modern twist. In fact, if all the reports are true, we’d call the Q3 the most interesting Leica we’ve seen so far. Let’s go over what else we can hope for from the Q2 follow-up.
More pixels, more flexible
The Leica M11’s 60MP full-frame camera is likely to make it into the Q3, which would be a big improvement over the Q2’s 47MP sensor. Even if you don’t need the extra pixels, it makes more sense to have them in a camera like the Q3, which we think will also have a wide-angle 28mm f/1.7 lens.
The Q2 has settings that let you shoot at 35mm, 50mm, and 75mm focal lengths. What the camera is actually doing is cropping into the 28mm field of view, which lowers the resolution. More pixels give each of those choices more detail, which makes them easier to use.
You might also think that a higher resolution like 60MP is less forgiving because it makes focusing mistakes and camera shake more obvious. However, the Q3 is said to have better phase-detection AF and in-body image stabilization, which should help fix some of these problems.
We’ll have to wait and see if the extra resolution also makes 8K video with better clarity possible.
Leica Q3
Changing the way things are done
Leica is very good at making standard rangefinders, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t use the newest technology.
Like the M11, the Q3 is expected to have an SD card slot and internal memory that can hold around 700 raw pictures. And, unlike the Q2, the Q3 will have a USB-C port that lets you charge the camera on the go. But there is something new that makes it even more interesting.
Leaked pictures show that the bottom of the camera has electric contacts that are thought to be for a handgrip that also lets the camera charge wirelessly. Think about how an electric toothbrush sits in a charge dock. The Q3 could do something similar. We can’t think of another camera (besides smartphones) that has this kind of wireless feature.
Based on what we know about Leica, a wireless charging handgrip is likely to be an expensive add-on. We also expect the Q3’s list price to be higher than that of its predecessor, the Q2, which costs $5,795, £5,100, or AU$9,290 right now. The Q3 will cost a lot of money, but unlike the M11, which has a lens that can be changed, this one has a set lens that is built in. This puts it on the lower end of Leica’s price range.
Aside from the back screen, the back button placement is the biggest difference. Even though it looks pretty much the same as the Q2, the Play and Menu buttons have been moved from the left side to the right side of the camera body. They are now above and below the D-pad.
This is a great plus, because having them on the left side was not a problem, but it did make it harder to make quick changes to the settings. Now it looks like you can do them with just one hand or with your thumb!
Leica Q3
Even though there are other rumors about specs that can’t be proven, these leaked images show that the Q3 will be similar to the Q2 lineup rather than a completely different design, which I think is good. Some people wanted Leica to make the Q3 with a 50mm lens instead of the 28mm lens that works everywhere, but I think that would make the Q line useless.
As we get closer to the release date, which hasn’t been announced by the German luxury camera maker, I’m sure there will be more things to add. But pictures that have been leaked often show that the wait won’t be too long…
