Leica’s Q-series premium compacts are unique on the market, by combining a fixed prime lens with a full-frame sensor. Sony and Zeiss have previously dabbled in the same sector, with their RX1-series and ZX-1 cameras, but it seems only Leica has the cachet to sustain a genuine line. Following on from the Q of 2015 and the Q2 from 2019, the new Leica Q3 brings a perhaps unexpected slew of updates and new features. Chief among them are a higher-resolution 60MP full-frame sensor, a tilting screen, and significantly upgraded autofocus.
All the essential ingredients that define a Q are still present and correct, though. On the front, there’s a fixed 28mm f/1.7 optically stabilised lens, whose barrel plays host to traditional manual focus and aperture rings. The body is styled to be reminiscent of Leica’s M-series rangefinders, including a stepped top-plate, shutter speed dial, and rounded ends. You also get a large corner-mounted electronic viewfinder.
At £5,300, the Leica Q3 is anything but mainstream. Perhaps the nearest thing it has to a competitor is the Fujifilm X100V, which uses a similar design but a smaller 26.2MP APS-C sensor and a narrower 35mm equivalent f/2 lens, for £1,350. There’s also the pocket-sized Ricoh GR III for £949, with its 24MP APS-C sensor and 28mm-equivalent f/2.8 lens. But this offers a very different shooting experience, as it has a fixed screen and no viewfinder. However, while the Q3 may be very pricey, it’s nowhere near as expensive as Leica’s classic M11 rangefinder, which costs £7,500 before you even add a lens. So what is it that makes the Q3 so special?
Features
Let’s look at the Leica Q3’s photographic specifications in more detail. Firstly, it uses a variant of the excellent 60MP full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor that we previously saw in the M11. But here, it includes phase-detection elements for autofocus, which means it’s presumably even more closely related to the sensors used in the Sony Alpha A7R IV/A7R V and Sigma fp L. As on the M11, you don’t have to shoot in full resolution all the time, but can also record both JPEG and raw files at
