Review: Leica Q3 Full-frame Compact Mirrorless Camera

Released in May 2023, the Leica Q3 made waves with its fixed 28mm f/1.7 Summilux ASPH lens and 60-megapixel full-frame sensor. But is it worth the money? MPB’s Ian Howorth and Amy Moore have tested out the Leica Q3. In this review, you’ll find our video review, our in-depth look at the Q3’s features, capabilities and specifications, and the images our team created using the Leica Q3. This review is our ultimate guide to the Leica Q3. 

Background

For decades now, the cameras with the little red dot have excited photographers and filled them with nostalgia. Some of the greatest-ever photographers—Bresson, Gruyaert, Eggleston, Winogrand—have captured the world’s most famous images using a Leica. But with a reputation built on the shoulders of the greats come the complications of marketing and blind desire. Are Leicas really that good? 

More recently, Leica has veered in different directions. Away from their tried-and-tested M-series rangefinders into medium-format cameras—and compacts, like the Q series. These full-frame mirrorless cameras really do put the ‘premium’ in ‘premium compact’. 

After two hugely successful generations, the Leica Q and Leica Q2, we now have the Leica Q3. This is Leica’s latest and greatest premium fixed-lens compact camera. But what’s it like to use the Leica Q3?

Overview

Despite sitting in the compact category, the Leica Q3 isn’t actually all that compact. Particularly in comparison with Fujifilm X100 and Ricoh GR series cameras. The Q3’s 28mm f/1.7 lens is fairly large and protrudes from the camera body. But considering the punch it packs, the Leica Q3 is still a reasonable size.

The Leica Q3’s biggest selling point—the one that makes it stand out from the crowd—is the fact it's a full-frame, fixed-lens camera. And it’s not just any fixed lens. The Leica Q3 lens bears the name Summilux.

There aren’t many cameras like the Leica Q3. And certainly not any cameras with all these features—alongside those 60-megapixel images. Let’s look at the specs.

Specs

Autofocus

We found the Leica Q3’s autofocus to be sure-footed in pretty much all the settings we tested. The Q3 is unlikely to experience as strenuous situations as, say, a Canon EOS R3 or Sony A9. But its continuous settings, as well as tracking faces/people and moving objects, were handled well. 

As the Leica Q3 is a 28mm fixed-lens camera, more of your frame will likely be in focus. Tracking is, therefore, easier than with a longer lens, like a 50mm, owing to the length and the less variable focus within the frame. Reviewing our images from the day’s shot, we found very few—if any—missed focus shots. While most subjects were static, the camera could always pick out the point of interest.

Image Stabilisation 

The Q3’s image stabilisation works well. However, don’t expect any magic. With a steady hand and arms pressed close to your chest, you can use shutter speeds as low as 1/4-sec. We couldn’t get much lower. But, with a little patience, you might be able to achieve 1/2sec. 

The 28mm fixed lens helps with image stabilization. Lenses at the wider end tend to perform better with low shutter speeds. Through the 1/1 rule for lenses and the lowest shutter speed, on a 28mm lens, 1/30th should be the minimum. With a 1/4-sec performing well, we feel the stabilization is doing a pretty good job. 

Design and Handling

Leica have always prioritized the looks and design of their cameras. And the Leica Q3 is no different. 

Some might say the Leica Q3 isn’t different enough from the Leica Q1 and Q2. But there are some changes, and those prove Leica believes in—and continues to tweak—their original design. 

The main difference is the articulating rear screen, a welcome addition to the Q3. The screen allows you to shoot at lower angles without compromising comfort.

The screen does somewhat take away from the overall aesthetics. There’s the clunky-looking left corner of the rear of the camera, where there were once lovely and flush, rounded corners.

Overall, however, the Q3 retains most of the Q-series aesthetics. The 28mm f/1.7 lens dominates the front, with a knurled grip flanking it on all sides. The camera screams of quality, with all button actuations solid and positive.

The Q3 carries on Leica’s tried-and-tested menu system. With its flow and logic, the menu system just makes sense. The intuitive menu system is possibly due to Leica’s legacy with manual-only cameras, which negates the need for complicated autofocus menus. The Leica Q3 does, obviously, have autofocus. But it retains that ease of use across the main and quick-access menus. 

On the lens, you have your autofocus/manual focus toggle. It’s positional, so you just twist it and set it. Easy.

Storage

The Leica Q3 has a single, humble SD card slot, compatible with cards up to 512GB. The SD card slot will be welcomed by many photographers, who tend to baulk at the far pricier XQD or CFExpress cards. 

Battery Life

From a single battery, the Leica Q3 manages an impressive CiPA-certified 350 shots. You might be able to get closer to 400 on a single charge.

The battery is now a part of the camera body and is a click out and click in  affair. This integration is reminiscent of the Hasselblad X1D/X2D which further reinforces the Q3 as a premium product.

Image Quality

With interchangeable-lens camera reviews, it’s actually the lens that does a lot of the heavy lifting. 

But with the Leica Q3, the lens is such a big part of the system. As well as its optical performance, the Leica Q3’s 28mm f/1.7 Summilux ASPH lens has a number of other unique benefits over other fixed-lens systems.

Full-frame lenses can be expensive, particularly when they’re wider than 35mm and have a maximum aperture bigger than f/2. And even that’s without the iconic Leica branding. 

On its own, a Leica 28mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH lens can cost thousands. So the inclusion of the 28mm f/1.7 Summilux ASPH lens with the Leica Q3 makes the compact camera—while still expensive—quite good value for the quality.

Fully open at f/1.7, the look of the Q3’s 28mm lens is unique. The Leica Q3 yields images that provide a wide field of view—and separation from your subject, if used correctly.

Sharpness

At f/1.7, the sharpness of the lens is surprising. Performance is nothing short of stellar. When you’re shooting landscapes, you can even shoot close to fully open—instead of the traditional f/8 and f/11—to defocus the immediate foreground. This method helps to create a softer, slightly dreamier look.

Quite simply, it’s a dream to shoot fully open with a sharp lens. It’s even sharp at its widest aperture. This means you can get the sharpness of f/8 and the richness of f/1.7 using a single lens. 

Besides its staggering sharpness, fully open, the Q3’s 28mm f/1.7 lens has a real, organic softness.

There aren’t any real issues with the lens. Aberrations are kept at bay. Due to the wide field of view, unless the subject is very close, even foregrounds are kept in acceptable focus. The Leica Q3 offers the best of both worlds.

ISO Performance

At high ISO values, the Leica Q3 performs pretty well but isn’t anything revolutionary. The Q3 handles ISO 1,600–3,200 comfortably. The pleasing ‘noise’ levels, similar to classic grain structure, added a film-like quality to the images. But anything beyond those values, and you shouldn’t expect clean images or to be able to raise detail from the shadows.

The high 60-megapixel count doesn’t make the images look too sharp, or over-detailed. The images seem to always retain a natural and organic feeling.

RAW Image Files

It’s great working with the DNG RAW image files. They respond well to editing, even if you’re slapping on haphazardly. 

The Leica Q3 image files have phenomenal dynamic range. You won’t notice any drop in performance from nominal ISO values to 800 ISO. Those 14-bit DNG files are chunky, and full of useful data.

Verdict

The Leica Q3 can shoot sharp images fully open, with good ISO performance and the ability to shoot at low shutter speeds. Even if you don’t have a tripod handy, you can easily get a usable shot—even in challenging conditions, when light is at a premium.

Upsides

• 28mm f/1.7 Summilux lens is a gem

• Great handling and menu system

• Stylish and well-built

• Beautiful image quality

• 60-megapixel full-frame sensor

Downsides

• Fixed lens

• Expensive

• Image stabilization could be better

• Not as small as other compact cameras

Sometimes, when a camera’s positives are so great, you’ll want to ignore the negatives—particularly when they seem relatively trivial. The Leica Q3 is a great camera, and it does its job phenomenally well. 

The Q3 won’t compete with a Canon EOS R5 or a Hasselblad X2D 100c, for example. But that would just be comparing apples with oranges. The Leica Q3 isn’t designed for all-out speed, it’s supposed to be a premium compact camera. 

For the price, a full-frame compact with a fixed 28mm lens—the Q3 is always going to be a niche product. That’s an advanced focal length, particularly if it’s the only lens available to you. The 28mm lens requires you to get close. Not just close to people, if you’re using it as a street photography camera, but even to larger subjects in landscapes and documentary-style photographs.

But thanks to the full-frame 60-megapixel sensor, you can always crop in and still retain a ton of detail. So, despite the fixed lens being a compromise, the camera more than makes up for it. 

The simplicity of the Leica Q3 is one of its best assets. It helps you by yielding beautiful images that are a joy to capture. 

The lens is the star of the show, with its speed, performance and focal length. While using a fixed lens has practical drawbacks, there’s something magical about being limited to a single focal length. After all, limitations, challenges and constraints can often open up creativity. 

The fixed lens nurtures a unique style and a way of thinking. Prime lenses, in particular, are a great way to improve your photography. And the Leica Q3’s 28mm f/1.7 Summilux ASPH is one of the best. 

Ultimately, most photographers like having a camera with them all the time. A camera for travel, for capturing photos of family and friends, for carrying around everywhere. Particularly if their primary camera is too bulky, then a secondary, compact camera is incredibly useful. Who wouldn’t want one? 

Possibly the very best ‘secondary’ camera out there right now is the Leica Q3. It provides many of the pro features—decent autofocus, good stabilization and great optics—in a portable package.

If you can justify spending a lot on a secondary camera, get the Leica Q3. But if you’re building an all-rounder, primary camera setup—and you’re not worried about size or weight—you’ll get more value for money elsewhere. However, within its category and intended use, the Leica Q3 is quite simply unrivaled. 

Read our Leica Q review, Dan King’s Leica Q2 review or more camera gear guides on the MPB Content Hub.