So. Here we are. A new camera announcement. The Q3. But I'm just now getting up to speed with the Q2.

I like trains. I wish we had fast rail service between major cities here in Texas. 

It would save so much time. Be more relaxing and efficient than trying to get 

everywhere in a car. These train cars have rubber bladders. Weird.

This is a collection of images I took around Austin with a Leica Q2. I like the camera a great deal. I hope the Q3 model motivates many, many people to shed their Q2 cameras so I can buy one more. I always like to travel with two identical cameras. Hard to justify when each one is $6K. Easier if you can find the next one used and at a big discount. But as with any camera you really have to get out and shoot with it a lot before you unlock any of its secrets.

This is David. He's quite a good photographer. I've known him since 1971.

Currently he does most of his work in the streets of Paris and some smaller towns

in Normandy. His black and white work is really on point. We met for coffee.

You've got to love a business that has a color test target painted on the side of their 

building. A quick calibration before people head out to do some 'street' photography?

Leica Store Miami Q2 Profile for Lightroom.

Torchy's Tacos aren't the best but they are a good deal and I like their flair for architecture. 

No, my dear architectural photography friends, I have not radically tilted my camera; the wall on 

the left is quite tilted without my intervention. S. Congress. 

Street poets with typewriters. Gruff but interesting. Q2 does nice black and white.

This poet suggested I ask permission to photograph him.

I suggested not. If you are writing poems on the sidewalk while 

drinking Lite beer you give up any expectation of privacy...

And, of course, this would be a "Yoga Supplies Delivery Van." 

S. Congress. Next to Jo's Coffee.

Hanging out at Jo's Coffee. 

the inevitable selfie. A reflection in a red door. 

Mickey and friends meet swim wear.

still getting to know my Q2.

It's growing on me. 

 

Looking longingly at the Q3 but looking more seriously at used SL2 camera bodies.

No. Not my house...

 It's all about what you'll really end up using. The most.

Reader, JC left a comment yesterday grousing about the price of a Leica Q3. He said he would feel guilty splashing out for one. I wouldn't feel guilty but at this junction I don't see much advantage to me of spending more money to get a Q3 versus optimizing my use of the already really, really good Q2. As usual with cost analyses of cameras JC suggested that buying a $6,000 camera (which, to be fair, would probably be most people's secondary niche camera. A camera bought as an adjunct to an already existing system of cameras from one maker or another) would be akin to dropping serious cash on a Ferrari. And he could not see how he could justify the cost of either, given that there are so many ills in the world that could be cured by donating money instead... He stated that he "could" purchase a Ferrari if he wanted to but.....

I'm pretty light-hearted about the whole idea of buying cameras. I buy some new cameras if I want them and I don't worry much about the price. What I do worry about is ending up with so many choices that the fun gets lost in the constant decision making process. Which camera to pick up now? Which camera to take street shooting? Which camera for landscapes? Which camera for portraits? How many different camera batteries will I end up stocking? Which lenses do I want to use today? And so on. 

While our knee jerk reaction is always to default to budget when considering cameras I think it's red herring and that the real questions should revolve around how we want a new camera to fit into an existing infrastructure of cameras and lenses, coupled with how we see a new camera really adding anything to the fun and quality of our hobby/passion/avocation. 

I think many of us in our mid-60's and onward have benefitted from many good economic periods in our  country's history and also from the power of compound interest. I dare say that a good proportion of our readers here could, if pressed, come up with the cash for an inexpensive but new Ferrari (say, a Ferrari Roma at a mere $226,000...+TTL). I could swing it but the purchase would make a dent in my retirement savings. But I never would spend anywhere near that much money on a car. You know that if you've read about my progression of Subaru Foresters, a car that's almost hard to spend more than $30K on. Even if you try. 

By the same token I could pre-order a Q3 today if I was so inclined but when I stop and think about it the idea makes no sense to me at all. I want, first, to suck out all of the potential value from my Q2 which is basically brand new. But the real reason to hesitate has nothing to do with budget and everything to do with the way I use cameras. When I look at my real, day to day usage of the cameras I've surrounded myself with the time spent with the Q2 is at the very bottom of the graph. Why? Because the 28mm lens would rarely be my first choice of lenses; even for a casual walk. It's a nice camera and works well but it exists in the middle of a whole system of cameras, many of which are much more functional for me. I really like my older Leica SL cameras. They are a little beat up and they were relatively cheap to buy so I have no fear of taking them out during erupting volcanos, sun flares, raging dust storms, forest fires, civil disorder or a gentle rain. When I do go out with one of them I mostly stick to using 50mm lenses and greatly enjoy manually focusing the lenses so, as a result, the most expensive 50mm lens I have for the whole system is actually the voigtlander 58mm f1.4 which I bought, used, from a friend for $400.

I would nearly always choose from the SL line of cameras if I go out and I'm at all serious about photography being the primary reason for my foray. The Q2 is nice to bring along when meeting friends for coffee ---- on the off chance that I'll see something I'd like to photograph while out. I'm spoiled for choice so I'm more or less constantly adjusting as to what will be my EDC or "every day carry" camera and lens. Sometimes, every once it a while, it actually is the 28mm and its permanently attached camera.

In retrospect it was a bad purchase for me. I should resell it but I won't. I'll try to learn to love it, but I won't. I'll take it on one trip or another hoping that it will be the perfect travel camera but I already know I'd also want a fast 50mm in the mix. And even though there's more than enough resolution for a crop to 50mm my subconscious mind will also regard that intentional crop as a compromise both of the optical performance of the package and of my basic vision for photos. And the momentum of my history shooting with 50mm lenses for oh these last 48 years.

So, my photographer friend, Paul, texted me this morning to ask if I pre-ordered a Q3. I sent a text back saying that I thought the Q2 was already a fine "niche" camera solution but that I would be more interested in some of the other choices. To wit, an updated SLx which combined a smaller, lighter SL body with the new Maestro processor and which stayed with the 47.5 megapixel sensor. Why? A selection of 12-15 L mount lenses and a smaller collection of M mount lenses and even some Nikon mount lenses that I love to play with. All of which work well on SL style cameras.

Stepping outside of the Leica family for a moment I also have to admit that I still like the Panasonic cameras very much and would be interested to pick up a Lumix S5iix. It's a camera that now features an equally fast processor. My preferred 24 megapixel sensor resolution. Forced air cooling for the West Texas Desert in the Summer. The ability to take all of the same lenses as my Leica system cameras. A "half priced" battery = equal in power to the "new" Leica battery ---- why do I think they are the same, under the hood? The S5iix also features the new PD-AF sensor stuff for faster focusing, etc. and is an acknowledged low light champ. And nearly one third the cost of a Q3. Less than a third the cost of an SL2 without a lens. 

So, it's not a question of whether or not I can afford to buy a Q3. That's not an issue. The issue is what would it add to my overall system of cameras and lenses that I can't squeeze out of the Q2 already? Better video? Better than what? I'm not really in the full scale video production industry anymore. Higher Res? Will y'all really see a difference in the material I post on the blog? Nah. The newer battery? Why? Since I can buy the new battery a la carte and use it in four of my existing cameras.

But I never delude myself into thinking an acquisition is all about budget or "getting my spouse's approval." It's always about -- "will this make my photo life better? Will photography be more fun? Which camera will I move down on the usage graph as I embrace this new one? How can I better use $6,000? 

JC wants to cure Tuberculosis. I want to change Texas politics for the better. Porsche owners think expenditures on Ferraris are insane. Subaru owners think Porsche owners are insane. Bicyclists think car owners are insane. It's all a very slippery slope to start categorizing discretionary purchases by their moral implications. Soon we'd all be eating ramen, sleeping on the roofs of our un-air conditioned houses, and peddling out to search for discount groceries. But if you want one and think you'll use it enough a Q3 isn't going to break the bank for most people who find themselves in the target market. 

As my financial advisor once said, "If you put a purchase on a credit card and then pay it off at the end of the billing cycle chances are you can afford that purchase. On the other hand if you are paying for a luxury good over time on your high interest credit card then it's pretty obvious that you made a bad choice." Words to live by. 

In the end who is the Q3 or even the Q2 really perfect for? I can answer that one. It's for the person who really, really wants to eliminate all the clutter in their photography life and who really, really likes and uses regularly 28mm lenses to make their preferred art. I know I am not (right now) that person. Hypothetically it would be quite wonderful to be totally happy with just one "perfect" camera and a permanently attached lens. It would reduce daily decision making to nothing. It would calm the ever chattering brain when it comes to making lens choices and accessory choices. It could be a one time purchase. The final distillation of purpose. An intimate tool. 

But for a nerdy, 50mm fan who sometimes thrives on the friction of the process? Nah. Not me. 

But little by little I'm winnowing down the inventory. Some day I'll be a mature adult and walk the world with one camera body and a 50mm lens that's perfect. But not today.

I wrote about the Leica Q3 rumors on the 16th of the month. Here it is, the 25th of the month. The new camera has launched and it looks like most of my observations are right on.

 

Here's what a I wrote on the 16th: https://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-rumors-around-launch-of-leica-q3.html

Now for the confirmation blog. I woke up today and got to the pool before I opened up any social media, email or other spoilers and so I missed have the adrenaline hit of the initial announcement along with my coffee first thing. But by the time I got dried off and back home the web was all abuzz with stories and gushy paeans to the latest Leica camera; the Q3. 

The splash this time was much bigger than the splash provided for the Q2 back in 2019 and much, much bigger than the cautious launch of the original Q back in 2015. No wonder. The Q2 became, over the last four years, the best selling of all the Leica cameras on the market, trouncing sales of all the M cameras and, of course, all of the SL cameras. With the middle iteration being a profit magnet it seems prudent that Leica would see the point of making as many popular changes as they could because the price point provides an entry point into the Leica system that is the only way many frugal buyers can rationalize buying the brand. After all, the very good camera body coupled with a very, very good lens is less money to purchase than just about any of their other camera bodies alone. Although I have to point out that their SL2-S is currently about $400 less than the price of the Q3 --- but again, that's for a body without a lens. No dummies there at Leica's marketing department. 

What is fascinating to me is that the same web reviewers who were thrilled to be using the Leica Q2 and didn't really have many things they would have improved about that camera instantly realized (like, this morning) that now they couldn't possibly live without a flippy screen, or 61 megapixels, or USB or wireless charging. They had, one imagines, been horribly mislead about the nature of their own wants and needs. As Steve Jobs once said about market research (paraphrasing here...): "The consumer doesn't know what they want until we make it for them!" 

Several reviewers who were lukewarm in reviews of the last camera had done 108° turns and have now decided that the Leica Q3 is neither "Veblen Goods" or "Luxury Brand Merchandise" but now, at $6.000 for a fixed lens compact camera it represents a true bargain and a sought after "photographic tool." I chuckled. 

Good old Hugh Brownstone almost wet himself extolling the virtues of the Q3 as a video camera, only grudgingly adding that it was incomplete as the camera doesn't have a microphone or headphone jack... I can't imagine that one would rush to use the Q3 as a video camera given its limitations but the Leica marketers summoned up the magic words of the moment to fuel the fires of video desire: "It's got 8K!!!"

Now there are three ways to get your files out of a Q3. You can use the newly updated Fotos 4.0 app along with your iPhone, you can spool off those big files with a USB-C cable directly to your computer (no. you could not do that with the two previous models) or.....primitive man.....you could pluck the SD card out of the slot on the bottom of the camera an plunge it into an SD card reader. Options, options. 

Sidebar/Prediction: Leica will very soon launch a USB-C compatible dongle which will, like the one they came up with for the original SL, provide both a microphone port and a headphone port. It will be a simple device. They will charge $350 to $400 for this add-on.  

Speaking of economizing and cost savings there is one bit of news in all this that has me grinning at my good fortune. Leica have upgraded the battery in the Q3 to one that is about 20% more powerful but which can be used across the SL cameras and the Q2. Even better, the new battery is retailing here for about $170 USD instead of the gasping for air overpriced original SL and Q2 battery which was less powerful but cost $285.  Sadly, this "battery bargain" comes a bit late for me as I have, over the last three years, purchased about ten of the older batteries. Cumulatively about the price of an inexpensive new Leica lens for the SL cameras....

There have been improvements to the Q3 camera overall. I like the idea of being able to charge the battery in the camera. I like that the EVF has been upgraded from 3.68 million dots to nearly six million dots. 

Will I buy one of the new Q3s? Well, certainly not for their video capabilities. And not for the 61 megapixels imaging sensor (would love a Q2 with a 24 megapixel sensor, actually....). I'm pretty darn happy with the Q2. Which will continue to sell alongside the Q3 until current production units are depleted. I might wait for something new and different. It's almost time for Leica to refresh their SL2 and then, a year from now, the SL2-S. I'm thinking they're going to put those bodies on diets for the new revs. Something along the lines of what Panasonic did with the S5mk2. Lots of good tech but a much smaller and lighter footprint than that of the the S1, S1R and S1H. A trimmed down SL body with a sensor that is also optimized for rangefinder lenses would find, I think, a ready market among Leica users of all stripes.

I'm sure I'll break down and buy some sort of new camera this year. Maybe closer to my birthday. Given that I've spoiled myself in the past with impulsive Leica buying frenzies I'm coming to grips with the inevitable. Now I'm starting to buy store brand foods, I'm scanning for and clipping coupons for everything in an attempt to save every penny. We're keeping the air conditioning at 95°. The heating at 46°. If we dine out it's because we have in-app discount for Happy Meals at McDonalds. Instead of resoling shoes I just put on another layer of gaffer's tape. Anything I can do, budget-wise, to get closer to a cost that V-loggers assure me is now, suddenly, a bargain. 

As I'm sitting here browsing the rave reviews for the new product I can feel my own Q2 slowly turning to a goof ridden mush. An obsolete husk. How can I go on aimlessly photographing downtown buildings for the blog with "only" 47.5 megapixels of image resolution? My clients, seeing the old tech, will be so ashamed of me. 

Oh wait. Just a bad dream. My real plan? Buy a battery. Call it a day. 

Hey, thanks to a local reader I was able to meet up with a bright photography student who is passionate about photographing portraits. I gave her enough gear to get started out in the right direction. No strings attached. It was fun. It felt great to lighten my load and at the same time help out a person early on the path. The rest of the gear is currently in stasis and feels well balanced for my needs. Thanks for the advice and the direction.

Putting up clean glasses after doing the dishes. Two days a week of no adult supervision...

I like glassware that casts interesting shadows. 

I think I like it even better in color. There goes my 

rationale for wanting a Leica Monochrom Q2...

It's been an interesting day. I've been thinning out the inventory of equipment in preparation for donating some of the gear to an enterprising, young photographer, or two. The amazing thing is how quickly one builds up a hoard of equipment and, on the other hand, how little equipment one really needs in order to do photography well. 

Over the last thirty years or so one of my most used and underrated pieces of gear has been my background stand system. It's been everywhere with me and has held up countless rolls of seamless background paper, home made canvases and more muslin drapes than I can count. The background stands are staying with me. Basically two stands and a crossbar.  They are on their last legs. Almost an allegorical nod to the photographer. But they've done such good service that not letting them ride off into the sunset together would feel heartless. 

All the big flashes that plug into a wall socket are going away. I did a portrait session with one set yesterday, for old time's sake and then wrapped the cord, put the trigger on the pile and said "goodbye." The same with any number of soft boxes which seem to breed faster than bunnies. I have always both loved and hated soft boxes. So bitchy to set up but when positioned correctly, so sweet and easy to light with. (Maybe too easy....).

I'm keeping my LED lights as a reminder that I was right, and prescient, thirteen years ago when my publisher asked me what I would like to write new book about and I said, "the future will be LED lighting." And now they are everywhere. I like lighting with continuous light; especially for portraits. You see pretty much exactly what you are going to get while you are shooting your project. Once you've set up your lighting and dialed in your exposure you can turn off the automatic review on your digital camera and just get down to a more concentrated workflow. If nothing changes then nothing is going to change.

The big, C.O.B. LED lights I've ended up with (and will keep) are a joy to work with and have enough power to do anything but go toe-to-toe with sunlight. 

I'm getting rid of five different on-camera flashes. Too much mindless duplication. But I am keeping a couple of the small flashes that are dedicated to the Panasonic camera. They might come in handy when I'm asked to photograph an event. And I'm keeping three of the Godox AD200 Pro lights because they are useful and cute, and eminently portable and fun. I did order an adapter for them that allows me to attach two AD 200 Pro power sections to two bare tubes on one device which also doubles as a speed ring and stand adapter. It also gives my battery powered units a decent LED modeling light. So, with two of the AD200 Pros firing into one modifier you get the equivalent power of one 400 W/S flash. Just about right.

What I won't be thinning out just yet is the collection of seven cameras and a million weird lenses. Why? Because for some strange and unexplainable reason I like all of them. And I can carry them around and have fun with them. Eventually I'll distill the collection down. First on the chopping block will no doubt be the Panasonic Lumix 70-200mm f4.0 S lens. It's lovely! It has a tripod mount that works well and the lens itself is "Leica Certified"; whatever that means. But sadly, I haven't used it since I passed the torch on theater photography a year or so ago (it's always a process...). It just sits in an equipment drawer looking heavy and neglected. Same with the Panasonic 24-105mm zoom lens. Since the Leica 24-90mm Elmarit got here the Lumix has barely seen the light of day....or night. And so on, and so on. 

I wish I could get rid of the two, big filing cabinets next to my desk but they are filled with negatives, transparencies, hard drives, DVDs and CDs. I need to hire someone to go through them and dispassionately separate family photos from business stuff. One pile for disposal and one pile for keeping...

It feels good to reduce the pile of stuff. It doesn't at all diminish my joy for photography or my passion for taking photographs but at some point I realized that there are always sub-routines running in my brain trying to keep track of all the gear, when I last charged the endless parade of batteries, where all the adapters live and, in fact, I always feel a bit guilty when I buy stuff and then end up not using it. Or not using it enough. Everything has some sort of expiration date implied and something in my mental make-up is sensitive to the lost potential of a piece of gear that becomes wholly obsolete before it's actually used up. Even now I worry about how well I'm rotating through Leica batteries in order to keep them well formed and healthy. You can imagine how much brain power I waste worrying about ten times as many rechargeable batteries spread through the office and the gear bags. 

Wow. I just realized that this will create a lot more space in the office. Enough space for more lenses? I'm sure we'll find out. 

Why, today, does this feel to me like the last photo blog standing? Something wacky going on with the universe....