Leica has announced a new version of its Q3 digital compact camera: the Q3 43.
The new addition to the Q series is identical to the Q3 in most regards, but it packs an all-new APO-Summicron 43mm f/2 ASPH lens, and is adorned with a gray leather exterior to complement the black top and bottom metal plates. Believe me, the Q3 43 will sell out fast.
Like the Q3 – which was one of our favorite cameras of 2023 and has remained our top pick for a premium compact camera ever since – the Q3 43’s lens is built-in, but it’s a lens that mirrors the perception of the human eye, with a longer reach than the Q3’s wide-angle 28mm f/1.7 lens.
Both cameras are equipped with a 60.4MP full-frame sensor. It’s that high-resolution sensor that makes Q-series cameras so versatile, enabling digital crop modes, albeit with a reduction in resolution. The Q3 can replicate popular focal lengths up to 90mm, and the Q3 43 has the same party trick but goes even further, with settings for 43mm, 60mm, 75mm, 90mm, 120mm and 150mm.
Elsewhere, most of the key features are the same: there’s a 5.76m-dot OLED viewfinder, handy tilt-touchscreen, and easy Bluetooth / Wi-Fi connection to the Leica Fotos app for image uploads and remote control.
What differs slightly is the price – the Q3 43 is more expensive at $6,895 / £5,900 (about AU$12,000) compared to the Q3’s list price of $6,295 / £5,550 / $10,890.
A different perspective
The Leica Q3 features an excellent multi-purpose 28mm f/1.7 lens, especially when you consider its 60.4MP sensor and digital crop modes – you can see those in action in our Q3 review. However, there are many photographers, myself included, who prefer standard-to-telephoto focal lengths over a wider perspective. Enter the Q3 43, with its specially developed APO-Summicron 43mm f/2 ASPH lens.
The Leica Q3 43 is a similar concept to the Ricoh GR IIIx, a camera that I bought instead of the latest iPhone. Ricoh’s previous GR III models had all packed the wider 28mm lens, but then along came the GR IIIx with a longer-reach 40mm f/2.8 lens.
It’s the unavoidable issue with fixed-lens compact cameras like the Fujifilm X100VI, Leica Q3 and Ricoh GR III: there’s no one focal length for everyone. And that’s why you see a lot of fans calling for a new version of a particular camera they love, but with a different built-in lens. It’s for this reason that the often-sold-out Q3’s new counterpart, the Q3 43, will prove popular.
Like the Q3’s 28mm f/1.7 lens, the new 43mm f/2 has a macro focusing function to capture the finer details – details will only be further accentuated given the compression effect of the longer-reach lens. Overall, I find the focal length of cameras like the Q3 43 / GR IIIx to be more versatile, although there are inevitable times when I would like to shoot wider.
I expect the Q3 43 to be a superb everyday camera, and we’ll tell you more about it when our full review is complete.