The analogue romance

The Leica Q3…finally arrived to the world. I have been watching, following and observing this growth of the Q camera since my introduction to the Leica rangefinders via the M-P Typ240 in 2019. Frankly, I was often tempted, especially when the Q1s dropped much in price with the prolific praises heaped upon the Q2…”we’ve got weather sealing now, oh crop mode now makes sense with 47MP, OLED viewfinder”…and the list goes on and on.

Somehow I managed to resist the temptation, mostly along the reasoning of..if I spend on a Q, I should spend on a better lens for my M. You see, I have been shooting my M with a 28 Elmarit and a 50 Cron. That was also a rationale that I already have a 28 lens on my M, what in God’s world do I even need a Q, especially when I was not able to reach for the Q2s. Getting a Q with the same megapixel as my M240, no no, Maurice…please. Money does not grow on trees. And there it goes, 4 safe years from 2019 to 2023 went by without a Q purchase. My M was my sole devotion…so it seems.

There was just 1 tiny problem. Like most guys, I have a fascination with cars, and like most other guys, I don’t have the ability to buy any car I want in this little place I live in called Singapore. Anyone who is a Singaporean and have lived overseas will tell you owning a car here in our beautiful perpetually sunny (and ridiculously sweaty) island is a pure luxury intent. We have to contend with paying a license to use our cars on Singapore roads called a “Certificate of Entitlement” and as of July 2023, these go for SGD80ish thousand. Yes let me say that again, SGD80k ish….or USD60k ish….to own a car. So, like many other guys here, we seem to have a fascination with all things cars minus owning one…driving cars in our PlayStations, buying car models..for me, its combining my love of photography with owning car models into something called miniature photography. Shooting mini sized toys in the natural world to make it seem life-sized and real.

The only challenge is…the M lenses…have this minimum focal distance of at least 0.8m. M lenses…great for street, horrid mostly for macro. So, I have been steadily noticing a regular stream of the youth of today in coffee shops and restaurants in Japan shooting their food with…Leica Qs. That really fascinated me. Japanese youth are known to be cutting edge with tech, on the bleeding edge of fashion and I suppose know what they are doing when it comes to being a food influencer . Therefore, like every logical male species out there, we aim to squash the bug of temptation by googling “Miniature photography Leica Q” …with the sole purpose of reaching the conclusion that this camera definitely does not make sense and its just a fashion fad amongst the Tokyo Elite Kids. Why do we need a Leica Q for food photography when our iPhone 14 Pros have RAW capabilities at close to 50MP on the main lens?!

The googling efforts were only effective in one way. Further making me curious that perhaps I misread the Leica Qs. That there is a marked reason why Leica Xs, DLuxes and CLs never really took off the way the Qs did. The combination of form (M rangefinders) and function (Leica SLs) with mobility sized dimensions (Leica Xs) really was a match made in heaven…and I digress about the Q’s macro mode. I never realised the magic 28 F1.7 Summilux lens on the Q had, with a swift and sure turn of a dial, the lens could focus at 17cm. What form of witchcraft is this?

Still, there was the matter of cost. I am one to never belief in owning the best of the best and owning hoards of gear as firstly photography is a hobby that makes me no money, so its purely in the indulgence and expense side of the P&L chart. Next, Qs are not cheap and did I say I happen to also own the Ricoh GR3? Another 28mm wide-angle shooter. And this is where I thank the Gods of Progress. With each generation of a new camera, the previous generation takes a small hit in value. In 2023, specifically July, the influx of available Q3s seemed to have made the Qs become affordable. Ok, maybe not affordable but a reasonable indulgence for the slightly affluent willing to blow 2-3 grand on 8 year old technology.

That said…I chanced upon a lovely silver Q. Did they make these in silver? I love silver. If I had an M11, it would have to be the silver-brassed version. The owner got herself a magnificent Q3 and was looking to let the silver Q go for SGD2.8k. That basically translates to USD2k for an immaculate , 2018 manufactured Q in silver that I love. Perhaps, I’m glad Leica never bothered with silver Q2s. Or they may with the Q3s? That said, as you can see from these photos that I made with my first …very first shooting experience with the Q. I am highly impressed with the macro capability of it. This might just be my favourite camera for on the go miniature photography. Or maybe its just “GAS”? One would never know, but one thing is sure, this is not the last you will hear about my Leica Q…in silver …in 2023.