Leica Q3 Monochrom

£5,800/$7,790

An absolute dream camera for street shooting

1 With a flat body, there’s no natural grip, so this is a camera you need to touch and try first.

2 The 60.3MP mono sensor produces less noisy images than its colour counterpart.

3 The fixed 28mm f/1.7 lens offers ‘digital’ focal lengths of 35mm, 50mm and 75mm.

www.leica-camera.com

Specifications

Lens: Leica Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH Sensor: Full-frame BSI CMOS monochrome

(no low-pass filter), 60.3MP Image processor: Maestro IV

ISO range: 100-200,000; Dual base (100, 640) Autofocus: 315 AF points, contrast detect. Subject detection: Human eye/face/body, animal (beta) Stabilisation: Optical

Max image size: 9528 x 6328px Max burst: Elec: 15fps (12-bit), 7fps (14-bit)

• Mech: 5fps (12-bit), 4fps (14-bit) Video: 8K 30p, 4K 60p, FullHD 120p Viewfinder: 5.76 million dots, 120fps

LCD: 3-inch tilting touchscreen, 1,843,200 dots Memory card: 1x SD UHS-II

Connectivity: USB-C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, micro HDMI, wireless charging

Battery/ shots per charge: BP-SCL6/ 302 Dimensions (W x H x D): 130 x 80.3 x 92.6mm

Weight: 662g (746g incl battery) wasn’t sure what to expect of the Leica Q3 Monochrom. While I

I admire the base Leica Q3,

I’m not a fan of the 28mm focal length as it’s a little limiting. So it’s curious that what might be perceived as an even bigger limitation – the total absence of colour – is what made this camera truly click for me.

I love street and reportage, typically at 35mm or 50mm, and shoot almost exclusively in black and white. It’s here, in this specific Leica context, that my brain understands what this camera is and does. The Leica Q3 Monochrom might be the best camera for street photography I’ve used. Despite being an advanced digital camera, it’s also the closest you can get to the photographic experience of the old masters – the Cartier-Bressons and Capas of the world – without actually shooting on film.