[Leica] Q3 Monochrom - more images and "report"

Fri Jul 31 08:54:57 PDT 2026

Don,

Thank you. That was of course the point - and once again thanks for your 
advice.

The dynamic range is extraordinary that was what I was hoping to show in 
some of the Tewkesbury and Cheltenham shots. The heart of the 
Monochroms, the non-Bayer sensors, really do produce fantastic results.

To appreciate it you need to look at the images very large to see the 
subtleties. Most screens aren't that big! In addition, printers - unless 
you print very large -aren't going to show a great deal of difference. I 
don't print larger than A4.

I think that 40Mp or so is about the limit of what I need. That gives me 
two options; the Q2 Mono or the M10 Mono - if I can find one.

The latter has the advantage, of course, that I can use all my lenses 
back to my 1930s Hector and my Jupiter on it! Partnering it with a V4 
'cron would probably give me something approaching the best of both 
worlds: Monochrom digital and film.

I really am still deciding.

Regards,

Peter

On 30/07/2026 23:18, Don Dory via LUG wrote:
> Your decision is of course yours to make.  I think that if you push the
> files you will find the dynamic range to be extraordinary allowing you or
> the camera to make drastic misjudgements in exposure and still have a great
> image.  Second, memory is cheap, a capable computer is not that expensive,
> and large files from an excellent lens allow you to do a of "Ted Grants"
> wow, click, look at that when your subject distance isn't ideal.  Last, Q
> monochromes are in very high demand and your can purchase one, use it for a
> year and resell it for very little depreciation.
> 
> All the best.
> 
> Don
> 
> On Thu, Jul 30, 2026 at 1:23 PM Peter Dzwig <pdzwig at summaventures.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> Dear All,
>>
>>
>> I promised more shots and my impressions of the Q3 so, here we go :-)
>> Please don't dismiss it as too long to read! I should probably begin
>> with a statement that these are my results and impressions and opinions.
>> You may think otherwise
>>
>>
>> BACKGROUND:
>>
>> A bit of scene setting: some of you will know that for several months I
>> have been considering whether or not to buy a Q3 Monochrom.
>>
>> I am particularly grateful to all who have offered advice here on the
>> LUG and on a number of other fora, in particular to Lluis, Nathan and Don.
>>
>> I also want to thank Leica themselves, who were very generous loaning me
>> a Q3 Monochrom for almost a week and for a great deal of time spent
>> discussing issues that I found - and promising to address them.
>>
>>
>> THE IMAGES:
>>
>> NONE OF THESE are intended as works of art!! They are what they are -
>> tests!
>>
>> - All the photos were taken in auto mode, the idea being to see what the
>> camera would do "on its own", there is were no filters used, again this
>> is in effect the raw processor working. Anything else can be fixed with
>> filters or PP.
>>
>> - The .jpegs were made directly from the entire .DNGs (enormous) in
>> Darktable, reduced to 8-bit and scaled to fit within the Gallery format.
>> So what you are seeing here is the output .jpeg reduced to approx 18%.
>> Obviously it degrades the quality of the images a bit.
>>
>> - If anyone wants to have a look at the originals (.jpegs or .DNGs)
>> contact me offline.
>>
>>
>>
>> 1. The Bull and Hare sculpture Cheltenham.
>>
>> Taken under a canopy of leaves in bright sunlight. The sculpture is
>> highly textured. I was surprised at the lack of variation in the shadows
>> given what I saw when I was there. More about the vignetting below.
>>
>>
>> <
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/PeterDzwig/PESO2011/Q3+Mono/L1001669.jpg.html
>>>
>>
>>
>> 2. The same from the reverse to give an idea of the depth of shadows:
>>
>> <
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/PeterDzwig/PESO2011/Q3+Mono/L1001671_01.jpg.html
>>>
>>
>>
>> 3. Mobile coffee bar - makes the best iced coffee in Town!
>>
>> <
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/PeterDzwig/PESO2011/Q3+Mono/L1001674.jpg.html
>>>
>>
>> It *really* is excellent coffee. Overall luminosity was not extreme but
>> varied rapidly; highlights are unblown, but the woman's skin is actually
>> a light coffee in colour which I had hoped would be better rendered.
>>
>>
>> 4. Ancient Beech:
>>
>> This is an extremely old beech tree in the grounds of Tewkesbury Abbey,
>> the picture showing great detail in the bark. View large!
>>
>> <
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/PeterDzwig/PESO2011/Q3+Mono/L1001635_rescaled.JPG.html
>>>
>>
>>
>> 5. The front entrance to Tewkesbury Abbey from its grounds.
>>
>> "Contrasty", but handled well. I really liked this shot. I felt that the
>> ones I took around the Abbey highlighted the general capabilities of the
>> Q3M.
>>
>> <
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/PeterDzwig/PESO2011/Q3+Mono/L1001637_rescaled.JPG.html
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 6. Gustav Holst Statue, Cheltenham: In the original .jpeg you can easily
>> read the inscriptions
>>
>> <
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/PeterDzwig/PESO2011/Q3+Mono/L1001679_Holst_scaled_corrected.jpg.html
>>>
>>
>>
>> 7. A Bar at Craven Cottage (Fulham FC) overlooking the River Thames.
>>
>> A really high contrast shot which it handles very well.
>>
>> <
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/PeterDzwig/PESO2011/Q3+Mono/L1001704_Craven_Cottage_Interior_Scaled.jpg.html
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> TECHNICAL ISSUES AND VIGNETTING:
>>
>> As you can see from some of the shots there was an issue with vignetting
>> (the worst case was the statue of Holst -,which I corrected for in the
>> version above). This turned out to be because the Q Monos (both) have
>> been mis-identified in some PP databases and as a consequence the lens
>> corrections, which are different from the Bayer-filtered Qs, and they
>> also fail to take account of the different processors. It is a fairly
>> trivial change.
>>
>> I have submitted ammended code to the main DB and Leica are looking into
>> making sure the various DBs get the relevant data direct from Leica in
>> future.
>>
>> The PP systems involved are any that build on the so-called Lensfun DB
>> and potentially several others. If anyone wants/needs the code I can
>> make it available while it filters its way into the system.
>>
>> I also had issues with using FOTOS - which remain unresolved, but may be
>> due to overall systems configuration issues.
>>
>>
>> CONCLUSION
>>
>> Simply put, it's a great camera. As you can see from the photos the
>> level of detail is extremely high* and a bit to my surprise I found the
>> 28mm very interesting.
>>
>> I was pleased with many of the photos (there were well over 100) and
>> despite a few niggles it handled the sort of scenes I like shooting very
>> well.
>>
>> So will I get one? The answer is probably not and here's why. It's an
>> expensive camera (unsurprising), and which a number of things that I
>> don't need, in addition to issues of pixel density. I don't shoot video
>> - at all - so all the functionality around that is useless for me (and
>> why in B&W?); the Apple charging is pointless as I don't use Apple.
>>
>> Then there's the unresolved FOTOS issue, which...
>>
>> At the end of the day I'm really a film photographer, and I don't think
>> I need 60Mp files, extraordinary as they are. I suspect I don't need
>> much more than 40Mp.
>>
>> I am looking at two Leica options: one is buying a Q2 Monochrom *and* a
>> Summicron V4 to go with my M3; or a V4 Summicron and M10 Monochrom, both
>> combinations of which I could get for the cost of a new Q3 Monochrom.
>>
>> Still thinking, but watch this space ;-)
>>
>>
>> I very much hope that you got this far! Your C&Cs are as ever always
>> welcome
>>
>>
>> Peter
>>
>> * In one DNG I could clearly distinguish details of structures,
>> including individual buildings at 4 - 5km!
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dr. Peter Dzwig
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>
> 
> 

-- 
Dr. Peter Dzwig