Leica Q3

Leica's premium full-frame compact gains a 60MP sensor and a tilting screen. Andy Westlake takes an initial look

Leica's Q-series premium compacts are unique on the market, by combining a fixed prime lens with a full-frame sensor. Sony and Zeiss have previously dabbled in the same sector, but it seems that only Leica has the cachet to sustain a genuine series.

Following on from the Q of 2015 and the Q2 from 2019, the new Leica Q3 brings a perhaps unexpected slew of updates and new features. Chief among them are a higher-resolution sensor, a tilting screen, and significantly upgraded autofocus.

Let's look at these in more detail. Firstly, the Q3 uses a variant of the excellent 60MP BSI-CMOS sensor that we previously saw in the Leica M11 rangefinder, although here, it includes phase detection elements for autofocus. In concert with the Maestro IV processor, the sensor supports a standard sensitivity range of ISO 100-100,000, plus a 'pulled' ISO 50 setting, and enables continuous shooting at up to 15 frames per second. As on the M11, you don't have to shoot in full resolution all the time, but can also record both JPEG and raw files at either 36MP or 18MP.