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on september 27, leica suddenly released a new product of the q series - the leica q3 43 special edition. as the name suggests, it changed the equivalent focal length from 28mm of the q3 standard version to 43mm. the other hardware configurations remained unchanged. you can it is regarded as a leica q3 with a new lens (but the quality has not been improved). in terms of price, the price has increased from the previous 50,800 yuan to 56,300 yuan. it seems that the increase in this small focal length has still increased the cost.

(image source: leica official)

having said that, in xiao lei’s impression, the special editions that leica previously launched for the q series basically focused on appearance and color matching, and this was the first time that it made changes to the hardware. so, is this "new" leica q3 really worth the price increase of more than 5,000 yuan, and can it become the main sales force of leica's new generation?

increasing volume also increases prices. where does leica’s confidence come from?

let’s talk about the product itself first. the main hardware configuration of the leica q3 43 special edition is exactly the same as that of the ordinary leica q3: a 60-megapixel full-frame sensor, a sensitivity range of iso 50-100000, a new maestro iv processor and it has 8gb of buffer memory, can quickly process raw dng files of about 70mb each, supports 8k 30fps video recording, supports h.265, prores multiple encodings, supports a new hybrid focus system, and more.

(image source: leica official)

the leica q3 43 special edition uses the new apo-summicron 43mm f/2 asph. lens. according to leica’s official statement, this lens uses 11 optical lenses in 8 groups and bears the apo logo. it is an apochromatic lens. , is also what leica users call the "double a" lens. compared with the mainstream summilux asph lens, it is more luxurious in terms of material stacking, and it also has a certain improvement in image quality and resolution. of course, in terms of price it will also become more "above and above".

(image source: leica official)

xiao lei checked the information and found that in the leica lens group,the only lens with quality and focal length that is close to this fixed lens is the apo 35mm f/2 asph, but its price is 70,080 yuan.in other words, you can think of it as buying a lens and getting a camera body for free.

(image source: leica official)

however, the biggest upgrade of the leica q3 43 special edition is that the focal length of the lens has been changed from 28mm to 43mm, which xiaolei agrees with very much. because the focal length of 28mm really tests the composition skills when framing the view, unless you have used a lens or camera with a similar focal length before, you will often not be able to find a suitable composition angle when you first start using the leica q series. although this focal length is very suitable for shooting some humanistic themes, considering the shooting skills of most users and the fact that it overlaps with the main focal length of the mobile phone, it is not a particularly interesting focal length.

the new 43mm focal length is between 35mm and 50mm. with a longer focal length, the framing and composition will be relatively simpler. coupled with the maximum aperture of f2, you can achieve good blur effects when shooting various subjects.

secondly, due to the change in the initial focal length, the built-in digital zoom options of the leica q3 43 special edition have also become 60mm, 75mm, 90mm, 120mm and 150mm. compared with the previous q3, the shooting range will be further. some readers may mistakenly believe that the image quality of the leica q3 43 will drop significantly when the focal length is increased to 150mm. for example, they are worried that there may be a lot of noise and smearing in the photos. however, thanks to the triple resolution technology of the leica q3 series, its picture quality performance will be much better than we imagined.

(image source: leica official)

the leica q series is originally priced at a high price, so it is also a "luxury product" that many photography enthusiasts can't reach. however, it has to be said that the leica q3 43 special edition launched this time is much more cost-effective than the previous leica q3. quite a bit, at least this "double a" lens alone is worth the price difference of more than 5,000 yuan.

competing for the quasi-professional user base, fixed lens cameras are popular

i don’t know if you have noticed that fixed-lens cameras (that is, non-interchangeable lenses) have become more and more popular in the past two years. fujifilm’s x100vi and ricoh’s gr3x have caused quite a stir on the internet. not only are these two machines currently out of stock, but their price premiums in the hands of scalpers have basically exceeded 40%. it is not an exaggeration to say that they are the most valuable cameras in today’s camera market.

(image source: fuji official)

leica obviously does not want to give up this piece of pie. the q3 43 special edition is an important attempt. after all, compared to fuji and ricoh, the original q series is already weaker in terms of "ease of use", coupled with the higher price , has never been able to stir up much popularity.this time leica replaced 28mm with 43mm to give more novice players an additional choice, which may also further boost the sales of leica cameras.

(image source: ricoh official)

the reason why fixed-lens cameras are favored by the market is that, in addition to having better image quality than zoom lenses of the same focal length, they also force consumers to think more about composition - because they can no longer change the focal length or change the lens. obtaining a new viewfinder is a good thing for many novices or street photographers. they no longer have to worry about which focal length lens is needed to capture the scene better. they can "pack light and travel lightly" when going out. lenses can also be used to inspire creative ideas within hardware constraints, so "less is more".

in xiao lei’s view, fixed-lens cameras restore the original intention of photography – making photography simpler.this is very meaningful for the "popularization of professional imaging" itself. after all, mobile phone imaging is increasingly developed, and professional cameras must continue to lower the threshold if they want to win over mass users. it is against this background that the fuji x100 series and ricoh, which have good looks, a large number of built-in filters, are easy to use and do not need to change lenses, have become one of the cameras of choice for countless novices and street photographers. after all, they are not all photography enthusiasts have the time and effort to learn post-production and composition. "allowing users to press the shutter button to output a photo that looks good" is what mass-level professional cameras should do most at this stage.

however, fixed-lens cameras also have many shortcomings. although they are portable enough, they are not full-frame machines. their performance in dark light environments is obviously much worse than mainstream full-frame cameras. this is why xiaolei has never chosen to buy fujifilm. one of the reasons for x100vi.

the leica q3 43 special edition makes up for this shortcoming. the 60-megapixel full-frame sensor and leica's own algorithm are definitely the strongest among portable fixed-lens cameras.

(image source: leica official)

many readers may be curious after seeing this: why are leica, fuji, and ricoh all "making a big fuss" in such a niche market? would it sell better if we made some products for the mainstream circuit? in fact, it's not that they don't want to do it, but that their opponents are so strong that there is no possibility of winning.

in the mainstream full-frame mirrorless camera market, neither leica nor fujifilm nor ricoh are able to compete with the three giants of nikon, sony and canon. they can only avoid each other's strong points and focus on products in niche markets. only if you have a line can you have a place.

although in the eyes of professional photographers, these three manufacturers do not have any advantages in the most important aspects of focus and lens groups, they can still highlight their own characteristics through differentiated product lines, and then strive for "no attention to images" a quasi-professional user group above ordinary users and below professional photographers, and fixed-lens cameras are one of such representative products.

don’t want to be the next kodak, leica is becoming more and more accessible to the people

it can be seen from the product update lineup in the past two years that leica’s style of play is changing.

in the early days, leica focused on high-end, high-end pricing and luxury-like social attributes, which made it difficult for it to expand its user base. it can even be said that most photography enthusiasts will never have access to leica cameras in their lifetime; but later, leica has constantly revising its product line, when cooperating with popular brands like xiaomi, it also launched some entry-level cameras that are more user-friendly, and even launched a camera that although the product quality is very poor, the price is only more than 3,000 yuan's leica sofort 2 (for details, you can search the entire network for leica sofort 2 review lei technology).

(image source: leica official)

the leica q3 43 special edition reflects leica’s new thinking on the imaging market. although in the view of lei technology, the leica q3 43 special edition priced at close to 60,000 yuan is destined to be unable to achieve the terrifying sales volume of fujifilm and ricoh, it will definitely drive more camera manufacturers to join the "fixed lens camera" market. in fact, as strong as nikon, it has also learned from fuji and launched retro cameras.

(image source: leica official)

but to be close to the people, the professional level of imaging must be guaranteed. it should at least be better than the most powerful imaging flagship. otherwise, users really have no reason to bring another camera in addition to their mobile phones.. therefore, leica must strike a balance between high style and down-to-earthness. if everyone is disappointed with leica's images and is not interested in the camera culture that leica is proud of, there will be no need for leica to exist.

you know, kodak used to be a strong culture, and no one used to take photos and no one knew it. today, however, it has been almost forgotten. interestingly, kodak has not completely died. at ifa 2024, the lei technology reporting team noticed that in the corner next to the booths of dji and lexar, kodak was displaying their latest products, but compared to for dji, which represents the future of imaging, kodak has become an "antique"-like existence, which is disappointing.

culture needs to be passed on. if young people stop paying the bill, it will only be a matter of time before leica becomes the next kodak.