My Kit

At the beginning of this year I decided to sell all of my Canon gear and purchased a Leica Q3 and more recently I bought a Leica M240 with a Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 Heliar Classic lens.

Leica Q3

The Leica Q3 is a premium, full-frame fixed-lens compact camera. It is highly regarded by street, travel, and documentary photographers for its combination of exceptional image quality, analog-style handling, and pocketable form factor.

Here is a summary of its key features, upgrades, and real-world considerations:

Core Specifications & Features

  • 60MP Full-Frame BSI Sensor: The Q3 features a high-resolution 60-megapixel back-illuminated sensor (shared with the Leica M11). It includes Triple Resolution Technology, which allows you to shoot raw DNG or JPEG files at 60MP, 36MP, or 18MP while utilizing the full sensor area.
  • Legendary 28mm Lens: It retains the critically acclaimed Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens from its predecessors, complete with optical image stabilization and a mechanical twist-ring that switches the lens into a dedicated macro mode (focusing as close as 17cm).
  • Hybrid Autofocus: Moving away from contrast-only detection, the Q3 introduces a hybrid system featuring Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF). This drastically improves autofocus speed, subject tracking, and reliability in low-light environments.
  • Tilting Touchscreen & Upgraded EVF: For the first time in the Q line, the camera features a 3-inch tilting LCD screen, making low-angle or hip-level shooting much easier. It pairs this with a crystal-clear, 5.76-million-dot OLED electronic viewfinder.
  • Modern Video & Connectivity: The Q3 is a surprisingly capable video tool, handling up to 8K resolution video recording and supporting professional codecs like Apple ProRes. It adds physical USB-C and Micro-HDMI portsfor charging, data transfer, and accessories.

What Makes it Stand Out

  • Exceptional “Crop-ability”: Because 28mm is quite wide, the massive 60MP sensor allows you to use digital crop frames (simulating 35mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 90mm fields of view) while still retaining highly usable file sizes (e.g., a 50mm crop still yields a 19MP image).
  • Build & Weather Sealing: Made in Germany, it boasts an incredibly rugged, minimalist chassis that features an IP52 weather-resistance rating against light rain and dust.
  • Wireless Charging: Using an optional handgrip accessory, the Q3 is the first camera of its kind to support wireless charging pads.

The Caveats

  • Luxury Pricing: Like all Leica equipment, the Q3 is a major financial investment, often positioned as a luxury item rather than a strictly utilitarian tool.
  • Ergonomics: The flat, beautiful rangefinder aesthetic means the body lacks a pronounced built-in grip. Many users find they need to buy aftermarket thumb rests or handgrips for comfortable all-day shooting.
  • Rolling Shutter: Because the high-res sensor has a somewhat slow readout speed, using the electronic shutter can cause distortion (“rolling shutter” effect) on fast-moving subjects.

Note on Variations: If you like the Q3 form factor but prefer a tighter, more traditional point of view, Leica also offers the Leica Q3 43, which replaces the wide 28mm lens with a 43mm apochromatic (APO) lens to more closely match the natural perspective of the human eye.

Leica M240

The Leica M (Typ 240)—commonly referred to as the M240—is a pivotal model in Leica’s history. Released in 2012 as the successor to the M9, it marked a massive technological leap for the legendary digital rangefinder lineup, introducing modern sensor tech and live-view capabilities to a traditionally analog-feeling system.

Here is a brief breakdown of what defines the M240, its standout qualities, and how it holds up today:

Key Features & Technical Shift

  • The Switch to CMOS: The M240 replaced the CCD sensors of older Leicas with a 24-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. This change dramatically improved low-light performance (ISO up to 6400) and battery life, while offering a different, slightly more modern color rendering than its predecessor.
  • Live View & Focus Peaking: For the first time on an M camera, users could compose shots using the rear 3-inch LCD screen rather than just the optical rangefinder window. It also added focus peaking to make manual focusing via the screen significantly easier.
  • Electronic Viewfinder Support: The M240 included a hot-shoe port that allowed you to attach an optional electronic viewfinder (EVF)—the Leica EVF 2—which was incredibly helpful for precise focusing or when using very wide or telephoto lenses.
  • Video Recording: In a move that shocked rangefinder purists at the time, the M240 introduced 1080p Full HD video recording. While rarely used today, it remains a unique quirk of this specific generation.

Why Photographers Still Love It

  • The “Leica Glow” & Rendering: While some purists initially missed the CCD sensor of the M9, the M240’s CMOS sensor has aged beautifully. It is highly regarded for its rich, punchy colors, exceptional skin tones, and distinct rendering that strikes a balance between vintage character and modern sharpness.
  • The M-Mount Ecosystem: As a true M camera, it uses the purely manual Leica M-mount. This grants access to decades of legendary Leica glass, as well as fantastic third-party lenses from Voigtländer and Zeiss.
  • Tank-Like Build: The top and base plates are machined from solid brass, giving the camera a remarkably dense, durable feel in the hand. The body also features minor weather sealing.

What to Keep in Mind Today

  • Body Thickness: To accommodate the new screen and processing tech of its era, the M240 is noticeably thicker and heavier than classic analog M film cameras and later digital models like the M10 or M11.
  • Dated Rear Screen: The 920k-dot rear LCD was a massive upgrade in 2012, but by modern standards, it feels slow to refresh and low-resolution.
  • Slow Startup and Buffer: The camera takes a brief moment to wake up, and if you shoot a fast burst of raw files, the buffer takes a few seconds to clear.

The Verdict: Today, the M240 is widely considered one of the best value entry points into the digital Leica M ecosystem. It provides a reliable, full-frame digital rangefinder experience with excellent battery life and beautiful image rendering at a fraction of the cost of a brand-new M11.

Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 Heliar Classic

The Voigtländer 50mm f/1.5 Heliar Classic (VM mount for Leica M) is one of the most unique and deliberate lenses on the market. Released in 2021 to commemorate Voigtländer’s 25th anniversary of their classic line, it was intentionally designed not to be optically perfect. Instead, it is a specialty tool engineered to deliver a distinct, vintage aesthetic straight out of the camera.

Here is a summary of what makes this lens unique, how it behaves, and who it is for:

The “Classic” Optical Philosophy

Modern lens design focuses on eliminating aberrations, maximizing sharpness, and minimizing flare. The Heliar Classic throws that playbook out the window. It uses a modified 6-element in 3-group Heliar design that intentionally leaves spherical aberrations uncorrected when shooting wide open.

  • Wide Open (f/1.5): At its maximum aperture, the lens produces a pronounced “glow,” low contrast, and incredibly soft, painterly backgrounds. It creates a dreamlike, ethereal look heavily reminiscent of early 20th-century pictorialist photography.
  • Stepped Down (f/4 and beyond): As you close the aperture down, the aberrations vanish. By f/4 or f/5.6, the lens transforms into a remarkably sharp, high-contrast, modern performer.

Key Attributes & Character

  • Distinctive Bokeh: The uncorrected aberrations create a very specific background rendering. Highlights can take on a unique shape, often displaying a swirly, slightly chaotic, yet beautiful texture that separates the subject dramatically from the background.
  • Completely Manual: Built specifically for rangefinder cameras (like the Leica M240 or M11), it features a purely mechanical manual focus ring and a satisfyingly clicky aperture ring.
  • Vintage Styling & Build: The lens looks like it stepped out of the 1950s. It features a beautifully machined, all-metal barrel, heavy knurling on the focus ring, and a compact footprint that doesn’t block the rangefinder viewfinder.

What to Consider

  • The Learning Curve: This is not a “set it and forget it” lens. Because it glows and softens considerably at $f/1.5$, focusing via a traditional rangefinder patch can take practice, as contrast is low wide open. (Using live view or focus peaking makes it much easier).
  • Polarizing Results: You will either love the look or hate it. If you want clinical sharpness, edge-to-edge perfection, and predictable rendering at all apertures, this lens will frustrate you.
  • Not the “Nokton”: Voigtländer makes another lens called the 50mm f/1.5 Nokton Vintage Line, which looks similar on the outside but is optically modern, sharp, and corrected. The Heliar Classic is strictly for those chasing the flaws and character of old glass.

Ideal Use Case: The Heliar Classic is heavily favored by portrait, fine art, and moody street photographers who want to inject poetry, mood, and a timeless, cinematic quality into their images without relying on post-processing filters.