Leica has launched a new full-frame compact camera in the form of Q3 43. Yes, you heard it right. It is same same but different.
The Q3 43 is similar to the previous Q3 with a 60-megapixel BSI full-frame CMOS image sensor, a 5.76-million-dot OLED electronic viewfinder and 3-inch tiltable touchscreen 1.8-million-dot display. The only difference is its APO-Summicron 43mm f/2 ASPH fixed lens, while the original Q3 has a 28mm lens.
Why 43mm? According to Leica, it is close to the focal length of the human eye. So what you see is what you get. It is like how 50mm lens used to be favoured by the pioneers of photojournalism, as it is close to how the human eye ses.
In fact, the father of Leica camera, Oskar Barnack, used a Leitz Milar 42mm f/4.5 lens for the original Leica camera way back in the early 1920s. Interestingly, this is actually the first 43mm focal length by modern-day Leica.
However, the Q3 43 is going to cost you (like any Leica) at a whopping prize of S$9,990. You can still get the original Q3 at a “cheaper” S$9,600.