Choosing the Right Leica for the Road: Q2 vs Q2 Monochrom vs Q3 43
Ask any photographer, and they might tell you Leica is their dream camera. A local photographer has one, and I have always wondered about it. What’s with the hype, and is it really the shit?
When I prep for a trip, I always think of gear the same way: I want to be as lightweight as possible. I cannot carry as much as I used to, nor want to.
Traveling light is both a necessity and a choice. A single body, a good lens, and maybe a couple of batteries. That’s it! So when it comes to cameras, it has to be something compact, but not too compact, I’d like to use these photos one day for a show that I’m preparing for, I don’t quite know yet what kind of show, but I have in mind to publish my photos onne day, whether it be the portraits, the street photos I take. I would like to show them. That being said, I need something that can capture spontaneous street scenes, changing light, and fleeting moments, while also being versatile enough to handle portraits, glamour, and everything else.
You all know me as a Fujifilm shooter, or perhaps you don’t know me, but I have been using Fujifilm cameras since my first one, the X100, in 2013. That was the hook. Then I got the XPro2, XT3, XH1, XT4, XH2s, and XT5. Of course, I’ve narrowed it down to the XH2s for video and the XT5 for stills.
Great cameras, of course, but there was something else I wanted, not that the Fujifilm was lacking; it didn’t by any means. I have shot editorial content for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Post, Bloomberg Businessweek, and more, all on my Fuji gear, so it has served me well. But, I wanted something else...
For me, it was the Leica Q2. That camera spoke to me; I must have watched every YouTube video about it, and I was enamored by it. Probably the same way that the Fujifilm X100 captured my attention a few years before, so I picked one up about three years ago, in the Summer of 2022, right before my East Coast trip, and I was in love! I was on the East Coast, so my thought process was that everything shot in black and white, so I used the HC B/W option on my Q2, and it was fantastic.
That love affair continues and so when I saw that a Leica Q3 43 came out, this is a 43mm f/2 Summicron lens, my Leica Q2 has a 28mm f/1.7 summilux lens, I was fascinated, I LOVE that focal length not as wide as the 35mm lens and not as close as the 50mm lens, it was perfect, so obviously I had to test it.
The funny thing is, when I was looking at the Q3 43, videos of the Leica Q2 monochrom also popped up, and therein came the idea that I had to check that out as well, so I’ll be testing three cameras:
The Leica Q2 (my familiar travel partner)
The Q2 Monochrom, which strips away color entirely in favor of raw tonal beauty
And the newer, bolder Q3 43, Leica’s latest offering with even more resolution and a redesigned Summilux lens
Each one offers something different, but only one will come with me.
Before making that choice, I started taking the Q2 out again to get a feel for it. I want to remember its strengths, quirks, and how it performs when moving through light and shadow in unfamiliar places.
This isn’t a lab test by any means; there are plenty of reviews and such, and they do a great job at that. This is me, wandering about, finding what motivates me, and creating black and white images. I’ll be walking, watching, and waiting—seeing which camera helps me see better, faster, deeper.
And because I’ve always loved black-and-white storytelling—deep contrast, rich grain, sharp light the Q2 Monochrom has me especially curious. Will it give me the look I’ve always chased without needing to edit or simulate it later? Or will the Q3 43 surprise me with next-gen flexibility?
I’ll share everything soon—behind-the-scenes moments, image comparisons, and my final pick for this upcoming trip.
If you’ve ever struggled to decide what camera to pack before a journey, or if you’re just as obsessed with the look and feel of Leica cameras as I am, stick around.
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