The Leica Q line is one of the most successful product introductions Leica has made in the digital era. Since the original Q (Typ 116) launched in 2015, every Q body has shared the same basic concept: a full-frame sensor, a fixed Summilux lens, autofocus, a high-quality EVF, and a body shape close to an M but with the modern conveniences M shooters mostly don't get. There are now seven distinct Q bodies in production or recently discontinued (plus the limited Reporter editions), and the differences between them matter for buyers. This post walks through them in order and ends with a buyer's decision matrix.
Before diving in, the family resemblance: every Q has the same overall ergonomics — a slim body roughly the size of an M, a thumb rest, a hot shoe, an EVF and a rear LCD, an aperture ring on the lens, a focus ring with a manual/autofocus switch and a macro ring. Every Q except the Q3 43 has the same Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH lens built in. The 28mm focal length is wide-normal — comfortable for street, landscape, environmental portrait, and reportage work. If 28mm isn't your focal length, the Q3 43 is the only Q that addresses that.
Leica Q (Typ 116) — 2015
The original. Roughly five years in production. The body and lens that defined the line.
24-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. Excellent image quality by 2015 standards, still very capable today.
Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH lens. The defining optic of the Q series. Fast, sharp from wide open, with macro mode that focuses to 17cm.
3.68-million-dot LCoS EVF. Bright, clean, no lag for anything except very fast action.
Contrast-detect autofocus. Fast for a fixed-lens camera in 2015. Slower than what current Q3 bodies offer but entirely usable.
Touchscreen rear LCD for setting focus point and reviewing images.
1080p video. No 4K. Adequate for casual video, not a primary video tool.
Crop modes: the original Q can crop to a 35mm or 50mm equivalent field directly in-camera (recorded as a smaller-resolution JPEG). For shooters who want to think in 35mm or 50mm terms, this is genuinely useful.
The original Q has aged well. Used market: $1,800–$3,000 depending on condition.
Leica Q-P — 2018
The Q-P is the original Q (Typ 116) in a different finish — same sensor, same lens, same internals. What's different:
Black paint finish (rather than black anodized) — wears with use the way Leica black paint bodies traditionally do.
No red Leica dot on the front. The Leica name is engraved on the top plate. The result is a more discreet, less "I am a Leica" look that some buyers actively prefer for street work.
Largely a cosmetic distinction, plus a quieter shutter and improved on/off switch. Same sensor, same lens, same image character as the Q.
The Q-P was sold at a premium over the Q at launch and that premium has held on the used market — clean Q-Ps run $3,500–$5,000, noticeably more than a comparable Q. Buy a Q-P if the discrete-look and black-paint finish matter to you; otherwise the Q is the same camera for less money.
Leica Q2 — 2019
The Q2 was a real generational jump. Same lens, same overall shape, but the sensor and a handful of other things changed substantially.
47.3-megapixel full-frame sensor. Roughly double the resolution of the original Q. The crop modes (35mm, 50mm, 75mm equivalent) now produce meaningful-resolution files even after cropping — a 50mm crop yields around 14 megapixels, which is more than enough for most uses.
Weather sealing. The Q2 is rated for splashes and dust in a way the original Q was not. Real outdoor-use upgrade.
4K video. The first Q with 4K. Modest video features but a useful capability bump.
10 frames per second continuous shooting. Surprisingly fast for a Leica.
Same Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH lens as the Q.
Still contrast-detect autofocus. No phase detection until the Q3.
The Q2 is the most-balanced Q body for buyers who don't need the absolute latest. Used market: $3,200–$4,800.
Leica Q2 Monochrom — 2020
The Q2 Monochrom is the Q2 body with a monochrome-only sensor — the color filter array (Bayer pattern) over the photosites is gone, and every photosite captures pure luminance.
47.3-megapixel monochrome sensor. No color information at all. The output is black-and-white DNG files.
Sharper per-pixel resolution than the Q2's color sensor. Without the color filter array there's no demosaicing — every pixel is real luminance data. The difference is visible in fine detail and texture rendering.
Higher usable ISO. The monochrome sensor accepts more light per pixel, so noise floors are cleaner at high ISO. Ratings push to ISO 100,000 with usable results.
Matte black finish, deeper than the standard Q2. No red dot.
Same Summilux 28mm lens, same body, same handling.
This is a specialist tool. If you shoot exclusively or primarily in black and white, the Q2 Monochrom is genuinely the best B&W tool Leica has made short of the M Monochroms. If you shoot mixed color and B&W, a regular Q2 with B&W conversion in Lightroom gets you 90% of the way and gives you the option to deliver color. Used market for the Q2 Monochrom: $4,500–$6,500.
Leica Q3 — 2023
The Q3 is the third generation. The most consequential changes are inside the camera, not on the outside.
60-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor. Another resolution jump — roughly 25% over the Q2. The Q3 with the 28mm Summilux can crop to a 75mm equivalent and still deliver around 15 megapixels.
Phase-detect autofocus. This is the big one. The original Q and the Q2 used contrast-detect AF, which is fine for static subjects but struggles with movement. The Q3 added phase-detect, putting it on competitive ground with mirrorless cameras from Sony and Fuji for autofocus tracking.
Triple resolution mode. 60MP, 36MP, or 18MP at capture — useful when you don't need the full resolution and want smaller files.
Tilting rear screen. First Q with an articulating LCD. The screen tilts up and down (not side-to-side) — useful for waist-level and overhead shooting.
8K video. 8K up to 30p, 4K up to 60p. The Q3 is a credible second-camera for video shooters.
USB-C with PD charging. Modern connector, faster file transfer, can charge from a power bank.
Same Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH lens — Leica didn't redesign the optics for the Q3, and the existing Summilux holds up to the 60MP sensor.
The Q3 is the current premium Q. Used market: $4,500–$5,800 — relatively close to new-retail because supply is tight.
Leica Q3 43 — 2024
The Q3 43 is the first Q to use a different focal length than the Q's traditional 28mm. The "43" in the name is the focal length:
APO-Summicron 43mm f/2 ASPH lens instead of the 28mm Summilux. The 43mm focal length is, mathematically, the diagonal of the full-frame sensor — sometimes called the "natural" or "normal" perspective.
Same 60-megapixel sensor as the Q3.
Same phase-detect autofocus.
Slightly longer body to accommodate the longer focal length. Still smaller and lighter than any DSLR alternative.
Same crop modes as the Q3 — at 43mm, a 75mm equivalent crop still yields around 18MP.
The Q3 43 is for shooters who want the Q ergonomics and the Q3 sensor but find 28mm too wide. It's particularly attractive for documentary work, portraits, and anyone whose primary M lens has been a 50mm. The choice between Q3 and Q3 43 is really a choice between "wide is my natural perspective" and "normal is my natural perspective." Used market: $5,200–$6,500.
Leica Q3 Monochrom — 2025
The newest Q. The Q3 Monochrom is the Q3 body with a monochrome-only sensor — the same conceptual move Leica made with the Q2 Monochrom, now applied to the 60MP sensor.
60-megapixel monochrome sensor. The highest-resolution monochrome digital camera Leica has made.
Same Q3 body — phase-detect autofocus, tilting screen, 8K video, USB-C, weather sealing.
Same Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH lens.
Highest usable ISO of any Q body.
Matte black finish, no red dot.
If you're a Q Monochrom shooter on the Q2 Monochrom and you want more resolution plus the modern autofocus, this is the upgrade. Used market is thin so far: $7,500–$9,500 when they come up.
The Reporter Editions
Leica has released "Reporter" versions of the Q2 and Q3 — limited-production runs (~700–1,000 each) with distinctive olive-green or matte-finish bodies and Kevlar trim, marketed at documentary photographers. Mechanically identical to the standard bodies they're based on. They trade at $500–$1,500 premiums over comparable non-Reporter bodies. Buy one because you like the look; the camera is the same.
Current Inventory Snapshot
As of May 2026 we track the following active Q-series counts across UsedCameraTracker, with median asking prices:
Q (Typ 116): 100 active, median $2,700
Q-P: 21 active, median $3,368
Q2: 141 active, median $4,424 — the deepest Q-series market
Q2 Monochrom: 62 active, median $4,321
Q3: 70 active, median $6,094
Q3 43: 47 active, median $6,869
Q3 Monochrom: 10 active, median $7,306 — the thinnest supply in the line, reflecting how recently it was released
The Q2 is by some margin the deepest used market in the Q line, which is exactly why it's often the best value buy — abundant supply puts downward pressure on individual asking prices.
Which One Should You Buy?
The decision tree:
You want the cheapest Q that still produces excellent files — original Q (Typ 116). $1,800–$2,800 range. 24MP is plenty for almost any output. The lens is the same Summilux every other Q has.
You want the best resolution-to-price ratio — Q2. $3,200–$4,800. 47MP, weather sealed, 4K video. Genuinely the sweet spot of the line.
You want the current latest and greatest — Q3. Phase-detect AF, tilting screen, 60MP, 8K video. Worth the premium if you'll use any of those features.
You shoot mostly normal-perspective work — Q3 43. 28mm has never been your focal length, and you want the Q ergonomics with a 43mm view.
You shoot only black and white seriously — Q2 Monochrom if you want a good deal, Q3 Monochrom if you want the current generation. Both are specialist tools that you'll only justify if B&W is your primary output.
You want the discreet-looking variant — Q-P if budget matters, Reporter editions if it doesn't.
A note on the lens: every Q except the Q3 43 has the same 28mm Summilux f/1.7 ASPH. That lens is excellent and has held up across three sensor generations. It's wide-normal, fast enough for most low-light work, and the in-camera distortion correction handles the moderate barrel distortion that comes with the focal length. If you've shot a Q and like the lens, you'll like every other Q's lens — they're physically the same optical design.
Browse current Q-series listings on UsedCameraTracker by selecting any Q variant from the dropdown — every body covered in this post has its own model bucket so you can compare prices and conditions side by side.
