Fever Dream of Hats, Pastels and Bunny Ears at the NYC Easter Parade, in Photos
Taking my new camera out for a spin.
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I bought myself a new camera last week with a goal to push myself to shoot for myself, something I stopped doing in recent years. Laziness played a role, but so did not having the right gear for playing. My Nikon D4 is a tank, not exactly suited for casual strolls. The Nikon Z7 is more civilized in its size but doesn’t work well with flash and butchers shadows in poor lighting, which greatly limits its usefulness. Instead, I’ve been looking for something small, powerful, and fast, fit for both walking and traveling.
On impulse, I walked into a Leica store and came out with a Leica Q3 43. Beside its compact and beautifully made body, the swivel screen sealed it for me, allowing me to shoot from the hip and be less conspicuous. Easter Parade was coming up, a perfect chaos for a camera test. I went in with trepidation, afraid that I’ll be disappointed and have buyer’s regret. That didn’t happen. The camera worked seamlessly with my off-cam flash, and because it’s silent and stealthy, I could get close to people without them feeling ambushed. The lightning-fast autofocus meant I only needed one or two frames to get the image I wanted. And best of all, after two hours of shooting, I was barely tired, and my neck didn’t lock up as it usually does after working with the gargantuan D4. Using this Leica was a joy.
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Congrats on the Leica. It took me a long time to get one, but once I had the Q I quickly discovered what all the noise was about. After twenty years since switching to digital, I find the Leica files come closest to replicating film than anything I have seen. I'm a Canon guy, and shot a large-scale personal project with the Leica S, but the Q is in a league of its own.
LOL. I just went through an almost identical experience and also ended up just last month with the Leica Q3. My street camera has been the Fujifilm X 100 series for years, which I love, but has some limitations. I would have to admit, too, there was a fair amount of peer pressure involved in this Leica purchase. But it is an exceptional tool.