I was recently in Wetzlar, Germany, the home of Leica for the launch of the high-octane Leica SL3-P full-frame mirrorless camera.
During one of the presentations, Leica's VP of global marketing and communications, Andrea Pacella, told the assembled influencers and members of the press what the best-selling Leica was. And I was shocked by what I found out.
It wasn't the Leica M range of rangefinder cameras, which built the company's reputation. It wasn't the popular D-Lux 8, which has enjoyed a great success thanks to the rising popularity of compact cameras. And it was not the Sofort 2, Leica's most affordable camera.
No, the best seller is the Leica Q range of full-frame compacts that cost upwards of $7,350 / £5,650. We love the Q3 range but, with those luxury price tags, I was gobsmacked that it was these models that sold so well.
I got to sit down with Andrea Pacella to quiz him on just why the ten-year-old Leica Q range has been such a sales success.
"The idea that there could be a market for a €5,000 compact camera in a world destined to be dominated by the smartphone – where compact cameras were selling less and less – was bold," Pacella explains.
Then he points out that Leica has a long history of bold launches – right from Ernst Leitz II's decision to risk it all on Oskar Barnack's idea of a handheld camera over 100 years ago.
Acts of courage
"There were many acts of courage after that. Launching the Leicaflex SL2, the M3, and crucially, not giving up the rangefinder when it seemed completely dead in the 1970s.
"The M5 was not successful; the market was moving toward SLRs, and the Japanese manufacturers were invading the market with cameras. There seemed to be no more space for Leica," Pacella continues.
"The same courage applied to not stopping production on film cameras when we were selling only a few hundred per year. We kept the production lines, we kept the machines, and we kept the knowledge. Then, when the rebirth of film happened – and now it is a massive hype – we were there. We were the only ones.
"We have taken a lot of these bold, brave decisions in our history; it is rooted in the Leica mentality".
The secret of the Q's success
So what was the secret of the original Leica Q, when it was launched in 2015?
"Even small details were highly debated. Launching this camera with a 28mm lens was something everyone, myself included, was against.
"We were all convinced that to be successful, the camera should have had a 35mm lens, because we were thinking backward. Historically, 35mm had always been the lens for the M system.
"We didn't understand it at the time, but the product managers believed in it and eventually convinced us. What made the first Leica Q so successful was that 28mm is the exact field of view people are used to on their smartphones. The angle of view you got on an iPhone was a 28mm equivalent.
"This meant that a lot of people who weren't used to traditional photography, who weren't passionate photographers and maybe didn't even know who Henri Cartier-Bresson or Elliott Erwitt were, or what aperture and ISO meant, found a comfortable, familiar view when they looked through the camera.
"These are small things, but they are incredibly important. The other crucial factor was keeping the form factor of the M system. From a distance, the Q looks like an M. I often describe the Q as a Leica M that is easier to use, featuring a view that everyone is already comfortable with, and costing less than an M lens alone.
"At the beginning, some people would joke, 'You pay for the lens and get the camera for free'. But if you think about how much a standalone M-mount Summilux 28mm f/1.4 lens costs, the lens alone costs as much as the entire Q camera.
"It was a combination of well-thought-out, courageous elements. When you shoot with a Leica Q and see the pictures, you are blown away.
"People started understanding the beauty of shooting at f/1.4 on a full-frame sensor – having the subject in sharp focus while everything else softens away. It gives a pleasure to the eye that you simply cannot get with a smartphone."
Sales figures
So just how well does the Q3 series sell today?
"On average, the Q series cameras sell twice as much, or even more, than the entire M system. It is a lot.
"However, we have never exceeded the production run that we can naturally manage. We have never thought about doubling factory shifts to produce more cameras, and we don't want to.
"The camera is expensive, and we prefer to maintain its premium price point instead of overproducing and being forced to lower the price".
Today, Leica offers a choice of three Q cameras: the standard Q3 with its 28mm lens, the Q3 Monochrom with its black-and-white sensor, and the more recent Leica Q3 43. So which is the most popular of the trio, and by how much?
Of the three, it is the Monochrom that turns out to be the niche product.
"The Monochrom was another very courageous act", explains Pacella. "I remember the comments at the time: 'They are crazy. They are arrogant. How do they think they can sell a camera that only shoots black-and-white for more money than a camera that shoots color?'
"The Monochrom cameras are a sort of act of appreciation for our core customers. We don't make them strictly for volume; we could sell the same total number of cameras just by making them in color.
"They don't fundamentally change the overall volume of the system, but they are a thank-you to the people who love that medium."
And the winner is…
So which if the overall favorite, out of the Leica Q3 and Q3 43?
"For the new Q3 43, we understood there was a strong desire from customers who weren't buying the standard Q because they found the 28mm focal length too wide, which I fully understand.
"Today, if I had to give you rough, approximate numbers, the sales proportion between the two main models is roughly two-thirds for the 28mm and one-third for the 43mm – or perhaps somewhere between a three-quarters to one-quarter split."
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