IDS grip for Leica Q3 Grip Features

IDS grip for Leica Q3 Grip features

Leica Q series no doubt is a popular camera line in the Leica line of products.

Not only it serves as an entry level (debatable) for new Leica users but also a very popular back up camera for the legendary M series as it preserves the form factor of the M series while adding new features to the camera without the burden of the Leica M series such as auto focus, IBIS... etc.

After the popularity for our Q2 grip now comes the Q3 version with the same concept. It is becoming my go to camera for street shooting very quickly due to the high pixel count and quick start up response. The Leica Q series 28mm is indeed magnificent.

Cosmetically I am not fully satisfied with the exposing bottom screws and I wish to cover them while retaining the tactile feeling on the bottom. We also want to minimized the weight for the grip as a great potion of Q3 users are ladies.

In our design we have patented on the openings (cutout) for the battery access, battery release access as well as the SD card access. Some makers of third party grip have simply make cut out with simple straight openings, which is not very friendly on your fingers. We make the starting point of the openings different from the end point of the openings with smooth transitional curvature. Such design not only fully covers up all the exposing screws but also creating a much pleasing looks and feels on operation. Also all contacting surfaces are paded so that no metal to metal contacts with your camera.

Q3 is an entry level camera to the Leica world therefore we have simplified the design to the point that it’s much more acceptable for new Leica users. It requires much less part to make than my other products.

The bottom of the grip plate is only 4.5mm thick visually but the overall grip feels the sames as my other products for M series. In fact they share the same grip pads. Also the grip will not interfere with the flipping screen and in some way the ARCA dovetail rails on the back protects the back screen. 

Note:The screw hole you see on the bottom is NOT for standard 1/4-20 tripod thread that usually comes with old style tripod ( (If your tripod do not support ARCA system there are adaptors you can buy to quickly solve this, we now also sell them). There isn't enough depth for old style tripod (usually require a depth of 6-7mm of screw height), we want to minimize the height in the design plus as 80% of the time a Leica user don't use tripod, by attaching an adaptor to the old style tripod makes much more sense instead of carring extra weight on your neck. For tripod user you can use the on grip ARCA rails (38mm standard) for your ARCA style ball head. The screw hole there is M5-8 which is designed to be used along with our LENS DOWN bracket.

During our development, we perfected our anodizing process to achieve this matte finish by carefully selecting materials, controlling temperatures, and using specific chemical mix in production. The result is a finish that resembles the iconic look of a modern Leica M camera finish. Our anodizing factory charge us by sets, unlike other that charges on total kilogram of products to be anodized.

Grip pad selections

To match your style we have the following 6 grip pad for your selection

Bottom Left: Glass fiber composite (G10)

This is a new material we created for two purpose. Many customers likes black but before we only have African black wood and black aluminum. Some found wood rather “old school" and forced to select black matt aluminum but aluminum grip pad is heavy (25g) so we have now this Fiber glass composite for your selection at only 11 grams. It is light, sturdy and have a grid patten on it. This material is commonly use on knife handles.

Top Left: Walnut  (5g)

This wood is very light (5g) but it is indeed softer because of its density.

Top Middle: Desert iron wood from Africa (11g)

This wood has better color then Walnut and almost the same density as the African black wood.

Bottom Middle: African Black wood (11g)

This wood has a high density and also beautiful wood grain.

Top Right: Metallic gray aluminum (25g)

Milled on 3 axial CNC and anodized with a metallic gray finish

Bottom right: black aluminum (25g)

Milled on 3 axial CNC and anodized with a matt black finish

For the speical hand carved one you need to contact me first as they are not always avaliable.

About Installation

Please note there is a installtion note attached to the package please read it.

I was getting feed back that the SD card slot are not working "correctly" as it should be and that is what this note on the box is about.

The cut out for the SD card and battery slot are precisely milled and therefore it is important that you allign the openning correctly during installation. Unlike Q2's design, Q3's design we cannot put a blocking strip on the back (to limit misalignment) as Q3 now have a flip down screen. Therefore it is very critical during installation you need to make sure the bottom plate are flush and opennings are aligned. Many install the grip by holding the top of the camera, turn it upside down, place the grip on and turn the fixing screw in. More often then not this is the problem since when you turn the screw the friction of the crew and the bottom part will turn the grip ever slightly clockwise (you might even not notice it). With Q2 there is no problem as the back fixes the location of the grip. To prevent this from happening hold the grip and the camera together and make sure they are perfectly flush and the cut out are aligned when you turn in the screw. 

I did thought about opening up the cutout bigger to simply avoid this but I don't think that is eligant enough.

Note: To minimized the overall hight of the bottom plate the screw hole on the bottom is NOT a standard 1/4-20 (its is M5-8) which is designed to incoprated with our optional LENS DOWN bracket. A tripod head with ARCA system is advised). However if your tripod do not support ARCA system there is a very easy way to solve by adding a transition plate on your tripod. (Look for 1/4 thread to ARCA connection plate in our product category)