Fine-tuning shutter speed with the Leica Q3
Everyone loves how the Q3 is tactile; you can see some settings by looking at the body without entering the menu. However, with the shutter dial, you cannot you can only set certain values. For example, if you'd like to set something between 250 and 500, you cannot do that with the shutter dial. Of course, this isn't a big problem as you can quickly control the Aperture or ISO so the whole steps on the shutter dial are ample to make great shots quickly. But there are some situations where you'd like to set it in between the whole values. Let's see what to do if you need some specific value. There are two methods, one is faster, and the other requires a bit more steps.
Through the menu
Let's take the first example: we need the shutter speed to be between 250 and 500. Set the shutter dial to 250, tap the Menu button, touch the shutter speed, and use the dial on your thumb to fine-tune the setting. The same goes for other exact values: first, set the shutter dial to the nearest position and then hit the menu, tap the shutter, and adjust it with the thumbwheel. You can do the same by pushing the Menu button, then using the arrows to select the shutter speed and using the thumbwheel to adjust the shutter speed.
The thumbwheel
The other, a bit faster method is to set the desired full value with the exposure dial and fine-tune it with the thumbwheel. You can achieve this with the thumbwheel only if it is set to Auto mode in the Customize Control menu. This is faster and probably more intuitive than the first one.
Expose longer than a second
I've read many times that one of the huge drawbacks of the Q3 is that you cannot have a longer shutter than a second. This is obviously not true. We need to follow the original method: set the shutter dial to 1+. Then, push the Menu button, tap the shutter speed, and dial in the desired length. You can go up to T, to 120sec, and so on... Or, in shutter priority: set the shutter dial to 1+ and fine tune it with the thumbwheel.
So now you know everything to fine-tune your shutter speed, grab your camera and try it.