Bushy Park - Select Image To View Photographs

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BUSHY PARK

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The painstaking nature of shell decoration—often involving thousands of specimens—made these buildings rare symbols of high status. The most famous Irish comparison is the shell cottage at Carton House in County Kildare.

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The Leica Q3 Camera

I purchased my Leica Q3 almost a year ago and it has been problematic to de extent that I could not depend on it as my main camera when I travel. I really wanted it to be my main travel camera but it is outperformed by the Sony A1 II in every way.

Earlier this year the Q3 firmware was updated to Version 4.0 and as a result it is now a very different camera which proved to be good and bad at the same time. The issues that really annoyed me have been resolved (camera suddenly switching into video mode, sudden crashes, etc) but there are new problems such as not working with many SD cards, Geotagging issues, Crashes when accessing SD cards). This week I spent time trying to determine what cameras to bring when I visit Cork for a week - there is no doubting that the Sony A1 II 9a very much upgraded version of the A1) will be my main camera. As the Leica Q3 does not attract as much unwelcome attention as the A1 I would like to bring it with me. I spent to day in Bushy Park testing the Q3 and everything went very well ... discussed in greater detail below.

The Wooded Area Of Bushy Park

While casual observers often dismiss the curious, roofless structure in Dublin's Bushy Park as a mere "folly," historical evidence clarifies its true identity: it is a Shell House. Though both are architectural curiosities, a folly is typically a grand, eccentric building designed purely for aesthetic impact on the landscape. In contrast, a shell house is a specific 18th-century art form—a pavilion or grotto whose interior was meticulously encrusted with shells, corals, and crystals to create an immersive, maritime sanctuary.

The Shell House at Bushy Park

Located within the dense, atmospheric woodland section on the park’s western side, the Shell House is a remnant of the original estate’s "pleasure grounds." Unlike the open playing fields, this wooded area preserves a sense of 18th-century wilderness.

The structure was strategically placed near the series of ponds and the man-made lake. These water features are fed by a diverted stream from the River Dodder, which enters the park via a historic stone culvert. This water supply was essential to the 18th-century landscape design, providing the tranquil reflections and humidity that complemented the "grotto" atmosphere of a shell house. Today, while the building stands as a derelict shell (in both senses of the word), the remnants of its masonry hint at a time when its interior would have been a shimmering, tactile gallery of marine life.

The Art of the Shell House: From Emily FitzGerald to Marianne Faithfull

The painstaking nature of shell decoration—often involving thousands of specimens—made these buildings rare symbols of high status. The most famous Irish comparison is the shell cottage at Carton House in County Kildare.

Built around 1750 for Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster and great-granddaughter of Charles II, the Carton House structure was a labour of love. Emily requested that friends travelling abroad bring her marine specimens, which she then meticulously arranged. The interior features a magnificent dome lined with thousands of tropical shells, crystals, and even sea urchins.

The FitzGerald family legacy is deeply woven into Irish history; Emily’s son was the patriot Lord Edward FitzGerald, a leader of the 1798 Rebellion. Centuries later, the cottage gained modern fame when it became the home of the late English singer and actress Marianne Faithfull (1946–2025). During her seven-year residence, she entertained icons such as Princess Grace of Monaco and Peter Sellers. While one fanciful tourist guide suggests Queen Victoria was a guest of Faithfull’s, the Queen actually visited the main Carton House (and its famous Chinese Room) over a century earlier.

More About My Camera Choice And The SD Card Shortage

• During my visit to Galway I could not purchase V60 or V90 SD cards as they were sold out.

• I have am in the classic "Leica Love-Hate" cycle. The Q3 is a masterpiece of optics and stealth, but its software has historically felt like a "beta" product.

• Firmware 4.0 was a massive architectural shift for the Q3. It effectively aligned the Q3 with the newer Leica SL3 interface and processing logic. While it fixed the "ghost in the machine" bugs I mentioned (unexpected video switching and hard crashes), it introduced a new set of "Version 4.0" quirks that have been widely discussed in pro circles and forums like L-Camera-Forum and Reddit.

Current Firmware 4.0 Landscape: Pro & User Feedback

• The "New" Frustrations

SD Card Pickiness: I have not imagining the SD card issues. The new firmware has optimised for the fastest possible read/write speeds, which has inadvertently made the camera more sensitive to timing differences in card controllers. Many users report that cards that worked fine on v3.0 now cause the camera to "hang" or fail to initialise.

The general consensus is to use ProGrade Digital (Cobalt) or Sony TOUGH (G-Series) cards. Lexar cards have seen the highest failure rates with the new update ( I have Lexar cards).

Geotagging & FOTOS App: The "handshake" between the camera and the Leica FOTOS app was rewritten in 4.0. It requires a complete "Forget Device" and re-pair. Even then, the geotagging is prone to "sleeping" if the camera’s power management shuts down the Bluetooth module too aggressively to save battery.

Interface Overhaul: Many long-time users are annoyed that the "Favourites" menu was removed in favour of a swipe-based icon system. While it looks modern, it broke the muscle memory of users who have been shooting Leica for years.

• The Redeeming Qualities

Autofocus Speed: This is where v4.0 shines. The subject tracking (Eye/Face) is significantly "stickier" than when I first bought the camera.

Startup Time: The camera now wakes from sleep almost instantly, resolving one of the biggest complaints of the launch-day firmware.

The "Cork" Dilemma: Sony A1 II vs. Leica Q3

I have chosen a powerhouse duo, but they serve very different psychological roles for a trip to Cork.

The Sony A1 II (The Heavy Lifter): This is my insurance policy. With its 50MP stacked sensor and AI processing unit, it won't miss a shot. However a Sony A1 II with a G-Master lens is a "loud" camera—it signals "Professional Photographer" to everyone on St. Patrick’s Street.

The Leica Q3 (The Stealth Companion): In a city like Cork, where the charm is in the narrow lanes and the English Market, the Q3 is the perfect tool. It looks like a hobbyist’s vintage camera, allowing you to get candid shots that the "workhorse" Sony might scare away.

The SD Card Crisis: Why V30 Is Failing Me

In late March 2026, Sony officially suspended orders for almost their entire memory card line due to a global flash memory shortage redirected toward AI data centres. This has left retailers in Dublin and elsewhere with empty shelves for the "Gold Standard" TOUGH cards.

Lexar experience:

The V30 Failure: Firmware 4.0 increased the camera's internal data "handshake" speed. V30 cards (30MB/s minimum) use the older UHS-I bus. The Q3's new firmware frequently "times out" when waiting for these slower cards to respond, leading to the crashes and access errors you experienced.

The V60 Success: My new Lexar V60 cards use the UHS-II bus (identifiable by the second row of pins on the back). This extra bandwidth is now practically mandatory for the Q3 to maintain system stability, even if you are only shooting stills.

Lexar Reliability: While Lexar has been a "hit or miss" brand for Leica in the past, their newer Professional Silver/Gold series have proven much more stable with the 4.0 update than the older "633x" or "1066x" versions.

Bushy Park - Select Image To View Photographs

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