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Leica Q - Observations and Queries I have been thoroughly enjoying using my Q these last 9 days. It is quite a camera, and a worthy companion to the M240 (or is it going to be the other way round?!). The performance of the camera is fantastic. The exposures are far more accurate than the M240 and I must ‘unlearn’ over-compensating in bright, back-lit and dark situations! The AF is astoundingly quick and accurate in bright and averagely lit scenarios, and still pretty good in low light ones. Its size and weight are just about right, a nice balance. Its quiet shutter, fast operation and clean simple lines makes it an ideal discrete street camera. However, I have found a few quirks, which may or may not be due to the way I have set my camera up. I list them here and would appreciate comments and advice/corrections as appropriate. My apologies if they have already been raised previously. 1. Is it possible to have true live preview displayed on half press of shutter button so that exposure and aperture set (DOF) can be assessed? Currently in low (or bright) light situations with manually set high shutter speed and small aperture (or slow shutter speed and large aperture) with Auto ISO, preview shows beautifully exposed displays – unless Review is set On, the resulting massively under (or over) exposed file could be missed. Conversely, say in back-lit or dark situations – altering exposure settings or compensation shows the preview changing, brightening up in a back-lit view or darkening in a dark view, but these changes are not reflected in the recorded files. Even with Histogram turned On, this under/over exposure is not easy to spot – in fact, I am sure the histogram just matches the incorrect preview image. There appears to be no way to get a consistent true ‘set’ live view, i.e. related to the shutter speed, aperture and ISO set – or have I missed an option in the menu? If I have not, this is critical and should be made available immediately. In full Auto mode, the changes made are both shown and recorded, but surely this should operate similarly in BOTH Auto AND Manual modes. 2. When reviewing images – it would be nice to be able to scroll images when in zoomed-in mode. I am not finding the speeding up of scrolling when in zoomed- in review that useful. It invariably flies past the spot I want to check. I would be happy with just the basic scroll speed. It would be useful to be able to zoom directly into the point of focus. I appreciate it may be difficult with face detect or multiple AF point selection options. 3. When shooting with the LCD I find it annoying that the bottom info bar stays/comes on when shooting, whereas the top one disappears. The bar strip background is too dark, obstructing the view, causing incorrect composition nearly always. This is NOT an issue when using the EVF, as both top and bottom info bars are OUTSIDE full frame viewing area. It would be nice to have an option where both info bars remain completely OFF when this display setting is chosen, especially on the LCD. At present the bottom bar re-appears on half press of shutter button. Again, NOT an issue in EVF as top and bottom info bars are OUTSIDE full frame viewing area. Discrete viewing settings for EVF and LCD would be useful. 4. Manual switching between EVF and LCD should be possible with a customisable button (see below). As also mentioned by others, when in EVF only mode there should be an option to have the play back review image appear on the LCD. 5. When the Level Gauge has been selected, it 'disappears' when the shutter button is half-pressed – why? The Histogram also behaves this way. However the Grid and Clipping stay on. ALL should stay on. 6. Like loads before me -DNG only option please! 7. Exposure compensation selection option on Fn Button is awkward – this should be available on the Zoom/Lock Button as this is the natural position, next to the thumbwheel. The Fn Button is difficult, almost impossible, to accurately activate with the camera to the eye. 8. In fact, the selection of options accessible on the Fn Button should be extended, possibly to almost all Menu operational options. And this same extended list should also be available on the Zoom/Lock Button, and possibly (please!) on the Video Button too. That way we can have 3 Custom Buttons – Yes Please!!! 9. It would be nice to be able to rearrange the Menu items to suit individual requirements (Digital Zoom would not be my choice for the No.1 slot), and to be able to save all settings to an SD card for safe keeping and re-setting the camera as and when required. 10. I am finding that the Menu does not always return to the last used option (e.g. User Profile) when re-accessed, but have not yet figured how or why it happens. From this long list (and it may still be added to as the Q is used more and further experience is gained ) it may seem that I am dissatisfied with the Q – far from it – I am so enjoying it very much indeed. It is my constant companion, though in reality any new camera will be anyway, and my M240 is tucked safely away at the moment. If Leica can be receptive to its loyal users and address at least some, if not the majority of issues raised so far, in a firmware update, it will escalate the Q to being a totally stellar camera. And then all they have to do is to bring out the Q 21mm f2.8, Q 35mm f2 and Q 50mm f2 versions for an astounding, superfast set of superb compact cameras to take over the world! Will the rumoured new interchangeable mirrorless camera system provide this? Probably not totally – but, only time will tell. I did forward some of these issues to Leica but have not yet heard back so far. In the meantime I shall continue to use and enjoy my fantastic Q. Looking forward to comments and clarifications/advice in overcoming some of the issues listed above.