Leica Q - Another perspective

[lucerne]

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Dropped into the Leica store in Munich yesterday to 'meet' the Q. Brilliant concept and design, looks and feels like I thought it would. Chapeau Wetzlar, I'm sorely tempted! Comparing it to my film Ms the Q appears a little front heavy. That may be due to the lens’s weighty AF technology, the lightweight body or a combination of both. I’m sure there are enough owners out there who can put me right.

 

Add the Leica Protector case, and it balances perfectly without becoming bulky.  I also have a Thumbs Up and the whole combo is very stable and comfortable..  

Edited August 28, 2015 by lucerne

[40mm f/2]

I recently had a chance to see/handle the Q at the Leica store in SF. I very much liked the design, UI and handling of that camera but to be tempted to buy one it should have:

Smaller lens 35-40mm focal length (happy with f/2.0-2.4) 

weather sealing

better EVF (see what Sony can do)

A liked the idea of a fixed lens camera (no time lag to change lenses, no cleaning of sensors). It could replace my M9 except I would put my MEM 90 on a Sony APS-C body (effective 135 mm is great for macro of insects etc.)

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[asiafish]

Ecaton,

 

The good news is that I have now had it for almost a month and still love this camera.  It does what I need the way I need it done.  I liken it to a good wife, by your side when needed, always ready, good disposition, fabulous performance and reliable.

 

Now, I'm probably in more trouble than when chastising Leica for not doing their best with the T and the XV.   

 

Have you used the X Vario?  It has a few faults, but despite them it is a real gem.

[Kyros Moutsouris]

I bought the Q because it's very much like the iPhone: 28mm with a touch screen.

It takes rather nice pictures but I'm still learning to use it. I still haven't figured out how to make a call using the Q.

Just wait for the Leica Qs :-) Edited August 29, 2015 by cyrusthevirus

[barjohn]

Have you used the X Vario?  It has a few faults, but despite them it is a real gem.

Yes, I owned the XV.  I loved the size, the feel and the zoom lens, even though it was a bit slow.  However, the AF was too slow, the review and magnified images were too poor in resolution to be useful and the AF had or still has a problem where it randomly gives focus confirmation but sets focus to about 1.5m making everything out of focus and even though the subject is some distance away.  A look at the EXIF data tells you where the camera focused (distance) and even though there was nothing in the frame closer to fool the AF system by being a higher contrast object closer to the sensor, it would set focus to a distance that the lens could not focus at.  Low light AF was way too slow and shooting children was a hit & miss thing (at least for me).  In contrast, the Q is quick to focus and very accurate.  I have not observed the same error after several thousand exposures.  By the way those AF errors were happening on still subject shots.  Gerd, that posts on this forum conducted extensive tests to show the problem but to my knowledge, it was never fixed.

[sturkel]

In my case my travel camera has been the Nikon DF, with primes 24-35 and 50.  I have yet to find a EVF that made me want to leave the DF till I picked up a Q in Miami while on assignment.  Within 5 min, I was sold.  For my pro-work I will stick with the Nikon gear, and will start using the Q on some jobs, for my own pleasure.  

 

It is rare to pick up a camera that just makes you want to have fun, I had this with the  Epson RD1 and Fuji X100 for awhile, just the quality of the files was not there.  I am looking forward to my travels with the Q ,and no options to take with, just the camera and a spare battery. This is refreshing.

[NZDavid]

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Interchangeable lenses would make a Q camera even more of a winner. Same applies to the X. T looks good in this regard but I would really prefer simple M-style controls to a smartphone interface.

[fotografr]

As an experiment, I've tried carrying my M with the 28mm and no other lenses for extended periods. For the kind of shooting I like to do the 28 is too wide and I find myself cropping a lot to get the image I want. If Leica put a Q on the market with a 35 or 40mm fixed lens, I'll buy it without hesitation.

[barjohn]

I thought about that too as I was more accustomed to the 35mm but then realized that with only one lens, the wide makes more sense.  I can crop to get the 35 or even 50 but what do you do when you need wider than 35 or 50 if that is the only lens?  Move way back?  Can't do that easily in a restaurant or small inside venue.  On the other hand, I can crop down fairly easily.  Yes 50 is a bit tough as one has lost a lot of resolution but 35 is perfectly acceptable.

[jlindstrom]

then realized that with only one lens, the wide makes more sense. I can crop to get the 35 or even 50. On the other hand, I can crop down fairly easily. Yes 50 is a bit tough as one has lost a lot of resolution but 35 is perfectly acceptable.

Liberal snip from original post, but anyway these make my point. But I'd like to add also, that the more I think about this the less I'm concerned about the lost resolution. Yes, you can't print massively big out of them but how often does one really do that?

 

Also looking back at my old photos, some of my favorite shots were taken with a 2 megapixel ixus powershot 330 back in 2002 and yet some more favorites with a 6 megapixel Nikon D70 around 2005. And many people are happily snapping away with their mobile phones which are often 8mp or less.

 

So the 8mp for 50mm crop is actually quite on for most purposes. After all, how many complained about the D70 with a 50mm (35mm + aps-c sensor) lens? And in there as well the dof was compromised by the 35mm lens and crop sensor...

 

So while it's a loss compared to full 24mp of the 28mm, I will not hesitate to use it just so I can get the crop marked for Lightroom and then do the final cut there.. the m-style framelines will help with composition.

 

//Juha