Sam M Posted September 10, 2016 Share #1 Posted September 10, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi all I am new to this forum (though have been browsing for a while) as I consider how to get into the world of Leica cameras. I currently shoot with a Canon 5d (MkI) and the 'holy trinity' of primes: 35L, 85L and 135L. I am an amateur in every sense of the word! The 35 generally lives on the camera and I love that focal length. So versatile. I've always had a hankering for a Leica Rangefinder but have discovered the Q as I started to look at Ms again most recently. The Q strikes me as the M re-imagined with today's technology - though with the dreaded fixed lens! If it were interchangeable, I would already have one in my hands! So, to the question (finally!). My main purpose for the camera will be to carry it everywhere. I have a young family and also travel a lot for work. I want to catch the world (but mostly the people) around me as we grow up. I think I'll be happy with the 35mm crops (12MP plenty for my purposes) but I don't know whether a 28mm lens will introduce distortion into the 35mm crop portion of the lens that would not be present with a true 35mm? I think back to that gif floating around the net which shows how a face shape changes in photos taken with different focal lengths. Apologies for the rambling first post! Kind regards Sam M Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 10, 2016 Posted September 10, 2016 Hi Sam M, Take a look here Photographing people with the Q. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
dkmoore Posted September 10, 2016 Share #2 Posted September 10, 2016 Although I agree that 12mp when cropped would be good enough for images saved on your computer to show family, I wouldn't buy a camera to use it in crop mode. If you are positive that you wouldn't be comfortable with 28mm then I would look at other cameras. Possibly the RX1R V2? That being said, the iPhone is based off of 28mm for a reason and I think it was a smart move by Leica to make the Q with a 28mm lens. You can't go wrong as the IQ is excellent and the functionality of the camera is excellent as well. The point of my long winded reply is if you are sure you cannot live with a 28mm I would look at other options. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropo54 Posted September 10, 2016 Share #3 Posted September 10, 2016 You will absolutely love the Q! For the most part you'll be fine and will not have distortion issues. You might search an earlier thread on the Q site dealing with portraits. It was a discussion topic a few months ago. (And you just may find that you do like the 28mm). R Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropo54 Posted September 10, 2016 Share #4 Posted September 10, 2016 Here's the link to the earlier thread regarding portraits: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/256680-leica-q-portrait/ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam M Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share #5 Posted September 10, 2016 Here's the link to the earlier thread regarding portraits: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/256680-leica-q-portrait/ Thank you! I had not seen that thread Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peyton Hoge Posted September 10, 2016 Share #6 Posted September 10, 2016 I've printed many large size prints with the 35mm crop. 13X19 being the largest. They print beautifully! Don't let someone tell you it's only good for computer viewing! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 10, 2016 Share #7 Posted September 10, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) I think I'll be happy with the 35mm crops (12MP plenty for my purposes) but I don't know whether a 28mm lens will introduce distortion into the 35mm crop portion of the lens that would not be present with a true 35mm? I think back to that gif floating around the net which shows how a face shape changes in photos taken with different focal lengths. Apologies for the rambling first post! Kind regards Sam M You need not fear on this aspect. Wideangle distortion with elongated heads is only an issue at the corners of wideangle images - and reading your post you'll be cropping down to the center. The big-nose type of distortion is not due to focal length, but to subject distance. If you use your Q as a 35 mm or 50 mm lens camera with the subject distance that goes with your focal lens and crop, the perspective result will be exactly the same as by changing lenses. The only variable aspect is DOF. As for the loss in megapixels: Don't worry. Unless you are a fine-art landscape photographer who exhibits for critics that creep up to his images wearing lorgnettes, for amateur use MP counts around 10MP are ample for a very large print of excellent quality. I have several M8 prints of more than 1 m wide hanging on the wall and I can only say that I still find them more than adequate. After PP the MP count was probably even less than 10. It sounds to me that you will be very happy with the Q. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancook Posted September 10, 2016 Share #8 Posted September 10, 2016 An album of 28mm portraits https://www.flickr.com/photos/62198876@N02/albums/72157666489176154 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam M Posted September 11, 2016 Author Share #9 Posted September 11, 2016 Thank you all for your kind contributions. I think I am convinced! It will certainly be a different style of camera for me (having only ever really used SLRs). Kind regards Sam M Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herve5 Posted September 11, 2016 Share #10 Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) Contrary to all posters here till now, I do say you'll have face deformations, unless 1) the 'portrait' covers at least half or the person (no full-screen face) and 2) the subject is not on the side of the pic. That's definitely an issue for me, you always end with not publishing this family shot just because the group is incredibly cool but Mom on the right side looks like she was bumped by a truck. Now there are ways to post-correct that (all photo editors, including the free open-source ones, offer a lens correction feature, often as simple as a slider with real-time preview). I do use this, sometimes even starting from the Raws (which are deformed way further). But it does waste your time, results are not always perfect, this generates some cropping... So really, I repeat : not just the face, and nobody significant in a corner, or you'll definitely be disappointed. Edited September 11, 2016 by Herve5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK! Posted September 11, 2016 Share #11 Posted September 11, 2016 Copy that -tk Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 11, 2016 Share #12 Posted September 11, 2016 Contrary to all posters here till now, I do say you'll have face deformations, unless 1) the 'portrait' covers at least half or the person (no full-screen face) and 2) the subject is not on the side of the pic. That's definitely an issue for me, you always end with not publishing this family shot just because the group is incredibly cool but Mom on the right side looks like she was bumped by a truck. Now there are ways to post-correct that (all photo editors, including the free open-source ones, offer a lens correction feature, often as simple as a slider with real-time preview). I do use this, sometimes even starting from the Raws (which are deformed way further). But it does waste your time, results are not always perfect, this generates some cropping... So really, I repeat : not just the face, and nobody significant in a corner, or you'll definitely be disappointed. Not if you crop down to - and use the frame for- 50 mm. And raw files show exactly the same perspective as jpgs, which are derived from those raw files. It is nonsense to suggest that they are "deformed way further". The in-camera corrections are incorporated in the sidecar file of the raw. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herve5 Posted September 12, 2016 Share #13 Posted September 12, 2016 (edited) Not if you crop down to - and use the frame for- 50 mm. True enough. And raw files show exactly the same perspective as jpgs, which are derived from those raw files. Well it seems you never opened a raw with something else than the provided Adobe thing. All other raw readers show the (quite large) lens deformation -and also allow to correct it, of course. This has been addressed many times, also, for instance, the fact that raw files contain dozen more pixels on the widest side (which show the presence of the lens hood in the corner, but not only) DPReview for instance give an idea of that's in the Raw file at the bottom of this page, although a bit uncorrect as the raw is actually larger than the corrected file. (see how much more of the tree you get on the right...) H. Edited September 12, 2016 by Herve5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam M Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share #14 Posted September 13, 2016 Contrary to all posters here till now, I do say you'll have face deformations, unless 1) the 'portrait' covers at least half or the person (no full-screen face) and 2) the subject is not on the side of the pic. That's definitely an issue for me, you always end with not publishing this family shot just because the group is incredibly cool but Mom on the right side looks like she was bumped by a truck. Now there are ways to post-correct that (all photo editors, including the free open-source ones, offer a lens correction feature, often as simple as a slider with real-time preview). I do use this, sometimes even starting from the Raws (which are deformed way further). But it does waste your time, results are not always perfect, this generates some cropping... So really, I repeat : not just the face, and nobody significant in a corner, or you'll definitely be disappointed. Thanks Herve for the additional perspective. I think what I was concerned with was being comfortable that if I use the 35mm (or 50mm) frame lines for a photo of people then the distortion should not be worse than if I were to take the photo with an actual 35mm (or 50mm) lens. I THINK that has been confirmed... I do understand that if I fill the 28mm frame with a face, I get what I deserve! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglouis Posted September 25, 2016 Share #15 Posted September 25, 2016 I think I mentioned this before, elsewhere but the UK photographer Don McCullin relies on two lenses for his work, a 28mm and a 135mm. He has produced some stunning portraits at 28mm (bearing in mind the advice above about avoiding placing subjects too near the lens or too near the edge). Personally, I shot my son's wedding with two cameras - the Q and my Panasonic GX8 with a PanaLeica 25/1.4. Turned out to be an excellent combo. LouisB Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 25, 2016 Share #16 Posted September 25, 2016 True enough. Well it seems you never opened a raw with something else than the provided Adobe thing. All other raw readers show the (quite large) lens deformation -and also allow to correct it, of course. This has been addressed many times, also, for instance, the fact that raw files contain dozen more pixels on the widest side (which show the presence of the lens hood in the corner, but not only) DPReview for instance give an idea of that's in the Raw file at the bottom of this page, although a bit uncorrect as the raw is actually larger than the corrected file. (see how much more of the tree you get on the right...) H. That is something quite different. Optimizing a lens on a fixed-lens camera by shifting aberrations into distortion and then correcting digitally is state of the art and practiced by many camera makers. If you open a raw image in a converter that does not apply the corrections you are crippling the camera from the start. It has nothing to do with the geometric distortion we are discussing here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malabito Posted September 25, 2016 Share #17 Posted September 25, 2016 Hi all I am new to this forum (though have been browsing for a while) as I consider how to get into the world of Leica cameras. I currently shoot with a Canon 5d (MkI) and the 'holy trinity' of primes: 35L, 85L and 135L. I am an amateur in every sense of the word! The 35 generally lives on the camera and I love that focal length. So versatile. I've always had a hankering for a Leica Rangefinder but have discovered the Q as I started to look at Ms again most recently. The Q strikes me as the M re-imagined with today's technology - though with the dreaded fixed lens! If it were interchangeable, I would already have one in my hands! So, to the question (finally!). My main purpose for the camera will be to carry it everywhere. I have a young family and also travel a lot for work. I want to catch the world (but mostly the people) around me as we grow up. I think I'll be happy with the 35mm crops (12MP plenty for my purposes) but I don't know whether a 28mm lens will introduce distortion into the 35mm crop portion of the lens that would not be present with a true 35mm? I think back to that gif floating around the net which shows how a face shape changes in photos taken with different focal lengths. Apologies for the rambling first post! Kind regards Sam M The 28mm might not be the most appealing for portraits, but it can be done, and with minimal distortion. Just try not to tilt the camera when shooting or not putting people on the corners. I use the 28mm mainly for street portraits, and seldom have a shot ruined by distortion... L1010428 by Alejandro Ilukewitsch, on Flickr L1020561 by Alejandro Ilukewitsch, on Flickr L1020747 by Alejandro Ilukewitsch, on Flickr L1030886 by Alejandro Ilukewitsch, on Flickr L1020364 by Alejandro Ilukewitsch, on Flickr L1020164 by Alejandro Ilukewitsch, on Flickr L1060347 by Alejandro Ilukewitsch, on Flickr 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam M Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share #18 Posted October 16, 2016 Thanks all for helping convince me to jump right in. Wandered into a store here a couple of weeks ago intending just to fondle, but walked out much poorer (and very happy)! Am loving this cam though have heaps to learn about the focal length. As per my original post, intent is for this to be a carry everywhere camera and it is proving to be perfect for that. Here is a quick pic taken on its first outing. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/264357-photographing-people-with-the-q/?do=findComment&comment=3129457'>More sharing options...
Malabito Posted October 16, 2016 Share #19 Posted October 16, 2016 Thanks all for helping convince me to jump right in. Wandered into a store here a couple of weeks ago intending just to fondle, but walked out much poorer (and very happy)! Am loving this cam though have heaps to learn about the focal length. As per my original post, intent is for this to be a carry everywhere camera and it is proving to be perfect for that. Here is a quick pic taken on its first outing. Great image up to a very good start you wont regret it... About been a camera to carry everywhere, i gave up on that idea yes its portable but still not small enough, and carrying 4k in the pocket all the time kind of kill the fun sometimes, (family trips), so i ended recently getting a fuji x70. Not comparable at all to the Q, the Q is fast, and has amazing image quality, but i can fit in the pocket, and has good enough image quality Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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