Q Reliable in Professional Work?

[seppling]

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Hi All,

 

First post after lurking for a while. I've been shooting Nikon and most recently MFT and Fuji as a hobbyist for about 8 years, and recently began offering photography services for cost. I've primarily booked portrait sessions (family, senior photos, couples), but also shoot the occasional wedding.

 

I've tried my best to deemphasize the gear, but I've finally reached a quandary I can't quite shake. My two primary lenses are Fuji's 23mm (35mm equiv.) f1.4 and Panasonic-Leica Nocticron 42.5 f1.2. Both are fantastic, but the Nocti is special. I personally find that I enjoy it's rendering better than any lens I've shot, and photos taken with it are the most well received by customers.

 

I realize that they're quite different focal lengths, but the problem I've noticed is the Fuji lens renders the OOF areas a bit busy, whereas the PL is buttery smooth. I've considered complimenting the PL with the Leica Q, but I'm wondering how competent it is as a primary shooter. It will be shot alongside a Panasonic GX8, so size and interchangeable batteries will be a nice bonus.

 

Any insights from those who have shot with their Q on for-pay jobs would be greatly appreciated!

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[beez]

Here's a link to a thread about people's experience with the Q's reliability.

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/265746-leica-q-reliability/

 

In the thread I posted this:

"Been using the Q for pro photojournalism for just over a year now - 90% of it on the presidential campaign trail. I've put very high demands on all my cameras and lenses the last 18 months, and the campaign trail is a punishing environment, with fast action and very close quarters and big, nasty scrums. The Q hasn't missed a beat - easily as sturdy and reliable as my Nikon gear. My M8 and M9 were just as tough and reliable."

[seppling]

This is a great resource, thank you! Do you have any links to view your work? Would love to see some of the photos you took on the campaign trail.

Edited January 8, 2018 by seppling

[stuny]

Stephen -

 

Brad's site link is at the bottom of his post.  Here it is again:  omnivorousmedia.com/photography

[Le Chef]

Great shots! You really show how the Q can get close to the action. Having been within flashbulb distance of the swarm of press photographers in the past, you need sharp elbows,  the build of an offensive lineman, the height of a basketball player, and ding resistant equipment to survive successfully.

 

I'm truly amazed at the versatility of this camera. You imagine a sense of deprivation in not having telephotos or zooms and just one fixed focal length wide angle lens, but your photographs and others in the pinned images section above show that by really understanding what your equipment can do, you end up in a very creative space. (Think cooking with an outdoor grill vs. wok, or driving a roadster vs. SUV if you want more analogies)

[seppling]

Thanks for the link Study. I'm missing the original though, being new to the forum I'm not too familiar with all the features.

[nlk10010]

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Here's a link to a thread about people's experience with the Q's reliability.

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/265746-leica-q-reliability/

 

In the thread I posted this:

"Been using the Q for pro photojournalism for just over a year now - 90% of it on the presidential campaign trail. I've put very high demands on all my cameras and lenses the last 18 months, and the campaign trail is a punishing environment, with fast action and very close quarters and big, nasty scrums. The Q hasn't missed a beat - easily as sturdy and reliable as my Nikon gear. My M8 and M9 were just as tough and reliable."

I am trialing a Q and took a look at your site:  I don't think I'm telling you anything you don't already know when I say the images really are stunning. But is there any way to tell which cameras took which pictures, even to a degree or percentage? My guess is that most of them were Nikon, next most the Ms and then perhaps you used the Q for special situations. I'm having specific issues with the shots I'm getting from my Q (pilot error, I'm sure) and would like to get an idea of what this camera is really capable of. 

 

Thanks.

[Leica Guy]

I am trialing a Q and took a look at your site: I don't think I'm telling you anything you don't already know when I say the images really are stunning. But is there any way to tell which cameras took which pictures, even to a degree or percentage? My guess is that most of them were Nikon, next most the Ms and then perhaps you used the Q for special situations. I'm having specific issues with the shots I'm getting from my Q (pilot error, I'm sure) and would like to get an idea of what this camera is really capable of.

 

Thanks.

I’d be interested in any suggestions on settings such as focus mode. I also shoot political events. I’ve struggled at times with single point focus and had more success with multi-point focus mode.

[beez]

I am trialing a Q and took a look at your site:  I don't think I'm telling you anything you don't already know when I say the images really are stunning. But is there any way to tell which cameras took which pictures, even to a degree or percentage? My guess is that most of them were Nikon, next most the Ms and then perhaps you used the Q for special situations. I'm having specific issues with the shots I'm getting from my Q (pilot error, I'm sure) and would like to get an idea of what this camera is really capable of. 

 

Thanks.

 

Thank you for your compliments, they are much appreciated

 

You are correct in your assessment - most of the pictures you see there are with the Nikons, some are with Ms and a few are with the Q. My basic kit for the trail was 4 Nikons - 3 D750s, one with 14/2.8 and the other with 20/2.8, and one with 80-200/2.8.... plus a D7200 (APS-C sensor) with a 300/2.8, which give me the flexibility to make the 300/2.8 into a 450/2.8 if necessary, or I could put it on a D750 and use it as a 300. I also used two Leicas - an M9 with a 35/2 and an M8 (APS-H sensor) with a 21/2.8, equivalent to a 28/2.8. I hate changing lenses, so I usually carried all this stuff on me at the same time. So, most of the pictures (obviously all the telephoto) were shot with the Nikons. When I was in close, and as you can see, that was a lot of the time, I needed to use the Nikons with the very wide lenses. I consider 28mm to be my "normal" lens, and that's the main camera around my neck. I traded the M8 and 21mm for the Q in October 2015. I'd say maybe 10% if what you see was shot with the Q.

 

I do have a couple of galleries on this site where I uploaded some campaign pictures only shot with the Q:

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/gallery/album/5277-q-samples/

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/gallery/album/5445-more-q-samples/

 

Let me know if you have specific questions about the problems you're having with the Q, and I'll try to address them.

 

Something that might surprise you, is all of the pictures that are in the "travel" section of my portfolio, were shot with actual point and shoot cameras - either a Canon Elph PowerShot SD800 IS or a Canon PowerShot SX260 HS. I go to Asia a lot to press check the coffee table picture books (you can see them on the site under the "books" menu at the top) I design and creative direct. In most of the industrial areas of China and Korea where the printing plants are, I'd be killed for a Leica camera, so I prefer to travel very light and unobtrusive with a camera I can feel good about handing to someone if I'm robbed. To me anyway, it proves it's not the equipment that takes great pictures, its the photographer.

 

I’d be interested in any suggestions on settings such as focus mode. I also shoot political events. I’ve struggled at times with single point focus and had more success with multi-point focus mode.

 

I use the Q's AF in single point mode only. Since the 2.0 firmware update I only use the small sized focus points. I've found that the more I control the camera myself, the higher the success rate of the pictures shot. I found that multi-point was giving the camera too much control, and it was not focusing the lens where I wanted it to. I shoot only available light, so I shoot mostly wide open, or close to it, so I prefer to tell the camera exactly where I want the focus to be. If I have time while shooting, I use the multi-directional buttons on the back to move the focus point, but in fast moving situations, I put the focus point near the middle, focus where I want by half-pressing the shutter, then re-compose and shoot. I've used Leica Ms for more than 40 years this way, and I'm used to the focus/recompose routine. With wider (like 21mm) lenses on the Ms, I was focusing with the rangefinder, then composing in the auxiliary finder and shooting the frame, and got very good at that, too - very rarely missed a picture.

Edited January 10, 2018 by beez

[beez]

Great shots! You really show how the Q can get close to the action. Having been within flashbulb distance of the swarm of press photographers in the past, you need sharp elbows,  the build of an offensive lineman, the height of a basketball player, and ding resistant equipment to survive successfully.

 

Thank you for your comments, I appreciate them. On you list of press photographer qualifications above, I only have the sharp elbows, so I guess I'm lucky to still be doing it (and alive, too) after 45 years in the biz.

 

Thanks again,

Edited January 10, 2018 by beez

[Leica Guy]

Thank you for your compliments, they are much appreciated

 

You are correct in your assessment - most of the pictures you see there are with the Nikons, some are with Ms and a few are with the Q. My basic kit for the trail was 4 Nikons - 3 D750s, one with 14/2.8 and the other with 20/2.8, and one with 80-200/2.8.... plus a D7200 (APS-C sensor) with a 300/2.8, which give me the flexibility to make the 300/2.8 into a 450/2.8 if necessary, or I could put it on a D750 and use it as a 300. I also used two Leicas - an M9 with a 35/2 and an M8 (APS-H sensor) with a 21/2.8, equivalent to a 28/2.8. I hate changing lenses, so I usually carried all this stuff on me at the same time. So, most of the pictures (obviously all the telephoto) were shot with the Nikons. When I was in close, and as you can see, that was a lot of the time, I needed to use the Nikons with the very wide lenses. I consider 28mm to be my "normal" lens, and that's the main camera around my neck. I traded the M8 and 21mm for the Q in October 2015. I'd say maybe 10% if what you see was shot with the Q.

 

I do have a couple of galleries on this site where I uploaded some campaign pictures only shot with the Q:

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/gallery/album/5277-q-samples/

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/gallery/album/5445-more-q-samples/

 

Let me know if you have specific questions about the problems you're having with the Q, and I'll try to address them.

 

Something that might surprise you, is all of the pictures that are in the "travel" section of my portfolio, were shot with actual point and shoot cameras - either a Canon Elph PowerShot SD800 IS or a Canon PowerShot SX260 HS. I go to Asia a lot to press check the coffee table picture books (you can see them on the site under the "books" menu at the top) I design and creative direct. In most of the industrial areas of China and Korea where the printing plants are, I'd be killed for a Leica camera, so I prefer to travel very light and unobtrusive with a camera I can feel good about handing to someone if I'm robbed. To me anyway, it proves it's not the equipment that takes great pictures, its the photographer.

 

 

I use the Q's AF in single point mode only. Since the 2.0 firmware update I only use the small sized focus points. I've found that the more I control the camera myself, the higher the success rate of the pictures shot. I found that multi-point was giving the camera too much control, and it was not focusing the lens where I wanted it to. I shoot only available light, so I shoot mostly wide open, or close to it, so I prefer to tell the camera exactly where I want the focus to be. If I have time while shooting, I use the multi-directional buttons on the back to move the focus point, but in fast moving situations, I put the focus point near the middle, focus where I want by half-pressing the shutter, then re-compose and shoot. I've used Leica Ms for more than 40 years this way, and I'm used to the focus/recompose routine. With wider (like 21mm) lenses on the Ms, I was focusing with the rangefinder, then composing in the auxiliary finder and shooting the frame, and got very good at that, too - very rarely missed a picture.

Thank you for the great info on how you shoot. I’ll try again with single point focus. It’s interestinh to me that that modevis all I use on my DSLR, but have not felt as comfortable doing so with the Q. Your photos are extraordinary.

[beez]

Thank you for the great info on how you shoot. I’ll try again with single point focus. It’s interestinh to me that that modevis all I use on my DSLR, but have not felt as comfortable doing so with the Q. Your photos are extraordinary.

 

Thank you Infiniumguy, you're very kind. I also use the single point AF on my Nikons - like the Leicas, I'm shooting available light, and I find it's a much more accurate way to use AF when the lenses are wide open.

 

I also shoot with all the cameras in continuous drive mode - I keep the Nikons on "high" (6.5 fps for the D750s and 6 fps for the D7200) and I keep the M9 on continuous which is 2 fps, and the Q on medium, 5 fps. But I very, very rarely shoot in bursts... I try to pick my shots as if the cameras were were on single drive, but can use the burst if necessary. I've found over the years that holding the button down for bursts is first of all lazy, and it also makes you susceptible to missing the best pictures. Even at fast speeds, there's still a time in a burst when the camera is cycling, and not making an exposure, and the very best picture could be at one of those times when the camera is cycling. I try to anticipate what's going to happen, and if a burst is necessary, then it's available by merely holding the button down longer.