Favourite thing about the Q.

[dancook]

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When I'm on the move shooting street photography I typically want 1/2000th and auto aperture / auto ISO.

 

When I'm taking a controlled photograph I want f8  1/125th or similar.. again with auto-iso

 

The fact that I can do this one handed, extremely quickly without having to check a LCD for feedback on settings is immensely valuable to me. I can even do it whilst the camera is off.... I cannot overstate how this help makes it one of the best cameras I've ever owned.

 

 

I typically shoot face detection mode (defaulting to wide)

 

I only shoot single point focus when I've ample time whilst waiting for the opportunity to take the photo.

[likealot]

Does f/8 give the optimal sharpness on the Q?

 

I generally tend to shoot f1.7 or f11. The former when I want to concentrate on a particular subject/area and the latter when I want everything in focus.

[dancook]

Does f/8 give the optimal sharpness on the Q?

 

I generally tend to shoot f1.7 or f11. The former when I want to concentrate on a particular subject/area and the latter when I want everything in focus.

 

I just spin the dial and land between f5.6 - f11  

[bags27]

I agree about aperture. I shoot at f1.7 mainly when light conditions demand it or I want the narrowest depth of field. At every aperture, the lens is plenty sharp, and that issue rarely affects my decision.  

 

And as to shutter speed dial, the lack of one was a deal breaker for me with Sony.

Edited September 18, 2018 by bags27

[russelljtdyer]

What's the value of automatic ISO to you?  If I have aperture or shutter speed set to automatic, I don't need the ISO also to be automatic. If I'm outside shooting street photography, I can usually set the ISO to a low value and leave it there.

 

The lower the ISO, the greater clarity.  If you like grain, you can add it later with Lightroom -- you can't remove it, though. On auto-ISO, I can't be sure the camera will make a good image quality choice. Do you at least set the maximum ISO allowed for automatic mode to something moderately low?

Edited September 19, 2018 by russelljtdyer

[dancook]

What's the value of automatic ISO to you?  If I have aperture or shutter speed set to automatic, I don't need the ISO also to be automatic. If I'm outside shooting street photography, I can usually set the ISO to a low value and leave it there.

 

The lower the ISO, the greater clarity.  If you like grain, you can add it later with Lightroom -- you can't remove it, though. On auto-ISO, I can't be sure the camera will make a good image quality choice. Do you at least set the maximum ISO allowed for automatic mode to something moderately low?

 

I use auto-ISO on all my cameras, I pretty much never have aperture AND shutter speed set to automatic. I know based on my shutter and aperture decisions what the ISO will probably do, and I can manage it by changing my aperture/shutter which are visible on the camera dials (the ISO is not).

 

Since I often shoot street at 1/2000th (auto-aperture i.e. f1.7 mostly) I get low ISO during a bright sunny day - but if I go into the shade it will creep up, but that's ok - because I'd rather capture a moment than worry about ISO100 image quality.

 

This is a crop, exif f1.7, 1/2000th, ISO2500 and I am not worried about the image quality.  I have shot ISO12,800 on the Leica Q and been happy with the shots.

 

Red, White and Black by dancook1982, on Flickr

 

 

If I want to stop and take an image where I want to maximise image quality and probably depth of field - I'll set shutter speed to a hand hold-able speed and raise aperture, the ISO will handle itself - and typically be low.

 

I don't need to set max ISO, because if I have the time I'll be paying attention to light and adjusting shutter/aperture to compensate.

Edited September 19, 2018 by dancook

[dancook]

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I took this and other indoor shots with auto-ISO

 

I set my aperture to f6.3 and shutter speed to 1/60th - and the ISO came out at 100 - I didn't even check it at the time, because I knew I needed an aperture for depth of field, and that lowering my shutter speed to a hand holdable one that won't blur people at this distance will get the most out of lowering the ISO

 

Kumu by dancook1982, on Flickr

Edited September 19, 2018 by dancook

[dancook]

So in summary

 

Auto-ISO means one less setting to manually adjust (particularly as it's a menu driven one)

 

If necessary I can manage ISO by changing aperture/shutter by knowing the scene and light available.

 

Controlling aperture and shutter provide more creative control.

[Leica Guy]

When I'm on the move shooting street photography I typically want 1/2000th and auto aperture / auto ISO.

 

When I'm taking a controlled photograph I want f8 1/125th or similar.. again with auto-iso

 

The fact that I can do this one handed, extremely quickly without having to check a LCD for feedback on settings is immensely valuable to me. I can even do it whilst the camera is off.... I cannot overstate how this help makes it one of the best cameras I've ever owned.

 

 

I typically shoot face detection mode (defaulting to wide)

 

I only shoot single point focus when I've ample time whilst waiting for the opportunity to take the photo.

Dan.

Thanks for all your experienced advice. Your photos exhibit a lot of skill and creativity.

 

I did not understand your comment above (default to wide). I’m probably missing something obvious. Thanks.

Dan

[dancook]

Dan.

Thanks for all your experienced advice. Your photos exhibit a lot of skill and creativity.

 

I did not understand your comment above (default to wide). I’m probably missing something obvious. Thanks.

Dan

 

thanks!

 

Only that...

 

The face detection AF mode defaults to wide area AF mode when it does not detect a face.

[bags27]

Thanks so much for this thread. It's been insightful for me, and reminds me that there's a world of difference between contemporary digital thinking and "Sunny Sixteen"!

[Guest]

 

I use auto-ISO on all my cameras, I pretty much never have aperture AND shutter speed set to automatic. I know based on my shutter and aperture decisions what the ISO will probably do, and I can manage it by changing my aperture/shutter which are visible on the camera dials (the ISO is not).

 

Since I often shoot street at 1/2000th (auto-aperture i.e. f1.7 mostly) I get low ISO during a bright sunny day - but if I go into the shade it will creep up, but that's ok - because I'd rather capture a moment than worry about ISO100 image quality.

 

This is a crop, exif f1.7, 1/2000th, ISO2500 and I am not worried about the image quality.  I have shot ISO12,800 on the Leica Q and been happy with the shots.

 

Red, White and Black by dancook1982, on Flickr

 

 

If I want to stop and take an image where I want to maximise image quality and probably depth of field - I'll set shutter speed to a hand hold-able speed and raise aperture, the ISO will handle itself - and typically be low.

 

I don't need to set max ISO, because if I have the time I'll be paying attention to light and adjusting shutter/aperture to compensate.

 

 

 

interesting....do you often use such high exposure compensation? I notice this photo was -1EV

 

cheers,

[dancook]

interesting....do you often use such high exposure compensation? I notice this photo was -1EV

 

cheers,

Often at least -0.3 EV, -1 was probably dialed in from an earlier scene because it was a bright day.

 

Besides, it's nice to protect the highlights, they are more easily blown and lost than shadow.

 

And whilst there is latitude to, I never usually want to pull lots of detail from shadows.

 

and I typically don't like images that have had shadows pulled so much to create an even tone - almost as though there were no shadows in the scene.

Edited September 21, 2018 by dancook