First wedding with the Q2 - what I (dis-)liked

[Del_Pierro]

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Hello everybody,

Friends of mine asked me to document their wedding - quite a responsibility but I was happy to do it. First time for me being the main wedding photographer so I thought it is a good opportunity to show some examples and write about my experience with the camera. Next to the Q2 I had the Sony A7 III with the 85mm 1.8, in the end I used about 300 photos out of 1200, 90% with the Q2, 10% with the A7 III. The A7 III performed great by the way, I just don't need 85mm very often. 

So what did I like about the Q2?

- Spot autofocus was very fast and reliable, even in low light

- Cropping is no problem, the quality is so good that going to 50mm or further is no issue

- Shadow recovery and character of the results are (for me) very good, I like to push the shadows and never use flash.

- Low light performance is better than with the Q1 I used for two years, no banding while pushing shadows and the grain has a nice look, not much loss of detail. I used ISO 6400 and even pushed the shadows further, no problem with the quality of the results. 

- The camera is small, discrete, quiet and not intimidating to the guests

- Buffer was sufficient, better than wit the Q with a fast memory card

- No issue with the battery life, I didn't need a second battery.

- On/off switch and shutter button is so much better without the "c" mode of the Q1 in the way

 

What did I not like and what I like to see in a firmware update?

- Lack of tilt screen is a problem in sunlight, sometimes I was not able to see what I shoot from the hip

- In addition the spot focus point is nearly invisible on the screen, I would prefer something like the green square of the Olympus cameras, much better to see. Even with the EVF it's hard to see

- Same with the area focus, it's not possible to change the size of the area like it was in the Q1 and again, it's nearly impossible to see the grey square.

- Face detection is worse than on the Q1, often eyes were out of focus so I used only spot autofocus, disappointing

- I use the Profiles a lot to swap between face detect and spot focus for example. If by accident I activate the general profile the whole camera is resetted to english (mine is German) and the FN button is also resetted, very confusing - they need to hide that daxx profile or place it at the end of the list, really annoying

- Changing the profile is a little sluggish, it was faster on the Q1

- Exposure compensation dial was better on the Q1, I don't like the new position

Leica Fotos implementation is currently rather poor and unreliable, software fixes needed. I did't  share photos on location immediately because it was slow and cumbersome.

 

As a result I'm very happy with the Q2, most of the negative things can be easily corrected and well, I knew I don't get a tilt screen ;). And most important: My friends love the photos of their wedding.

Here are some results and you can see the whole set of photos in full resolution on my homepage - feel free to download and check the quality for yourself.

Wedding photos

 

 

Samples:

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[dancook]

Thanks for sharing your experience, seeing other people using the Q series for weddings just helps spur my own enthusiasm for it!

When I shot a wedding last weekend - I shouldered the A9 + 70-200, didn't use it, but I think I'll shoulder the A9 + 85mm 1.4 in future

[Del_Pierro]

2 minutes ago, dancook said:

Thanks for sharing your experience, seeing other people using the Q series for weddings just helps spur my own enthusiasm for it!

When I shot a wedding last weekend - I shouldered the A9 + 70-200, didn't use it, but I think I'll shoulder the A9 + 85mm 1.4 in future

Hi Dan,

I think the Q2 and another camera with a 85mm f1.x equivalent is a very good wedding combination. The A9 even more because the silent shutter works also in artificial light quite well.

First I thought of using the Q2 exclusively but sometimes it's better to have a certain distance ;). 

[dancook]

1 minute ago, Del_Pierro said:

Hi Dan,

I think the Q2 and another camera with a 85mm f1.x equivalent is a very good wedding combination. The A9 even more because the silent shutter works also in artificial light quite well.

First I thought of using the Q2 exclusively but sometimes it's better to have a certain distance ;). 

I find the time where a longer focal length is handy when people are spaced around outside - so they see you approach from a distance and if you're trying to capture a moment you can be hanging around like a lemon

[wda]

Interesting report and pictures. Thank you. I find mixing bodies on a shoot very demanding, adjusting one's mind-set to the next camera.. But you seemed to have coped well. I was a guest at a wedding recently and the official photographer appeared to have four bodies attached to a special body harness. He seemed to be coping; probably well used to operating with multiple cameras.

I was amused to see that only the barman gave you a negative reaction. Perhaps there is a story there.

[dancook]

2 minutes ago, wda said:

I was amused to see that only the barman gave you a negative reaction. Perhaps there is a story there.

Looks like he is posing to me

[Del_Pierro]

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2 minutes ago, wda said:

Interesting report and pictures. Thank you. I find mixing bodies on a shoot very demanding, adjusting one's mind-set to the next camera.. But you seemed to have coped well. I was a guest at a wedding recently and the official photographer appeared to have four bodies attached to a special body harness. He seemed to be coping; probably well used to operating with multiple cameras.

I was amused to see that only the barman gave you a negative reaction. Perhaps there is a story there.

Thanks for your feedback. The A7 III is very easy to use - activate eye autofocus and it does everything itself  . I was having fun with the barman, he wanted to give me a nice expression and smiled afterwards   

[Bjoernyy]

Amazing photos. Thanks for sharing. Now I would like to replace my Sony a7 III and 24/1.4 GM with the Leica Q2. 😁

[sturkel]

I just sold my A7 III and lenses and down to using the Q2 and a Nikon DF for my event work. I find the Q2 so intuitive to use  along side the DF.  

[Del_Pierro]

6 hours ago, Bjoernyy said:

Amazing photos. Thanks for sharing. Now I would like to replace my Sony a7 III and 24/1.4 GM with the Leica Q2. 😁

Thanks! I think the A7 / A9 with the 24 1.4 is also great due to the amazing autofocus system. But it's much bigger so the Q2 is the better option for me.

3 hours ago, sturkel said:

I just sold my A7 III and lenses and down to using the Q2 and a Nikon DF for my event work. I find the Q2 so intuitive to use  along side the DF.  

The Q2 and the A7 with the 85 1.8 are now the only cameras / lenses I own - everything I need.

[Bjoernyy]

1 hour ago, Del_Pierro said:

The Q2 and the A7 with the 85 1.8 are now the only cameras / lenses I own - everything I need.

Good idea! Maybe I will keep the a7, sell my both lenses and buy the 85/1.8 again. Sounds like a great combo, if I need an other focal length. 

[Chaemono]

With some imagination the message inside the fortune cookie could be construed as ambiguous, for newlyweds. 😁

[paul.bridges.3388]

16 hours ago, Del_Pierro said:

Thanks! I think the A7 / A9 with the 24 1.4 is also great due to the amazing autofocus system. But it's much bigger so the Q2 is the better option for me.

The Q2 and the A7 with the 85 1.8 are now the only cameras / lenses I own - everything I need.

Which 85 1.8 do you have?  I have an old A7R and Zeis Batis 85 1.8.  Wondering if I should be using it more, now I have the Q2..

[paul.bridges.3388]

14 hours ago, Bjoernyy said:

Good idea! Maybe I will keep the a7, sell my both lenses and buy the 85/1.8 again. Sounds like a great combo, if I need an other focal length. 

Which 85 1.8 do you have?  I have an old A7R and Zeis Batis 85 1.8.  Wondering if I should be using it more, now I have the Q2..

[Del_Pierro]

7 hours ago, paul.bridges.3388 said:

Which 85 1.8 do you have?  I have an old A7R and Zeis Batis 85 1.8.  Wondering if I should be using it more, now I have the Q2..

I have the SEL8518. Great lens - small, light, sharp and nice character, reminds me of the Nocticron I had for my Olympus cameras in the past with the slightly swirly bokeh. 

Edited May 14, 2019 by Del_Pierro

[Josh bear]

Hi

thanks for the report and the photographs.  Some truly exceptional photographs with brilliant post processing.  I too am very happy with the Q2 my CL has not had a shot taken since the Q2 arrived.

Regards

 

Josh

[wda]

58 minutes ago, Josh bear said:

Hi

thanks for the report and the photographs.  Some truly exceptional photographs with brilliant post processing.  I too am very happy with the Q2 my CL has not had a shot taken since the Q2 arrived.

Regards

 

Josh

But they are two very different cameras and there is a novelty element with any new camera.

[Josh bear]

They are indeed but I carried the CL with my Q very regularly.   With the Q2 I haven’t.  If the same situation in 5 months will look to sell.  

 

Regards

josh

[Bjoernyy]

14 hours ago, paul.bridges.3388 said:

Which 85 1.8 do you have?  I have an old A7R and Zeis Batis 85 1.8.  Wondering if I should be using it more, now I have the Q2..

I already had the 85/1.4 GM, but sold it, cause of its slow AF. 

I will buy the Sony FE 85/1.8:

- best AF for moving people

- small

- light 

- cheap (at the moment cashback in germany)

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[paul.bridges.3388]

7 hours ago, Bjoernyy said:

7 hours ago, Bjoernyy said:

I already had the 85/1.4 GM, but sold it, cause of its slow AF. 

I will buy the Sony FE 85/1.8:

 

I'm enjoying the Q2 but its good to have the reach of the 85/1.8 for bokeh on close-up candid portraits.  That said, the A7R is noisy and slooooow....