Leica Q, Q-P or Q2?

[analog-digital]

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Hello everybody

I am new to the Leuca Q system. I would like to try one of the 3 types, but I'm not sure which one.

• What are the pros and cons points?
• What is the difference between the Q and Q-P?

Do not leave me ignorant ......

 

PS: I own M8's and Mono Typ 246

Edited September 2, 2019 by analog-digital

[Viv]

The Q is 24 MP, the Q2 is 47 MP.

The Q2 therefore gives, theoretically, somewhat better image quality and more scope for cropping, but at the cost of having to manipulate huge files.

The Q gives image quality that is more than good enough for most users.

You can easily compare the Q and the Q-P on the Leica  site.

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[LondonL]

I just purchased my first Leica and went for the Q-P. Personally I do not need 47mp and I love the Q-P design, it’s stunning and an absolute joy to shoot with.

Sadly, I think this is a gateway to more Leica in the future 

[analog-digital]

Unfortunately, the technical details of the Q and Q-P can not be compared side by side on the Leica homepage.

I assume Q and Q-P are 90% equal. But what are the remaining 10%? Q-P = Q-Professional ??

It's also about whether the Q / Q-P is something really different (except megapixels), which really annoys.

Edited September 2, 2019 by analog-digital

[mbphotox]

The Q-P is identical to the Q, there's really no significant difference there.

See here, for a detailed comparison:

https://www.dpreview.com/news/5657368495/the-leica-q-p-is-a-stealthy-subdued-version-of-the-leica-q-that-s-missing-the-red-dot

[Viv]

36 minutes ago, analog-digital said:

Unfortunately, the technical details of the Q and Q-P can not be compared side by side on the Leica homepage.

I assume Q and Q-P are 90% equal. But what are the remaining 10%? Q-P = Q-Professional ??

It's also about whether the Q / Q-P is something really different (except megapixels), which really annoys.

See my reply above.

[Stephen_C]

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There is already a very long thread about the differences between the Q/Q-P and the Q2 here.

Stephen

[analog-digital]

@ Stephen

Thanks for the link I missed that, sorry.

[LeicaRoy]

On 9/3/2019 at 5:40 AM, LondonL said:

I just purchased my first Leica and went for the Q-P. Personally I do not need 47mp and I love the Q-P design, it’s stunning and an absolute joy to shoot with.

Sadly, I think this is a gateway to more Leica in the future 

I did exactly the same ..... I couldn’t be happier with the Q-P - looks or performance. The main thing though is how it makes me feel - no other modern camera has this level of “soul”.... 

 

Like londonL, I see much spending on the horizon 🙂

[microview]

Yes the Q-P is a 'stealth' option without that giveaway Red Dot; you might not like the feel of its matt texture in the hand however.

[Herr Barnack]

Q2 upgrades in red -

Leica Q2 at a glance

• 47 MP CMOS Sensor
• New Maestro image processor
• Built in Summilux 28mm F/1.7 ASPH. lens
• Optical design: 11 elements in 9 groups
• Digitalzoom to 35, 50 and 75 mm
• Electronic viewfinder with 3,68 MP
• ISO sensitivity 50 – 50.000
• Shutter speed (mechanical) 60 – 1/2,000 sec
• Electronic shutter 1 – 1/40,000 sec
• 4k video up to 30 fps
• Dust and splash protection
• Dimensions (B x H x T): 130 x 80 x 92 mm
• Weight 718 g (incl. battery)
• Improved battery life
• Silent leaf shutter
• image stabilization

The Q2 costs about $1000-1200 USD more than the Q but the above list of upgrades is an absolute steal for the extra cost IMHO.  The 47 MP sensor, image stabilization and silent leaf shutter are hands down worth the extra cost.  But then you get a laundry list of other upgrades in addition to those three.

Quote

"...The Q2 therefore gives, theoretically, somewhat better image quality and more scope for cropping, but at the cost of having to manipulate huge files..."

I have heard the 47 MP file size mentioned as  possibly being a problem in processing by a couple of people.  I use Lightroom to do my post-processing and have found the Q2 files to be no trouble at all to process.  In my experience, the 47 MP files are no different in terms of post-processing than are my 24 MP files from my M-P 240.  Q2 files just take up more storage room, that's all. 

Also take a look at: 

 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Herr Barnack

[PhotoCruiser]

I agree with the above!
I had first the Q and switched 6 months ago to the Q2 and there is no doubt thet the Q2 is the better camera.

The main reason where you "feel" the 80MB file size is on hard disk space, but hard disks are cheap today, so not a issue.
I work on a 2016 Intel 7xxx laptop and editing speed is not slow and i did not felt a considerable speed difference between Q and Q2 files.
Working on a outdated machine the difference can be more important, 16-32 GB of memory usually helps with that.

I work either with the latest Lightroom Classic or newly with Phase One to catalog and edit my photos, no heavy Photoshop editing involved.

Chris

[louys]

On 12/28/2019 at 4:51 AM, LeicaRoy said:

I did exactly the same ..... I couldn’t be happier with the Q-P - looks or performance. The main thing though is how it makes me feel - no other modern camera has this level of “soul”.... 

 

Like londonL, I see much spending on the horizon 🙂

This is the slippery slope down which I am happily sliding.😀

The lens on the Q/Q-P is so impressive that I just had to try at least one other. That was the Summilux-M 50 f/1.4 ASPH, which I used with adapter on my Fuji X-T2. In spite of my great pleasure at the lens and with the results, I felt that I would not have  the real Leica experience unless I put the lens together with a Leica body. The next purchase was a used M-P (typ 240). It has transformed my whole way of taking photographs, mainly by slowing down the activities of focussing, exposing, and composing.  More M lenses have followed. Although this has been expensive, a considerable chunk has been funded by selling off my old Canon, Sony and Fuji equipment. 

Am I content? I am .... although I am now wondering whether the M10 would be more suitable than the M240 😂. 

[marchyman]

7 hours ago, PhotoCruiser said:

but hard disks are cheap today, so not a issue.

Cost is not the only issue.   Do I want 8 1 TB disks or 1 8 TB disk?   If I have the 8 disks cabling and data throughput becomes a problem.  If I have one disk what if it fails?  Do I lose everything?   How about backups?   I need to at least double the size of storage. Triple is better, yet.   Or I need more bandwidth than is currently available where I live to back up to a cloud account. 

In spite of all that I'd get a Q2 if my Q were to fail.

 

[PhotoCruiser]

vor 41 Minuten schrieb marchyman:

Do I want 8 1 TB disks or 1 8 TB disk?

I have about almost 49k photos and videos on my laptop on a 2TB SSD Disk.

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I have a 4TB LaCie Rugged disk to backup every few days when i take photos.
If i would have more or have them in my office/studio i would install a NAS with all bells and whistles and automatic backup.
But i have no office/studio and i'm always moving so i have only a laptop and a slow ADSL line, so no cloud storage either.
Works for me and once i get settled again somewhere i will do the above.

Chris

Edited December 29, 2019 by PhotoCruiser

[marchyman]

54 minutes ago, PhotoCruiser said:

I have about almost 49k photos and videos on my laptop on a 2TB SSD Disk.

My library is about the same size.  Imagine those 49K images were all shot on a Q2 at about 80 MB each.   That's a bit less than 4 TB for images alone.

My images live on a dedicated 4TB drive which is cloned to a duplicate drive every so often in addition to daily backups.  I can already see a set of larger drives in my future.

[PhotoCruiser]

vor einer Stunde schrieb marchyman:

Imagine those 49K images were all shot on a Q2 at about 80 MB each.

No, the last 9 Months where shot mainly with Q and from August on with my Q2 or Panasonic LX100
The digital ones ones from 2003 till now are a lot of cameras:
Compact for underwater use (Coolpix 2000, Fuji E900, Canon G9/G10/G12/G1X, Panasonic LX100)
SLR for above the waterline (and also below) (Nikon D90/D7000/D800)

My requirement for space grow a lot when 2013 i bought the D800 as her RAW files are +/- 74MB each instead of the 18MB of the D7000

Chris