Q vs CL

[Eliehbk]

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Dear all,

I just sold my Nikon Z6 and my Fuji Xpro2 and would like to purchase either the CL or the Q. Here in the US, we get both for roughly the same price used, a CL with the 18mm or the Leica Q. I would like a camera that is lightweight to bring with me everywhere (hiking, traveling, and some portraits of mainly my kids). I know that the Q is fixed to a 28mm lens and the CL has the advantage of being an interchangeable lens camera. I would be grateful, to hear from you if you have any experience with both cameras, especially with the Leica Q-P's pictures when using the 35mm and 50mm crop options. I never print nowadays and use my pictures mostly on my computer or social media.

Thanks a lot!

Elie

[jaapv]

On 10/18/2019 at 5:34 AM, Eliehbk said:

Dear all,

I just sold my Nikon Z6 and my Fuji Xpro2 and would like to purchase either the CL or the Q. Here in the US, we get both for roughly the same price used, a CL with the 18mm or the Leica Q. I would like a camera that is lightweight to bring with me everywhere (hiking, traveling, and some portraits of mainly my kids). I know that the Q is fixed to a 28mm lens and the CL has the advantage of being an interchangeable lens camera. I would be grateful, to hear from you if you have any experience with both cameras, especially with the Leica Q-P's pictures when using the 35mm and 50mm crop options. I never print nowadays and use my pictures mostly on my computer or social media.

Thanks a lot!

Elie

If you view your images on screen you won’t see any difference between the two, nor indeed to any decent quality point and shoot. In fact, a good smartphone will come close. These two cameras are vast overkill for the intended use. 

[Viv]

23 minutes ago, jaapv said:

If you view your images on screen you won’t see any difference between the two, nor indeed to any decent quality point and shoot. In fact, a good smartphone will come close. These two cameras are vast overkill for the intended use. 

I have to agree. No need to buy a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

I have both cameras, but work with RAW files and make large prints.

[LocalHero1953]

You may not print (most people have difficulty finding wall space these days - I'm lucky to have plenty), but if you're photographing for travel and family memories, then you should think about photobooks. They're a great way to keep memories available to show in a concrete form. Printing to a 12" page, say, does require good quality images - I notice a difference between smartphone and Leica images.

I have never held a Q, but I would pick a CL every time for its versatility.

Edited October 19, 2019 by LocalHero1953

[tom0511]

Besides IQ differences, and obvious fix-lens vs all kinds of focal length there is also a clear difference in user interface. The Q feels more analog, you have the f-stop wheel, you can also do manual focus in a nice way.

I can only talk about the Q2 and one of the reasons getting the Q2 over the Q was exactly the idea to crop occasionally. In the first moment it was hard for me to digital crop, but it was more a problem in my head. If you dont print large or use it for internet I think it is totally ok to crop Q/Q2 images to 35 or 50mm FOV.

There is something nice with a fixed lens camera, a certain simplicity. If it was my only camera I would however prefer a system where I can also put UWA, Tele and zooms on it.

As a second camera the Q/Q2 is great IMO.