Next Generation - Detachable Lens?

[Daniel81]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Do you think it is a possibility that a Q3 with the big new addition being lens detachability could come along in a year or two?  My dream would be a Q2 with lens detachability and an option to buy either a 35 or 50 1.7 with both autofocus and manual focus just like the permanently attached 28 1.7 on the Q2 - all at the same price as the Q2.  Is this a fantasy?  Only in my dreams?

[earleygallery]

Nope. Keep on dreaming!

The Leica camera you CAN buy today that does what you want is called the SL.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[AlanJW]

Conceptually, a Q type body with an interchangeable mount would be nice to have.  However, I think it unlikely.   I believe it is not so simple.  The problem is the Q is built with the shutter in the lens.  The SL of course, will take almost any lens with proper adapters and that appears to be Leica's EVF solution today.  An M with built in EVF would be smaller and might be technically possible, but still is not likely.  (The purists say you cannot have a "M" camera with an EVF, but Leica doesn't have to call it "M")

[Daniel81]

Yes, I have the SL and I love it.  But the SL with its native SL summicron primes is not a throw around your shoulder walk about town camera.  A "Q3" with a M sized 50 lens would be.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Daniel81

[earleygallery]

18 minutes ago, Daniel81 said:

Yes, I have the SL and I love it.  But the SL with its native SL summicron primes is not a throw around your shoulder walk about town camera.  A "Q3" with a M sized 50 lens would be.

....and there's your problem. Leica have already explained that they made the Q with the 28mm lens because a 35 or 50 would just be too big, and they're talking about a fixed lens again. Also the lens and sensor on a fixed lens camera like the Q is essentially one unit, it's not just a case of fitting a lens mount to a Q body.

Another option for a more compact set is of course the CL.

[FrozenInTime]

40/1.7 ? 

The 40mm equivalent focal length on most systems results in a more compact lens than the  35 or 50mm equivalent. 

[Leica Guy]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

An M-11 with a high res EVF and 47MP sensor would be close. Manual focus though. An M-10R might also be a nice alternative. 

I cannot see Leica ever making an interchangeable lens Q. The M or the SL are the two models offering MF or AF. 

The leaf shutter in the Q/Q2 is part of the camera’s magic. Flash syncing to 1/2000 sec. is stunning. Leica would have to design another series of lenses to maintain the shutter and lens speed and they would too big. 

The Q/Q2 is what it is. I more expect to see a Q3 with an external ISO dial like on the M10 and an articulating higher res rear LCD. I’ve wondered if Leica could invent screw on filters for a focal length alternative to 28mm. Something like the screw on filters that Fuji does on the X100 series. 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Leica Guy

[Daniel81]

I did not realise the shutter was in the lens!

[Guest]

Funny how people want truly unique cameras like the Q and the M series leica to turn into just another digital camera.

Hope they stay in their respective niche market and do not become boring and samey  like so many other cameras.

[PhotoCruiser]

vor 10 Stunden schrieb steve 1959:

Funny how people want truly unique cameras like the Q and the M series leica to turn into just another digital camera.

I also wondering about this argument,
some people buy a family van and after complaining that the car is not a truck and he could not carry dirty stuff in the bed.
The Q series is a specialized and unique camera, basically a very high end compact camera and that is what she was designed and will stay like this.
As already written, a Q2 with exchangable lenses is basically the SL2 at the cost of a bigger size/weight and a much higher price as only the body is about 1K more.
But i have to admit that the SL2 would be my second camera if i would switch back to interchangable lenses (what i probably never will do again)

I always bought a camera because she had something i wanted and then i adapted on how to use her and overcome the odds every camera has.

The Q Series is doing exactly what i want and need, small, fixed lens and a absolutely stunning photo quality.
Sure there could be other things making the Q /Q2 a camer for a broader use, but then sh would not be what she is, the best compact camera on the market.

There are a lot of cameras of similar size and high quality, pairing their body with a Leica lens would give similar photographic quality and more possibilities,
but that's not what i want.

Chris

 

[frame-it]

15 hours ago, AlanJW said:

The problem is the Q is built with the shutter in the lens.

and like most fixed-prime-lens-cameras, the leaf-shutter lens is probably protruding very deep into the body and the sensor is optimized for it.

[Herr Barnack]

18 hours ago, earleygallery said:

....and there's your problem. Leica have already explained that they made the Q with the 28mm lens because a 35 or 50 would just be too big, and they're talking about a fixed lens again. Also the lens and sensor on a fixed lens camera like the Q is essentially one unit, it's not just a case of fitting a lens mount to a Q body.

Another option for a more compact set is of course the CL.

The 28mm f/1.7 Summilux that is on the Q2 is not exactly a small lens to begin with; in terms of size, it is somewhere around the middle between my 35 Summicron M and my f/1.0 Noctilux M.  Fortunately Leica was able to keep the total weight of the Q2 within reason.

If a 35 or 50 would be bigger still, it would start to erode the design parameters/philosophy underlying the Q2 - to create a small, light go everywhere camera that produces extremely high image quality and is easy to use for all-around photography.

I wouldn't want a Q3 with a lens that is larger than the f/1.7 Summilux 28 - but that's just me.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Herr Barnack

[Leica28]

Hopefully, it is just in your dreams/fantasy.   By adding interchangeable lenses to a new generation would defeat the purpose and ruin a good thing.  The Q2 is perfect the way it is.

[frame-it]

13 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

I wouldn't want a Q3 with a lens that is larger than the f/1.7 Summilux 28 - but that's just me.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Herr Barnack]

Well - if smallness is all that matters, here you go:  https://www.shutterbug.com/content/minox-closer-look-every-spys-favorite-camera

Thanks, but I'll stick with my Q2. 😎

Edited March 28, 2020 by Herr Barnack

[marchyman]

Subject drift... I do regret giving my Minox away.  I'd received as a birthday gift in the '60s when I was a teen.   I'd not used it in decades when I gave it away.

But a better comparison for small is the small full frame Olympus XA.  The 35 mm file rangefinder with a 35mm f/2.8 lens is smaller than the RX1  -- approx 105 mm wide, 65 mm high, and only 40.5 mm deep.   It does give up a stop to the Sony, though.

I still have an XA.   It mostly sits on a shelf while I use my Q.

[Herr Barnack]

Quote

...But a better comparison for small is the small full frame Olympus XA...

Or the Rollei 35 SE.  I still have my 35 SE but it too sits idle while I shoot with my Q2. 

The Q2 is just too hard to resist, but I have to make an effort to get out my 35 SE and take it for a walkabout now and then.

[Daniel81]

Thanks for all the input!!  Obviously there were technicalities of the Q/Q2 that I did not appreciate at all and now I do.  Its a very compelling option I am considering.  I have an SL with the 75 SL summicron and a couple of R lenses with R to L adaptor.  I am thinking of a Q or Q2 to complement and broaden my options in both focal length and travel / general walkabout capacity.  This conversation helped me.  Thanks.

[Leica Guy]

4 hours ago, Daniel81 said:

Thanks for all the input!!  Obviously there were technicalities of the Q/Q2 that I did not appreciate at all and now I do.  Its a very compelling option I am considering.  I have an SL with the 75 SL summicron and a couple of R lenses with R to L adaptor.  I am thinking of a Q or Q2 to complement and broaden my options in both focal length and travel / general walkabout capacity.  This conversation helped me.  Thanks.

+1. The Q2 is hard to resist. An extremely capable travel camera. Fun too! 

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[cirke]

I would throw everything for a Q2 with a fixed lens but not with a 28mm, with a 50mm or at least a 35mm, with a 28 even given I don't want it.

I got the 18 summilux, I hardly ever used it.

Edited April 4, 2020 by cirke