Getting started on the Q2

[lpd6988]

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Hey there--

My new Q2 arrived via UPS yesterday-- I'm thrilled! It's my first Leica product, and I was hoping some other Q/Q2 owners might share some tips to get the most out of the camera as I adjust to it. Do you shoot in JPEG? Raw? Any other tips and tricks?

Thanks!

[ianforber]

Really hard to answer this question without knowing what sort of photography you do, how much you’re into,post-processing etc. When I was researching the Q2 I found a decent video on YT from a guy in Leica Australia showing how he set his camera up. I can’t find the link now but worth tracking it down.

For what it’s worth, I shoot aperture priority, DNG only and process in Capture One (but if you prefer there’s nothing wrong with shooting DNG +JPEG to see if you like just the JPEG). I have mine set with several different user profiles, but my main settings are AF-S (using the smallest AF field size), centre-weighted metering, right thumb wheel set for exposure compensation and the little crop button set to, err, crop! I sometimes dabble with auto ISO but mainly keep it set to ISO 200 for most situations and manually change to 3200 or 6400 for inside or low light. I like to keep the rear screen switched off at all times so have the Q2 set to EVF-extended so the rear screen only comes on when I press the menu or play buttons. Haven’t found a use for the Fn button yet - usually easier to just press menu to access main settings. Most of my photos are black and white so my most used profile is set so the EVF shows B&W high contrast to help me visualise the picture, but of course the DNG records in full colour. The exception to this is my macro user profile, where I have spot focus, rear screen enabled,  af-c shooting mode, multi-field exposure.

All of the above might be completely wrong for you though. 

[HighlandK]

I agree it is a difficult one without knowing what you shoot. I started by using the same sort of settings as I had in my DSLR - familiar starting point until I got familiar with using the camera. There are some useful YT videos out there and the Aussie Leica guy has some good ones. But at the end of the day you just have to get shooting. EVF extended is a good setting to minimise battery drain. I have grown to like Auto ISO although I never used it on my DSLR. I started with RAW+JPEG but now exclusively use RAW and have an import preset for Lightroom which means I do little additional pp. If you are on a B+W session set the JPEG to Mono so that you compose in mono but then convert the RAW. I shoot in Aperture priority and the immediacy and tactile nature of setting the aperture on the lens is just great but then that was how I shot my DSLR. So full circle: shoot the way you have always done until you find your way with the Q2 and customise when you feel the need. Don’t rush in to fancy customisation grow into and discover what you need.

Anyway, welcome to the drug and this forum. A great many very helpful people here. A very civilised forum!

Edited December 12, 2020 by HighlandK

[Guest]

My advice is to just take pictures in the same way as you were before getting the Q and enjoy the camera.

The jpeg v raw thing is nothing at all to do with any particular camera but of course can be researched to decide which format/method suits the user.

[harmen]

I would play with all that makes this camera such a joy.  Indulge in shooting at f/1.7 even when it doesn’t suit the subject 😉.  See how you like manual focus, using your left index finger.  Go out in the rain.

Edited December 13, 2020 by harmen

[HighlandK]

5 hours ago, harmen said:

I would play with all that makes this camera such a joy.  Indulge in shooting at f/1.7 even when it doesn’t suit the subject 😉.  See how you like manual focus, using your left index finger.  Go out in the rain.

Spot on. Shooting at f/1.7 was a revelation for me with my first Q. If you look at some of Jono Slack’s shots on his camera appraisals you will see a lot of f/1.7 in situations I wouldn’t previously have thought about being so wide open. I think I read somewhere that Leica designed the lens to perform without compromises when wide open.

Edited December 13, 2020 by HighlandK

[harmen]

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The combination of 28mm and wide open means amazing subject separation.  It is not that you’d blur the background to nothing the way 90mm, f/2 would, but the aperture does help set the subject apart.  And 28 (or wider) does the same due to strongly diverging lines.

[Leica Guy]

My advice is spend some time on the forum looking at old posts. There’s a wealth of good info and advice already available. Just spend an hour reading and looking at images and you’ll be well on the way. 

[Herr Barnack]

Macro capability is one of the great things about the Q2; explore it and learn to use it well.  It will open up another dimension to photography for you.

Same thing with shooting wide open at f/1.7 (or at the maximum of f/2.8 in macro mode):  Shooting at maximum aperture will create a very different fingerprint for your images.  There is obviously a time and a place for shooting with maximum depth of field by stopping down - just not all the time.  iPhones (most) shoot with maximum depth of field all the time; that look soon loses its charm and starts to look and feel distinctly pedestrian.

My preference is to always shoot in RAW mode and to process in Lightroom.  If you get it right in camera, little post processing work is necessary with the files thr Q2 produces.

 

[jmc014]

Congratulations on your new camera! I can share how I've used the camera in the year and half I've had it for.

I took the camera to Australia and New Zealand on a family trip last year, and primarily shot between f5.6 and f8 in the daytime, and between f1.7 and f4 in low-light situations. I set EV compensation to -1/3, set ISO to auto, and switched shutter speed, aperture, and focused manually.

I shot DNG-only and used Lightroom to process and export as JPG, but the new firmware creates good JPGs as well.

Have fun enjoying your new camera!

[PhotoCruiser]

Am 12.12.2020 um 16:46 schrieb lpd6988:

Hey there--

My new Q2 arrived via UPS yesterday-- I'm thrilled! It's my first Leica product, and I was hoping some other Q/Q2 owners might share some tips to get the most out of the camera as I adjust to it. Do you shoot in JPEG? Raw? Any other tips and tricks?

Thanks!

Not sure about your previous cameras, but one thing you probably need to learn is to handle a fixed focal lenght.
Most of nowadays photographers are used to switch lens or use zoom lenses to set up the scenery.

With a fix lenght lens your zoom are your legs, you must walk to or from the scenery to compose your photo,
and that can be confusing and frustrating in the beginning.

However, what i usually do when i teach underwater photography is that my students must shoot series of photos with different settings.
This show them directly the difference and relations between distance, time, speed, iso, strobe power and time, etc

In your case i suggest the same approach, take your time and start to do series of photos of the same scenery but with different settings,
then load them in a photo editing software and watch and confront them on a preferably big monitor.
Most of the settings will be saved in the EXIF information but its always a good manner to write down the settings to use for each photo.

Chris

[CAP]

People mentioned an Aussie YT video. I, as a fellow new owner, found it useful as a gentle introduction to the Q2 menu setup. The link is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H67i83BbO0Q&t=334s

Charlie

[Guest]

On 12/16/2020 at 11:43 AM, PhotoCruiser said:

Not sure about your previous cameras, but one thing you probably need to learn is to handle a fixed focal lenght.
Most of nowadays photographers are used to switch lens or use zoom lenses to set up the scenery.

With a fix lenght lens your zoom are your legs, you must walk to or from the scenery to compose your photo,
and that can be confusing and frustrating in the beginning.

However, what i usually do when i teach underwater photography is that my students must shoot series of photos with different settings.
This show them directly the difference and relations between distance, time, speed, iso, strobe power and time, etc

In your case i suggest the same approach, take your time and start to do series of photos of the same scenery but with different settings,
then load them in a photo editing software and watch and confront them on a preferably big monitor.
Most of the settings will be saved in the EXIF information but its always a good manner to write down the settings to use for each photo.

Chris

How does one get the files off the camera and into a Mac without removing the SD card every single time? Especially if one has the optional hand grip it quickly becomes a pain to get at the SD card. Is the only other way to connect to Leica Photos on the iPhone and then from there to the Mac?

[PhotoCruiser]

vor 4 Minuten schrieb SPB2:

How does one get the files off the camera and into a Mac without removing the SD card every single time? Especially if one has the optional hand grip it quickly becomes a pain to get at the SD card. Is the only other way to connect to Leica Photos on the iPhone and then from there to the Mac?

Thats not only a "problem" on a Mac, same on a Windows PC, the grip must be removed to access the SD card.
For a for sure reasonable reason Leica eliminated the usb port on the Q2 so the only way is to extract the SD card and use a card reader.
As i did this also on my D800 as the in-camera usb port was considerable slower than a fast USB3 card reader i used this instead of connecting the camera to the computer.

There is another tread showing a grip with a opening to be able to access SD card and Battery with the grip attached.

Honestly i dont have a big issue with screwing the grip off to access the camera, certainly it would be more comfortable to send pix by WiFI thru leica Fotos directly to MAC or PC.
Basically Leica should add Leica Fotos to run under Windows and under MacOS to be able to send the photos directly to a computer and not only a Tablet/Smart Phone.
But on the end i don't see such a big problem for me to screw the grip off.

Chris
 

[Guest]

Thanks Chris, it is not such a problem to screw the grip off I agree with that. However, that also depends how often one does it. I see no sense whatsoever in only having Fotos talking to a phone or iPad. Although I do understand more people have either or both than a PC or a Mac at hand. I still would much prefer a Mac Fotos app or better still a copy of Fujifilm grips which allow access to both battery and SD card.

[RoySmith]

1 hour ago, SPB2 said:

Thanks Chris, it is not such a problem to screw the grip off I agree with that. However, that also depends how often one does it. I see no sense whatsoever in only having Fotos talking to a phone or iPad. Although I do understand more people have either or both than a PC or a Mac at hand. I still would much prefer a Mac Fotos app or better still a copy of Fujifilm grips which allow access to both battery and SD card.

My Arte Di Mano case allows access to the SD Card and Battery:

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[Stephen.s1]

Isn't there a way to do this via Leica FOTOS ?