Survey: Your wishes for future Leica Q models

[hdmesa]

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On 7/11/2021 at 3:52 AM, chema said:

I miss, in the current line of Leica cameras, the ability to take infrared pictures that the M8 has.
Therefore my wish would be a Q Monochrom with a weak IR filter. So with a BW 092 filter I would turn it into an IR camera.

Best regards

chema

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The Q lens is not good for infrared — huge hot spot in the center. They would need to change the design of the lens to go along with the infrared sensitivity. If they’re going to that much trouble, why not just make a Q2 full-IR model?

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[nwphil]

I wonder if would be possible to make 3 sub models ' a la carte' - as in choose your lens range, but all with same sensor.

- start with a 21-28-35, then a 28-35-50, and finally 35-50-75 (or 90)

 

But I would settle for a better wi-fi/Bluetooth integration and a B exposure mode without NR built-in interference

[T25UFO]

An interesting discussion, but I doubt the Q will ever have anything other than a 28mm lens.  Perhaps a 35mm might be possible without changing the form factor, but anything longer and you end up with an Xvario look alike.  

The Q (and its variants) have been hugely successful for Leica, so no reason to change the basic formula.  Don’t forget that Mr Karbe likes fast lenses (stop down for what?) and he also advocates cropping.

[nwphil]

2 hours ago, T25UFO said:

An interesting discussion, but I doubt the Q will ever have anything other than a 28mm lens.  Perhaps a 35mm might be possible without changing the form factor, but anything longer and you end up with an Xvario look alike.  

The Q (and its variants) have been hugely successful for Leica, so no reason to change the basic formula.  Don’t forget that Mr Karbe likes fast lenses (stop down for what?) and he also advocates cropping.

Indeed - the concept also prompts users to seek a second body to have a longer or shorter focal length. I considered the regular Q2, but without a panorama mode either in camera stitching or just as aid, I will stay away - 28mm is not enough for me as a general use camera ( fixed lens)

[FrozenInTime]

On 7/16/2021 at 6:17 PM, T25UFO said:

An interesting discussion, but I doubt the Q will ever have anything other than a 28mm lens.  Perhaps a 35mm might be possible without changing the form factor, but anything longer and you end up with an Xvario look alike.  

The Q (and its variants) have been hugely successful for Leica, so no reason to change the basic formula.  Don’t forget that Mr Karbe likes fast lenses (stop down for what?) and he also advocates cropping.

I don't really buy into this : compared to 35mm or 50mm, 40mm on full frame has frequently had the magic combination of compactness and speed ... including on the original CL.

[T25UFO]

14 hours ago, FrozenInTime said:

I don't really buy into this : compared to 35mm or 50mm, 40mm on full frame has frequently had the magic combination of compactness and speed ... including on the original CL.

You may be right; in fact, I hope so because I would really like a Q with 50mm, but I don't see Leica changing a winning formula.  

The Q has much wider appeal than just the contributors to this forum, and 28mm seems to be the standard for those used to the camera phone.

[scroy]

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Thinking more about it, a tri-elmar variant (summilux/summicron) would be really interesting, but likely unwieldy. It would solve the 28-35-50mm debate

 

[Herr Barnack]

BSI sensor with 60 megapixels, same as the soon to be born M11 is alleged to have.  That would make the Q3 an absolute monster of a camera.

[hdmesa]

5 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

BSI sensor with 60 megapixels, same as the soon to be born M11 is alleged to have.  That would make the Q3 an absolute monster of a camera.

Imagine the monochrom versions of the Q3 and M11, too. Wow.

And this would be the first time all three sensors and battery/charger would align between M, SL, and Q.

Given the popularity of the Q series, I keep hoping in vain one day they will make a medium format version and price it near the M body price. 

[hdmesa]

As for wishes for future models, I wish they would bring back the way the original Q functioned when changing exposure comp and the display overlays were OFF – a small exposure compensation scale at the bottom of the frame would appear while turning the wheel, then quickly disappear. The Q2/Q2M show nothing when the display information overlays are off and I change exposure comp. It should at least be an option to enable such a display, because it's a PITA when I want to return exposure comp to zero. I don't want to fumble around to toggle the the display overlay on, adjust exposure comp to zero, then turn the overlays off again. 

[Chris W]

In all ways but one the original Q is my dream travel, everyday camera. I just can't do the 28mm frame. I know you can crop, but on a camera this expensive I don't want to mange the image while framing, and I don't want to use pixels.

I also have an M8, but I wouldn't trust it on the isolated, bumpy roads of travel.

I'm mystified why Leica chose 28mm, when their legacy is really built around iconic photographers using 35 or 50mm.

I would rather not sell it as I love everything else abut the camera, but always get frustrated with the 28mm view.

Did anyone see Sky Masters Of Photography, where the contestants were given two Leica cameras to use, one of which was the Q (or Q2)? Guest judge Martin Parr criticised the contestants for being wide angle obsessed. 

[T25UFO]

On 7/24/2021 at 8:06 PM, hdmesa said:

Given the popularity of the Q series, I keep hoping in vain one day they will make a medium format version and price it near the M body price. 

That would be very interesting.  Hasselblad has proved that medium format is perfectly feasible in a compact body.

 

On 7/24/2021 at 8:06 PM, hdmesa said:

And this would be the first time all three sensors and battery/charger would align between M, SL, and Q.

Sadly, not likely as M11 rumours suggest the battery will not be the same as SL/Q.  That's a shame.

 

2 hours ago, Chris W said:

I'm mystified why Leica chose 28mm, when their legacy is really built around iconic photographers using 35 or 50mm.

Probably because it wasn't initially conceived as a camera for the average Leica user.  A 28mm FOV is what you get with a camera phone, and I guess the marketing people had those users in mind.

 

[hdmesa]

4 hours ago, T25UFO said:

Sadly, not likely as M11 rumours suggest the battery will not be the same as SL/Q.  That's a shame.

Sorry, I meant to say battery would align between M11, Q2, and SL2.

[Mark II]

On 7/11/2021 at 11:52 AM, chema said:

I miss, in the current line of Leica cameras, the ability to take infrared pictures that the M8 has.
Therefore my wish would be a Q Monochrom with a weak IR filter. So with a BW 092 filter I would turn it into an IR camera.

Best regards

chema

Using the current Q2M with a Hoya R72 filter (750nm cutoff), IR is unusable without a tripod and long exposures. I wonder if the Q2M has a stronger filter on the sensor than the Q2, perhaps to increase sharpness in non-IR photographs. If so, a Q2M with a weak IR cover glass might need a different lens design.

Physically, there is not much that I would change for a future Q model. In case anyone from Leica reads these threads, some minor grumbles:

- the AF-L button is a bit too flush and hard to find by feel
- the settings wheel is a bit too recessed (compared to the M10, for example)
- the AF/MF lock switch is hard to press and should be removed or revised
- the Q2M highlight overexposure warning should have an option to display in colour (rather than the epilepsy-inducing flashing black/white)

Both current and new models absolutely need a firmware update to allow permanent AF-L (ie true back-button-focus) rather than the current one-shot affair. This would mean being able to take several images in succession without needing to repeat the AF-L for each. Switching to MF is not a viable alternative, given how slow it is to use in comparison (not least because of the aforementioned AF/MF lock switch). This is a trivial but often requested firmware change, so its omission is surprising.

FWIW, I doubt that these grumbles are accidental oversights by Leica. They are more likely deliberate decisions based on an assumption that the target market is less sophisticated than (say) M users. For example, the AF-L focus behaviour means that if someone activates it accidentally and does not understand what is happening, the problem goes away on the next shot. Similarly, the AF/MF lock button is to prevent people accidentally moving the ring and then wondering why the AF stopped working. Tellingly, there is no lock for the aperture/auto-aperture setting - just a notch - presumably because user error there is less likely to result in an unusable photo.

[Domip]

On 7/26/2021 at 11:51 AM, Chris W said:

In all ways but one the original Q is my dream travel, everyday camera. I just can't do the 28mm frame. I know you can crop, but on a camera this expensive I don't want to mange the image while framing, and I don't want to use pixels.

I also have an M8, but I wouldn't trust it on the isolated, bumpy roads of travel.

I'm mystified why Leica chose 28mm, when their legacy is really built around iconic photographers using 35 or 50mm.

I would rather not sell it as I love everything else abut the camera, but always get frustrated with the 28mm view.

Did anyone see Sky Masters Of Photography, where the contestants were given two Leica cameras to use, one of which was the Q (or Q2)? Guest judge Martin Parr criticised the contestants for being wide angle obsessed. 

Sky Masters Of Photography... where to be seen? Film, docu or...?

[Chris W]

It's not that great. It's a Sky TV realty series (Europe and UK) where they take about ten photographers and give them an assignment each week, with one photographer eliminated afterwards.There have been quite a few seasons so far (three, four?). It's obviously sponsored by Leica because the participants take an L mount and a Q on each assignment. Probably the latest and greatest bodies and lenses.

I just thought it was amusing that when several of the contestants submitted their best shots using the Q2, Martin Parr criticised them for being wide angle junkies.

[ruskkyle]

4 hours ago, Chris W said:

It's not that great. It's a Sky TV realty series (Europe and UK) where they take about ten photographers and give them an assignment each week, with one photographer eliminated afterwards.There have been quite a few seasons so far (three, four?). It's obviously sponsored by Leica because the participants take an L mount and a Q on each assignment. Probably the latest and greatest bodies and lenses.

I just thought it was amusing that when several of the contestants submitted their best shots using the Q2, Martin Parr criticised them for being wide angle junkies.

Yeah I think that was one of the earlier seasons. That was a funny moment though... criticising the contestants for literally using the tools given to them by the marketing people. The latest season is sponsored by Canon and they've all got R5s or whatever.

[FrozenInTime]

Today, Ricoh announced a 40mm equivalent view version of the GR III !

26.1mm lensed GR IIIx http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/products/gr-3/spec/

 

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[NigelG]

I have the 28mm equivalent Ricoh and the 40mm is going straight in my cart....although I think they should have instead gone for a 50.

They have hedged their bets re a 40mm equiv being OK for landscapes etc (they describe it "feeling" wider depending on how you shoot) so as not to force people to have both versions but frankly for me if they had 28/50 or even 28/60 I'd have been a happy bunny.

I will be climbing in Utah next week and although I'll travel with an M + 21/28/50/90 i'll probably mainly use my TL2 + 11-23 (with the much derided but actually-in-this-case-useful snap front/back rubber protective whateveritscalled thingy and the stretchy silicone strap.

But when it's a full-day-pack-superlight route I take the GR in a pocket every time. 

[Simone_DF]

I'm seriouly considering getting the GRx and use it as a EDC camera.

40mm sounds like a good compromise