Dilemma: Q2 and/or Q2 Monochrom?

[leicameech]

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Q2 Monochrom comes with an extra battery for your Q2, or if you prefer, you already have extra Q2 Monochrom batteries. Monochrom Q2 is a ton of fun and is unmatched in low light (a big advantage over your Q2 and your Sony). You'll miss the Q2 if you sell it. I know a couple of folks (one of them on this forum, though many on this forum probably have the kit) that have the "double Q2" pack and it is a versatile and awesome piece of kit that's extremely lightweight for what it is. 

When you get the Q2 Mono you won't want to put it down, but when you finally do you'll reach for a Q2, so I'd recommend keeping it. 

[Richard K]

32 minutes ago, leicameech said:

Q2 Monochrom comes with an extra battery for your Q2, or if you prefer, you already have extra Q2 Monochrom batteries. Monochrom Q2 is a ton of fun and is unmatched in low light (a big advantage over your Q2 and your Sony). You'll miss the Q2 if you sell it. I know a couple of folks (one of them on this forum, though many on this forum probably have the kit) that have the "double Q2" pack and it is a versatile and awesome piece of kit that's extremely lightweight for what it is. 

When you get the Q2 Mono you won't want to put it down, but when you finally do you'll reach for a Q2, so I'd recommend keeping it. 

I really really like the way you think!! 🙂 My wife, not so much...😏😁

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[T25UFO]

1 hour ago, Richard K said:

I really really like the way you think!! 🙂 My wife, not so much...😏😁

I have both the Q2 and the Q2M.  @leicameech is right, they make a great combination.  I recently visited Corfe Castle (SW England) and you get the best view climbing a steep (and I mean really steep) hill on the opposite side of the road.  On this occasion I didn't take the Q2 for colour, but rather the SL2 and a couple of lenses, so the bag was heavy.  For black and white I had my Q2M.  

Here are two photos taken from the same position: SL2 with 75mm APO Summicron for colour and Q2M cropped to 75mm for B&W.  Unless you were making large prints, I doubt you would see much difference, but the Q2M is a 6.5mp crop and the SL2 is the full fat 47mp.  So, I could have climbed that hill with a much lighter load (Q2 + Q2M) and achieved pretty much the same photographic result.

All you need to do now is explain the health and fitness benefits to your wife . . .

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[Herr Barnack]

Quote

...All you need to do now is explain the health and fitness benefits to your wife . . .

So - owning both a Q2 and a Q2M promotes improved health and increased longevity in husbands.

Unfortunately, it is possible that not all wives out there would regard that as desirable. 😳

Edited July 22, 2021 by Herr Barnack

[nwphil]

If Leica ever comes with a Q3 or whatever naming that has a panno mode (yes, jpeg only would be fine) either assisted or -stitched in camera I would consider a color Q.

As it is the Q2M works fine within its limitations, but for all-around- anywhere& everywhere, 21 or 24mm focal at minimum for me.

Still, I think it's a great combo - just does not work for me as despite not being rich or wealthy, I can be frugal and a savvy shopper, hence having several cameras and more than one Leica.

Buy the Q2 used, and likely you want loose too much money if ending not enjoying it that much -  but if you have other camera(s) what can indeed the Q2 bring to you as a tool?

 

[leicameech]

18 minutes ago, nwphil said:

If Leica ever comes with a Q3 or whatever naming that has a panno mode (yes, jpeg only would be fine) either assisted or -stitched in camera I would consider a color Q.

As it is the Q2M works fine within its limitations, but for all-around- anywhere& everywhere, 21 or 24mm focal at minimum for me.

Still, I think it's a great combo - just does not work for me as despite not being rich or wealthy, I can be frugal and a savvy shopper, hence having several cameras and more than one Leica.

Buy the Q2 used, and likely you want loose too much money if ending not enjoying it that much -  but if you have other camera(s) what can indeed the Q2 bring to you as a tool?

 

The Q2/Q2M do have pano mode, jpeg only, that stitches the image in-camera. It's not "assisted" per se, in that unless you're on a tripod you'd need to be pretty good at hand-holding and keeping straight, but it works. It's in Menu>Scene Mode>Panorama. Not my first choice personally, as I'd rather hand hold and shoot normal images (not stitched in camera) and stitch them in LR, but it definitely does the trick!

[T25UFO]

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1 hour ago, leicameech said:

The Q2/Q2M do have pano mode, jpeg only, that stitches the image in-camera. It's not "assisted" per se, in that unless you're on a tripod you'd need to be pretty good at hand-holding and keeping straight, but it works. It's in Menu>Scene Mode>Panorama. Not my first choice personally, as I'd rather hand hold and shoot normal images (not stitched in camera) and stitch them in LR, but it definitely does the trick!

I can vouch for that . . . not my best effort, but just to prove the point:

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But I would have to admit this is not really a viable alternative to a 21mm lens.

Edited July 22, 2021 by T25UFO

[Richard K]

7 hours ago, T25UFO said:

I have both the Q2 and the Q2M.  @leicameech is right, they make a great combination.  I recently visited Corfe Castle (SW England) and you get the best view climbing a steep (and I mean really steep) hill on the opposite side of the road.  On this occasion I didn't take the Q2 for colour, but rather the SL2 and a couple of lenses, so the bag was heavy.  For black and white I had my Q2M.  

Here are two photos taken from the same position: SL2 with 75mm APO Summicron for colour and Q2M cropped to 75mm for B&W.  Unless you were making large prints, I doubt you would see much difference, but the Q2M is a 6.5mp crop and the SL2 is the full fat 47mp.  So, I could have climbed that hill with a much lighter load (Q2 + Q2M) and achieved pretty much the same photographic result.

All you need to do now is explain the health and fitness benefits to your wife . . .

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!

I’ve pretty well decided on the 2Q2 solution. I also tried to talk my wife into a trip to SW England but she rightly pointed out that I’m 73 with a weak heart but she understands the need for 2Q2s...Thanks for your input. Greatly appreciated. 

[Herr Barnack]

5 hours ago, leicameech said:

The Q2/Q2M do have pano mode, jpeg only, that stitches the image in-camera. It's not "assisted" per se, in that unless you're on a tripod you'd need to be pretty good at hand-holding and keeping straight, but it works. It's in Menu>Scene Mode>Panorama. Not my first choice personally, as I'd rather hand hold and shoot normal images (not stitched in camera) and stitch them in LR, but it definitely does the trick!

When I want a panoramic from my Q2, I crop the RAW file to a 2.7:1 ratio in Lightroom. 

This works for me, but I want to learn how to stitch RAW files in order to make a pano from five or six vertically oriented RAW  files. 

[Richard K]

5 hours ago, leicameech said:

The Q2/Q2M do have pano mode, jpeg only, that stitches the image in-camera. It's not "assisted" per se, in that unless you're on a tripod you'd need to be pretty good at hand-holding and keeping straight, but it works. It's in Menu>Scene Mode>Panorama. Not my first choice personally, as I'd rather hand hold and shoot normal images (not stitched in camera) and stitch them in LR, but it definitely does the trick!

 

[Richard K]

6 hours ago, leicameech said:

The Q2/Q2M do have pano mode, jpeg only, that stitches the image in-camera. It's not "assisted" per se, in that unless you're on a tripod you'd need to be pretty good at hand-holding and keeping straight, but it works. It's in Menu>Scene Mode>Panorama. Not my first choice personally, as I'd rather hand hold and shoot normal images (not stitched in camera) and stitch them in LR, but it definitely does the trick!

If you are careful (and I’ve done this many times) you can take several frames hand held and stitch them with excellent results. I use PTGui. The trick is to rotate the camera lens center about an imagined stationary vertical axis in front of your chest and not PAN with your arms. With a slider rail and pano head, results are perfect.

[Richard K]

6 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

So - owning both a Q2 and a Q2M promotes improved health and increased longevity in husbands.

Unfortunately, it is possible that not all wives out there would regard that as desirable. 😳

Luckily my wife still sort of likes me 😏😁

[leicameech]

13 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

When I want a panoramic from my Q2, I crop the RAW file to a 2.7:1 ratio in Lightroom. 

This works for me, but I want to learn how to stitch RAW files in order to make a pano from five or six vertically oriented RAW  files. 

 

13 hours ago, Richard K said:

If you are careful (and I’ve done this many times) you can take several frames hand held and stitch them with excellent results. I use PTGui. The trick is to rotate the camera lens center about an imagined stationary vertical axis in front of your chest and not PAN with your arms. With a slider rail and pano head, results are perfect.

Here's an example of the vertical image panorama technique. Turned out pretty well, but my inexperience at the time shows if you look at the sky ( I did my best to edit it and make it look more uniform/have a natural gradation). I shot it in Aperture Priority mode and the exposure was different each time. I did think to manually focus to ensure the focus point didn't jump around, but did not think about exposure. This was done on a tripod simply rotating the head and it worked great. ~6-7 images merged here. Would like to try again but haven't been anywhere recently that would be vast enough to try. 

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[Richard K]

On a tripod, results will be perfect as long as you manual focus and expose and keep the same settings for each shot. Watch for changing light conditions. A simple $30 slider rail to position your lens correctly over the rotation axis and a rotating head are all you need.

[jaapv]

8 hours ago, leicameech said:

 

Here's an example of the vertical image panorama technique. Turned out pretty well, but my inexperience at the time shows if you look at the sky ( I did my best to edit it and make it look more uniform/have a natural gradation). I shot it in Aperture Priority mode and the exposure was different each time. I did think to manually focus to ensure the focus point didn't jump around, but did not think about exposure. This was done on a tripod simply rotating the head and it worked great. ~6-7 images merged here. Would like to try again but haven't been anywhere recently that would be vast enough to try. 

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

The trick is to use manual exposure to prevent the camera from changing the values as it takes the shots.

[jaapv]

22 hours ago, Richard K said:

If you are careful (and I’ve done this many times) you can take several frames hand held and stitch them with excellent results. I use PTGui. The trick is to rotate the camera lens center about an imagined stationary vertical axis in front of your chest and not PAN with your arms. With a slider rail and pano head, results are perfect.

Actually Photomerge is pretty good at stiching wobbly hand-held panos.