Leica Q2 on a Motorcycle trip (no offroad)

[Sulli]

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Hello I am a happy new owner of a Leica Q2. No I am planning a 14 days motorcycle trip.

Is the Leica Q2 robust enough to stand the vibrations etc caused by the ride or should I leave it at home?

 

Thank you!

[marchyman]

My Q has survived 10s of thousands of miles on motorcycle.  To be more accurate: every camera I've owned including the DSLRs I used to carry around have survived motorcycle travel.  That includes off road and rutted washboard dirt road riding.  At the beginning I used padded cases to support the camera.  I gave up doing that when the padding turned to dust and I decided I could put the space taken by the camera case to better use.

The one caveat are cell phone cameras when physically mounted to the bike without the use of a vibration damper. Vibrations have been known to break the cell phone camera IBIS.  Since I don't mount my Q to the bike this is not something I worry about.

[darylgo]

It’s a good way to test the value of the warranty.  My original Q makes a rattle noise in the lens when I shake it lightly. I am wondering if that  is susceptible.  Might be worth a call to your Leica repair and ask. 

[stuny]

Daryl -

That noise when you shake it is normal (and probably normal for the Q2) as discussed here many times.  If I recall it has something to do with the anti-shake feature when it is not powered.  Mu Q has survived that for three or four years, including several intercontinental trips.

[Viv]

The Q2 is robust. A bag with a bit of padding will be enough protection on a motorcycle.

[MFT-Lehrling]

Am 29.8.2022 um 18:52 schrieb Sulli:

Is the Leica Q2 robust enough to stand the vibrations etc caused by the ride or should I leave it at home?

I would have never bought the Q/Q2 if i could not take it on motorcycle trips. The size and bild quality is one of many reasons, why it became my favourite camera for travel and trips. And of course, not thinking what kind of focal length i will take with me^^. (<-- hilarious as it sounds, this saves so much hastle and time)
Just make sure you got a good bag for the q. The leica neoprencase are good, but i would not recommend using them on the motorcycle since the padding is weak and you have to take a bit more care where you put it.
I got the lowepro apex 100 aw, its a tight fit but it even fits with grip+thump (the bag will widen a bit over time, its rly tight when its new, just leave the Q/Q2 some time in it). In that bag i can safely but it in any bag on the motorcycle. (eq. rear bag, tank backpack, rear suitcase, ...)

Edited August 30, 2022 by MFT-Lehrling

[kobra]

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I have a small tank bag on my BMW R1200GSA. I modified it into a "camera case" by using 3 layers of 1" thick stiff styrofoam packing material and cut each layer into the shape of the Q2. Now I have the camera right in front of me ready for quick access. Also, I still have some room in the tank bag behind where the camera sits, and the 2 outer tank bag pockets. I've used it with a Fuji X100T before the Q2. Both cameras did fine in there. I suspect the Q2 has about 4,000 miles on that bike. 

As others have noted, I did wreck the camera in my iphone 11 by mounting it to the handlebars. It's funny that it worked fine for one trip, but then died in a day on the next long trip. Now I have a Peak Design mobile case and anti vibration mount for that. But, I think the phone mounts without anti vibration are translating a lot of vibration to the phones, even leveraging that with the mount arm. I suspect / I hope that the styrofoam setup I have in the tank bag is securely holding the Q2 and not translating nearly as much vibration. 

Hope that helps,

Brad

[Farrell Gallery]

It should never be left home, especially for this trip! 

[rtai]

I brought an Yashica TLR on a cross country motorcycle trip with a friend from NYC to SF via Ontario. We both had small bikes both packed with camping gear, dry food, etc. The camera was in a heavily padded bag inside a tank bag. My only advice is as a former motorcyclist is to not wear a backpack while riding especially with a metal anything inside unless you want to snap your spine if you wipe.