50mm to Pair with Q2

[cesc]

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I was currently in the same situation, I have been using Ms (analog and digitals) and when my kids started to move a lot I was a bit scared of not capturing them in action. SO I decided I "needed" a Q2. Then, and that's a really personal opinion, I realize that I was not enjoying that much shooting, taking pics of my kids, It became to easy, and probably too perfect, and most of the photos were boring (that's my fault for sure) but what I am trying to say is that, I was missing the M experience, the imperfections, the value of a photo taken with it, ... I think the M11 is an amazing camera, I have the M10 with a 35 FLE, and my best photos are taken with that combo, even if they are moving a lot, I think , that practice, and some preparation beats everytime by far a snap shot taken with my Q2.

 

So my Q2 is on sale, and thinking about upgrading my lens M kit

 

Again, that's my personal opinion, but I fooled myself I was needing more gear instead of accepting the limitations of my actual gear and find ways to improve my photography

 

Cheers! Hope that helps!

[Betsy Wollheim]

On 12/24/2022 at 4:05 AM, Simone_DF said:

If only Leica made a Q with a 50mm lens, right? 🙃 But the boomers on the forum says no, because who knows why.

Fuji XT5. As an alternative, a Sony A7III + the Sony/Zeiss 55mm is blazing fast and lightweight.

Forget the CL, autofocus is subpar.

 

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[Betsy Wollheim]

I'm a boomer and I'm waiting for Leica to bring out the Q3 with a (hopefully) 50mm lens.

Entire generations (especially the largest generation) don't all have the same views.

Just a thought...

[lifeandmylens]

On 1/21/2023 at 9:57 AM, cesc said:

I was currently in the same situation, I have been using Ms (analog and digitals) and when my kids started to move a lot I was a bit scared of not capturing them in action. SO I decided I "needed" a Q2. Then, and that's a really personal opinion, I realize that I was not enjoying that much shooting, taking pics of my kids, It became to easy, and probably too perfect, and most of the photos were boring (that's my fault for sure) but what I am trying to say is that, I was missing the M experience, the imperfections, the value of a photo taken with it, ... I think the M11 is an amazing camera, I have the M10 with a 35 FLE, and my best photos are taken with that combo, even if they are moving a lot, I think , that practice, and some preparation beats everytime by far a snap shot taken with my Q2.

 

So my Q2 is on sale, and thinking about upgrading my lens M kit

 

Again, that's my personal opinion, but I fooled myself I was needing more gear instead of accepting the limitations of my actual gear and find ways to improve my photography

 

Cheers! Hope that helps!

Thank you all for your great suggestions!

Ultimately this from @cesc is exactly how I felt.  I didn’t need new gear.  I think I was just worried about missing shots with a new kid on the way and a 2 year old.   I actually sold my q2 and just use my M11 now, mostly with my 35 FLE.  I really enjoy the shooting experience and the pictures, even if they’re not perfectly in focus.

I brought only my m11 to the hospital for the birth of my son and have been using it pretty exclusively and happily.

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[Le Chef]

On 1/23/2023 at 1:08 AM, Betsy Wollheim said:

Entire generations (especially the largest generation) don't all have the same views.

That’s why the Q2, and likely the Q3 with 60MP pixel-binning sensor make cropping easy with little loss in quality.

[jaapv]

On 12/27/2022 at 11:26 AM, LondonL said:

This is incredibly unhelpful. For anyone who actually takes images (instead of talking about it on here), especially images of their toddler kids, will know that the M system is just so inferior to modern AF systems. Yes, I can get a few keepers with a M and my kids, but why make life so much harder for the vanity of shooting an M 🤦‍♂️

Thankfully there have been many sensible replies in this thread, including my own. 

Well, this response is just about as unhelpful as any. Quite a few experienced RF shooters have no problem at all photographing fast moving subjects, whilst they struggle with moving focus points, using BBF, focus lag, hunting, etc. May I suggest that everybody is free to think that his/her focus method is best for him/her without  imposing it on others? 

[JoshuaRothman]

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Wow, gorgeous pictures @lifeandmylens! 

I've been vacillating about this too. I have a four-year-old and another on the way. I used to have a Q2 and an M2, then moved entirely to analog and digital M and shot that way for a while with great success. Then, with the new kid on the way, I panicked a bit and decided to try out the Q2 again. It's a great camera, and I'm snapping away with ease. I especially like the one-handed aspect.

At the same time, I'm finding that I miss using an M all the time. I especially miss the hand-made feeling of my M photos. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do, but I'm leaning towards sending my Q2 back and picking up an M10-P. Your pictures contain some of that "M magic."

I guess we're no longer talking about the original question, but if I needed a 50mm lens with autofocus to compliment a Q2, I'd pick up a Fuji X-Pro 3 with the 35 f/1.4 or 33 f/1.4.

[LondonL]

On 2/9/2023 at 10:04 AM, jaapv said:

Well, this response is just about as unhelpful as any. Quite a few experienced RF shooters have no problem at all photographing fast moving subjects, whilst they struggle with moving focus points, using BBF, focus lag, hunting, etc. May I suggest that everybody is free to think that his/her focus method is best for him/her without  imposing it on others? 

A slice of reality is always helpful, but this is a Leica forum so I do understand the bias 😘

[LondonL]

On 1/29/2023 at 2:58 PM, lifeandmylens said:

Thank you all for your great suggestions!

Ultimately this from @cesc is exactly how I felt.  I didn’t need new gear.  I think I was just worried about missing shots with a new kid on the way and a 2 year old.   I actually sold my q2 and just use my M11 now, mostly with my 35 FLE.  I really enjoy the shooting experience and the pictures, even if they’re not perfectly in focus.

I brought only my m11 to the hospital for the birth of my son and have been using it pretty exclusively and happily.

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A lovely set of personal family images which for me sums up why we like to capture the special moments of our family. Great stuff. Its worth noting though that only 1 of the images is of a moving toddler (your initial concern in the opening post). This is where I struggle to get consistent keepers with the M focus system, shooting a relatively shallow depth of fields. This is the situation where a modern AF system with face and eye tracking will produce more consistent result, whether they are 'better' is certainly up for debate.

[Stephen.s1]

I cannot understand why you must have a Q50.  Cropping down to 50mm (or 75 or 90mm) is such a walk in the park for your Q2.  And the bonus is when your kids pix need a bit more context you've got 28mm. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Stephen.s1
typo

[Simone_DF]

51 minutes ago, Stephen.s1 said:

I cannot understand why you must have a Q50.  Cropping down to 50mm (or 75 or 90mm) is such a walk in the park for your Q2.  And the bonus is when your kids pix need a bit more context you've got 28mm. 

Because people are not willing to spend 6k on a full frame camera to constantly crop from 28 to 50 and 90. 
It’s ok to do it from time to time, but if 50 to 90 are the most used focal ranges, a 28mm camera is not the solution, whereas a Q with a fixed 50mm lens would provide much needed flexibility and options to people not interested in wider focal lengths. 
Currently, rather than cropping the Q28 I’d go for a APSC camera like Fuji, if size and weight are important factors. 

[Le Chef]

If people want to preserve the maximum number of pixels and insist on 50mm field of view, then there’s always the SL2.

[Simone_DF]

13 minutes ago, Le Chef said:

If people want to preserve the maximum number of pixels and insist on 50mm field of view, then there’s always the SL2.

The SL2 body only, with no lens attached, is bulky and heavy at 931g. Add a lens and we are in body building territory. A completely different beast good for studio, not that good for being portable or discreet. It’s like saying that a big 4x4 SUV is a good alternative to a Fiat 500 for city driving. Both do the same thing, but with different scope in mind. Which doesn’t mean one cannot use it, only that it’s not that suited for that scope. 

[JoshuaRothman]

21 hours ago, LondonL said:

A lovely set of personal family images which for me sums up why we like to capture the special moments of our family. Great stuff. Its worth noting though that only 1 of the images is of a moving toddler (your initial concern in the opening post). This is where I struggle to get consistent keepers with the M focus system, shooting a relatively shallow depth of fields. This is the situation where a modern AF system with face and eye tracking will produce more consistent result, whether they are 'better' is certainly up for debate.

This is a good point. But part of what I take from it, as a dad photographer, is that the "moving toddler" scenario isn't necessarily crucially important. It's actually a very specific type of image—one among many. On an M it's harder to get, but it's not the end of the world if your family archive contains fewer moving-toddler shots. Or if they're shot with more D.O.F., or from a side angle (it's really only hard if they're moving towards you).

I just scrolled through my M shots to find moving-toddler-with-shallow-DOF moments. It's like 0.5% of the total. It's so unusual that I can actually remember getting the photos and how I did it—I have a sense of accomplishment about it. It was all about picking the spot and waiting for my subject to enter it. I guess I think of it like a trade-off. Using an M is fun, so fewer moving-toddler shots is okay. All that said: I like having a Q2. Not so much for the moving-toddler scenario as for the fact that I don't have to bring lenses with me and can shoot (a version of) 28, 35, 50.

Is this actually blurry? It might be—which is fine with me, I think. This was the Zeiss 50 Sonnar on an M2. I just focussed on a spot on the patio and waited for him to scoot through it. I've noticed that, in general, if a kid does something fun once, he will do it a second time and probably a third, giving you time to prepare.

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Edited February 14, 2023 by JoshuaRothman

[fiatlux]

On 12/24/2022 at 6:25 PM, LondonL said:

Yep, the M is no good for fast moving kids.

Depends, with a wide angle and stopped down, it is pretty competent - and pre-focus will always be faster than the fastest AF!

Eye-AF tracking at absurdly high frame rates (as in my Sony A9) has raised the bar of what is easily achievable but that does not mean that you cannot, with a bit of planning, capture memorable "action" photographs with an M, as illustrated by Joshua above.

[cesc]

Leica M10 + Summilux 35 FLE

F3.4 1/250 2000 ISO

range focusing for f4 at 1.5 m

 

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[jaapv]

On 2/13/2023 at 5:46 PM, Simone_DF said:

The SL2 body only, with no lens attached, is bulky and heavy at 931g. Add a lens and we are in body building territory. A completely different beast good for studio, not that good for being portable or discreet. It’s like saying that a big 4x4 SUV is a good alternative to a Fiat 500 for city driving. Both do the same thing, but with different scope in mind. Which doesn’t mean one cannot use it, only that it’s not that suited for that scope. 

I’ve always admired the biceps of those Nikon F4 users.  

[liggy]

On 2/13/2023 at 6:00 AM, Stephen.s1 said:

I cannot understand why you must have a Q50.  Cropping down to 50mm (or 75 or 90mm) is such a walk in the park for your Q2.  And the bonus is when your kids pix need a bit more context you've got 28mm. 

I'm now much happier with the Q2 28ish perspective than I thought I would be but imagine a 50 1.7  or faster Q without cropping.  I bet the images would be really something special and would likely deliver some lovely bokeh.  Highly unlikely I'd consider a Q3 if it kept the 28mm focal but a Q3 with a tilty screen and usb charging and 50mm 1.7ish or faster lens?

Really attractive to me and would be a consideration.  Must have?  Not really - seriously want?   Absolutely. 

Edited April 2, 2023 by liggy

[cirke]

On 12/23/2022 at 10:01 PM, lifeandmylens said:

2 weeks away from having 2 kids under the age of 2.  Recently got a used Q2 and really enjoy it.  Got it because my M11 is getting harder to focus with my moving toddler.  

I'm looking for another body that I can use with a 50mm and maybe also a 90mm, but that are rather small, yet have great IQ.  So definitely no 50 Summilux SL!  Of course a Q250 would be great.  What's the next best option? CL, A7C, Fuji?

an iPhone 14 pro max

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q