Is it time to ditch the Q2/3 and fully embrace the SL2?

[beewee]

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As far as sharpness in the corners on the Q3 goes, it is a bit weaker but you can get around that by stitching multiple frames for landscapes in some situations so that you make use of the sharpest portion of the lens.

This is an 84 MP 3-shot pano from the Q3:

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Zoomed in:

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[Sohail]

5 hours ago, Life By Stills said:

First question I have @Sohail - is this an actual real world /real use problem for you, or just because you're pixel peeping? If it's not a real world / real use problem, then why not just stick with the smaller more convenient form and weight factor? If it's just because you're pixel peeping and for real world / real use it makes no difference, then to me, on a practical level, it probably does not make sense to switch to the SL2.

I think this is probably more a question about what you are after from your real world / real use vs pixel peeping. Only you can really answer that one.

It's real. I just bought an extra SL2 body. If I can get the 28 APO, it means one less camera body to carry around and better IQ. I do print large for exhibitions. So pixels matter. It also costs less than a Q3 and Q2. It's a win win.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Sohail

[Sohail]

5 hours ago, beewee said:

I don’t have many samples from the Q3 and SL2-S + 28 APO SL but here are a couple:
 

Q3:

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Stitched Pano from Q3:

SL2-S + 28 APO SL:

SL2-S + 28 APO SL:

SL2-S + 28 APO SL

Thank you for sharing.

[Sohail]

Sample shots of the 28mm APO on SL2

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It's an amazing lens. It trounces the Q lens. Distortion is very well controlled. Last picture, focus is on the girl on bottom right. Perfectly captured. Something the Q struggles with.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Sohail

[SrMi]

1 minute ago, Sohail said:

Sample shots of the 28mm APO on SL2

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It's an amazing lens. It trounces the Q lens. 

I believe that it is a mighty lens, and it is on my shortlist of future purchases.

It would be nice to see the difference to Q/Q2/Q3 in various scenes, especially where it clearly trounces the Q lens.

 

[Sohail]

1 minute ago, SrMi said:

I believe that it is a mighty lens, and it is on my shortlist of future purchases.

It would be nice to see the difference to Q/Q2/Q3 in various scenes, especially where it clearly trounces the Q lens.

 

Here's a shot I took with the Q2 which shows up its weakness:

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The focus is on her head. It's clearly stretched and subsequently soft.

[beewee]

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11 hours ago, Sohail said:

Here's a shot I took with the Q2 which shows up its weakness:

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The focus is on her head. It's clearly stretched and subsequently soft.

I don’t think I’ve seen such behaviour on the Q3 yet but I’ve noticed this on the 28 APO.

[Sohail]

2 hours ago, beewee said:

I don’t think I’ve seen such behaviour on the Q3 yet but I’ve noticed this on the 28 APO.

Would be interesting to see some examples.

[beewee]

6 hours ago, Sohail said:

Would be interesting to see some examples.

It’s only apparent when I shoot full body portrait in vertical format and people’s heads/feet are on the top/bottom 1/8th of the frame.

They were shot at a wedding so it’s not something I’d be posting to respect people’s privacy. I don’t have any examples take in public spaces.

I recall the 28 APO actually has a lot of distortion, kind of similar to the Q’s 28 lens but it’s also corrected in-camera and on raw editor software. You can disable the correction in CaptureOne to see what the uncorrected image looks like.

Edited July 9, 2023 by beewee

[trickness]

I know you shoot more in color than B&W Sohail, but personally I love having the Q2M alongside my SL2. I use the Q2M as my wide/low light camera when I have the SL2 with usually a 50 or 75 M lens mounted - I've got the 75 SL and its brilliant, but I prefer the manual focusing experience of the M glass. The Q2M having the same battery as the SL2 is a huge convenience, and it is so light I don't mind having both cameras strapped around my neck. The Q2M is like a little toy, so easy to move with it. I wouldn't want to use an SL 28MM lens simply because I use 28 for range focusing almost exclusively, so the autofocus benefit is not of benefit to me at the focal length and the increased image quality of this lens isn't really important to me for these kind of pictures. I guess it's down to what's important to the photographer - I love my SL2 for precision shooting & versatility, I love the Q2M for ease of use and for range focusing and yea, I use autofocus on the Q2M sometimes because its helpful when I want precision. I would NEVER seek to replace what the Q2M with an SL APO Cron.

[Sohail]

1 hour ago, trickness said:

I know you shoot more in color than B&W Sohail, but personally I love having the Q2M alongside my SL2. I use the Q2M as my wide/low light camera when I have the SL2 with usually a 50 or 75 M lens mounted - I've got the 75 SL and its brilliant, but I prefer the manual focusing experience of the M glass. The Q2M having the same battery as the SL2 is a huge convenience, and it is so light I don't mind having both cameras strapped around my neck. The Q2M is like a little toy, so easy to move with it. I wouldn't want to use an SL 28MM lens simply because I use 28 for range focusing almost exclusively, so the autofocus benefit is not of benefit to me at the focal length and the increased image quality of this lens isn't really important to me for these kind of pictures. I guess it's down to what's important to the photographer - I love my SL2 for precision shooting & versatility, I love the Q2M for ease of use and for range focusing and yea, I use autofocus on the Q2M sometimes because its helpful when I want precision. I would NEVER seek to replace what the Q2M with an SL APO Cron.

I loved the Q when it came out and still do. But I think Q2 was a bit of a disappointment for lowlight shooting and the distortion and softness. The Q3 didn't really address those issues. That being said, one of the things I underestimated about the Q is the stealth factor. I went out shooting with SL28 APO on my SL2 (silver) and it was much too distracting. People notice you much more and react differently to it. It was just one 20-minute session but it got me thinking. So you may have a point: the Q for versatility and the SL2 for precision and IQ. However, being a bit of a perfectionist in my head, if I had both, I'd I feel ought to be going out with SL2. The Q would not get used.

[trickness]

21 minutes ago, Sohail said:

I loved the Q when it came out and still do. But I think Q2 was a bit of a disappointment for lowlight shooting and the distortion and softness. The Q3 didn't really address those issues. That being said, one of the things I underestimated about the Q is the stealth factor. I went out shooting with SL28 APO on my SL2 (silver) and it was much too distracting. People notice you much more and react differently to it. It was just one 20-minute session but it got me thinking. So you may have a point: the Q for versatility and the SL2 for precision and IQ. However, being a bit of a perfectionist in my head, if I had both, I'd I feel ought to be going out with SL2. The Q would not get used.

Sounds like you need to try a Q2M! Totally agree that the Q3 is not the solution.

[Sohail]

14 minutes ago, trickness said:

Sounds like you need to try a Q2M! Totally agree that the Q3 is not the solution.

I mostly shoot in colour. 

[trickness]

2 minutes ago, Sohail said:

I mostly shoot in colour. 

Yeah, you've got a conundrum.

SL2-S with 28 Summicron M?

[LocalHero1953]

I can shoot the Q2 one handed which is useful from time to time for social, travel and street. I couldn’t do without a small light camera for such things, even though I know the SL2-S IQ would be better. 

But I’m frustrated by the Q2’ appalling face recognition and ugly low light noise. I think the Q3 might solve the former (for my needs), but I think I’d still be dependent on Topaz or LR AI to tame the noise. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by LocalHero1953

[Sohail]

Just now, trickness said:

Yeah, you've got a conundrum.

SL2-S with 28 Summicron M?

I'll probably go for the 28SL in the end. I love the focal length. And might sell the Q2.

[rtai]

I struggled with the SL2 vs Q2M question a year ago and then sold the 28mm SL lens and then the 50mm Summilux SL. Thinking about something in a logical manner can lead to the wrong conclusion. The brain said SL2 kit for the usual reasons already stated but instinctively the Q2M wins even with the nostalgic AF performance of screwdriver 1980’s Nikons. Does the Q3 address this? As an M user wanting an AF option I suppose the Q2 is good enough and portability wins.

[Sohail]

1 hour ago, rtai said:

I struggled with the SL2 vs Q2M question a year ago and then sold the 28mm SL lens and then the 50mm Summilux SL. Thinking about something in a logical manner can lead to the wrong conclusion. The brain said SL2 kit for the usual reasons already stated but instinctively the Q2M wins even with the nostalgic AF performance of screwdriver 1980’s Nikons. Does the Q3 address this? As an M user wanting an AF option I suppose the Q2 is good enough and portability wins.

The 50/1.4 SL? No, that was definitely the wrong conclusion. 😄 It's by far the best lens in an L mount. 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[trickness]

3 hours ago, Sohail said:

The 50/1.4 SL? No, that was definitely the wrong conclusion. 😄 It's by far the best lens in an L mount. 

Every time I look at the pictures you take with that lens I start looking on Facebook groups for a reasonably priced used copy of the 50 SL Lux. And I know it’s better than the M version, but the M version is my bread-and-butter, and it’s like 1/8th the size of the SL version. 
 

I’ve gotta stop looking at your pictures otherwise I’m gonna end up buying one anyway 😂

[Sohail]

9 hours ago, trickness said:

Every time I look at the pictures you take with that lens I start looking on Facebook groups for a reasonably priced used copy of the 50 SL Lux. And I know it’s better than the M version, but the M version is my bread-and-butter, and it’s like 1/8th the size of the SL version. 
 

I’ve gotta stop looking at your pictures otherwise I’m gonna end up buying one anyway 😂

It's the pictures that ultimately matter. At the end of a shooting day, I'd rather have a sore back and great images than a rested back and mediocre images.