Popular Post colonel Posted August 4, 2023 Popular Post Share #1 Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) 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! Comfortably late as usual, I have just bought a Q2 when the Q3 has just come out. Could be worse, I could be espousing the advantages of the M240, a great little runner! The Q2 has a number of things that make working with it an enhanced experience over the original Q. The four top things for me are the increased resolution, weather sealing, AF and general speed. The form factor is the familiar lightweight and compact form for this 28mm f1.7 FF camera. The advantages of fixed lens cameras is that the lens can be integrated deeper into the body and very close to the sensor. In addition, you can have a leaf shutter which is almost silent. I keep the camera permanently in extended shutter speed, so it's mechanical up to 1/2000 and then electronic upwards. This is only the second special edition Leica I have ever bought. My first one was the James Bond D-Lux 7, and only because it actually had a bunch of useful accessories included. The reason I bought the Q2 Reporter Edition was simply being bowled over by the looks. It doesn’t have anything extra over the normal Q2. The green body is quite dark but looks beautiful and the leatherette is more textured and better to grip than the standard one. I also like the fact that the red and yellow fonts and decals on the lens have been changed to light grey, contrasting subtly with the white. The start up and AF is noticeably faster then the Q, and is getting more reliable focus. The face/eye detect is much better and for the first time I am using AFS-C quite a lot as it seems reliable for street photography. BTW I mostly do people and their context type of photography for travel or casual. So 28mm is good 70% of the time. I am comfortable using 35mm on the Q2 as its 30mp. 50mm is a bit of a stetch, maybe the 100mp Q4 will help out with that ! The resolution bump is very useful, and its sharp at the pixel level thanks to the amazing lens. I don’t really notice the 7mp difference over my M10-R, but the analogue noise quality is similar. I like the way it keeps the beautiful colour curve even at 6400 and beyond, with nice skin under warm fluorescent lights: The lens is as sharp end to end as ever, even at 47mp: The 3D pop is great (micro contrast): Being able to use in the rain is great: Black and white rendering is excellent: The colours are true to life whilst still being punchy: Macro mode is surprisingly useful: The speed is usefully fast enough to instantly envisage and then get a momentary scene: Criticisms ! The AF is slightly slower than I would like. The eye/face detect is now usable, but you have to be quite close to the subject for it to pick it up, and it doesn't seem to like subjects at the edge of the picture. It would be nice to have the Sony telepathic AF! The stabiliser can only be set on all the time or 1/60 and below. It would be great to be able to adjust this barrier, I would prefer 1/125 and below for example. Lastly, the manual focus zoom doesn't stay up long enough, it would be good to be able to switch it to go back to zoom when the shutter is half pressed. On the plus side there are loads of ways to customise the buttons - did you know the top dial is also a press down switch. No banana then, but definitely a donut: For a svelte FF camera there is not much competition. I did have the aps-c x100v for a bit but despite the slight improvement over the previous lens, it is still soft close up, at infinity and at f2. The Ricoh GR iii is actually very good with an amazing lens, but the electronic lens extension and f2.8 are not for me. The real competition is the defunct RX1, in fact if Sony ever bothered to update the AF system it would be a real contender. I loved my one in the old days! Everyone who gets on with the Q2 and likes 28mm as a main FL knows that its an addictive experience and tends to push out other cameras for casual use. It has a habit of making you want to just go and and shoot. I think at 47mp it could also be someone’s only camera, as 50mm cropping is not out of the question. Virtually all of my photography is 28mm 70%, 35mm 20%, 50mm 10% so the true zoomless camera is tentatively here! Edited August 4, 2023 by colonel 24 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Comfortably late as usual, I have just bought a Q2 when the Q3 has just come out. Could be worse, I could be espousing the advantages of the M240, a great little runner! The Q2 has a number of things that make working with it an enhanced experience over the original Q. The four top things for me are the increased resolution, weather sealing, AF and general speed. The form factor is the familiar lightweight and compact form for this 28mm f1.7 FF camera. The advantages of fixed lens cameras is that the lens can be integrated deeper into the body and very close to the sensor. In addition, you can have a leaf shutter which is almost silent. I keep the camera permanently in extended shutter speed, so it's mechanical up to 1/2000 and then electronic upwards. This is only the second special edition Leica I have ever bought. My first one was the James Bond D-Lux 7, and only because it actually had a bunch of useful accessories included. The reason I bought the Q2 Reporter Edition was simply being bowled over by the looks. It doesn’t have anything extra over the normal Q2. The green body is quite dark but looks beautiful and the leatherette is more textured and better to grip than the standard one. I also like the fact that the red and yellow fonts and decals on the lens have been changed to light grey, contrasting subtly with the white. The start up and AF is noticeably faster then the Q, and is getting more reliable focus. The face/eye detect is much better and for the first time I am using AFS-C quite a lot as it seems reliable for street photography. BTW I mostly do people and their context type of photography for travel or casual. So 28mm is good 70% of the time. I am comfortable using 35mm on the Q2 as its 30mp. 50mm is a bit of a stetch, maybe the 100mp Q4 will help out with that ! The resolution bump is very useful, and its sharp at the pixel level thanks to the amazing lens. I don’t really notice the 7mp difference over my M10-R, but the analogue noise quality is similar. I like the way it keeps the beautiful colour curve even at 6400 and beyond, with nice skin under warm fluorescent lights: The lens is as sharp end to end as ever, even at 47mp: The 3D pop is great (micro contrast): Being able to use in the rain is great: Black and white rendering is excellent: The colours are true to life whilst still being punchy: Macro mode is surprisingly useful: The speed is usefully fast enough to instantly envisage and then get a momentary scene: Criticisms ! The AF is slightly slower than I would like. The eye/face detect is now usable, but you have to be quite close to the subject for it to pick it up, and it doesn't seem to like subjects at the edge of the picture. It would be nice to have the Sony telepathic AF! The stabiliser can only be set on all the time or 1/60 and below. It would be great to be able to adjust this barrier, I would prefer 1/125 and below for example. Lastly, the manual focus zoom doesn't stay up long enough, it would be good to be able to switch it to go back to zoom when the shutter is half pressed. On the plus side there are loads of ways to customise the buttons - did you know the top dial is also a press down switch. No banana then, but definitely a donut: For a svelte FF camera there is not much competition. I did have the aps-c x100v for a bit but despite the slight improvement over the previous lens, it is still soft close up, at infinity and at f2. The Ricoh GR iii is actually very good with an amazing lens, but the electronic lens extension and f2.8 are not for me. The real competition is the defunct RX1, in fact if Sony ever bothered to update the AF system it would be a real contender. I loved my one in the old days! Everyone who gets on with the Q2 and likes 28mm as a main FL knows that its an addictive experience and tends to push out other cameras for casual use. It has a habit of making you want to just go and and shoot. I think at 47mp it could also be someone’s only camera, as 50mm cropping is not out of the question. Virtually all of my photography is 28mm 70%, 35mm 20%, 50mm 10% so the true zoomless camera is tentatively here! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/380545-my-new-q2/?do=findComment&comment=4828527'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 4, 2023 Posted August 4, 2023 Hi colonel, Take a look here My new Q2. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
SrMi Posted August 4, 2023 Share #2 Posted August 4, 2023 Congratulations, and enjoy it in good health. The Q2 reporter is a stunning camera in looks and output. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylgo Posted August 4, 2023 Share #3 Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) Great write-up and images colonel, the Reporter has a beautiful look and makes me wonder if it will replace the Safari special editions in the future, I like them both and can't decide which looks nicer. I continue to shoot with my original Q, can't quite decide if I should upgrade to the Q2 or Q3, so many great Leica cameras are available it makes the decisions more difficult. Edited August 4, 2023 by darylgo 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcgarner Posted August 4, 2023 Share #4 Posted August 4, 2023 Marvelous write-up on a grand camera. And wonderful photos as well. Your enthusiasm is palpable. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Q Posted August 5, 2023 Share #5 Posted August 5, 2023 Congrats, the Q2 reporter is the best looking Q imho. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driften Posted August 5, 2023 Share #6 Posted August 5, 2023 I really enjoy my Q2 Reporter. Congrats 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted August 5, 2023 Share #7 Posted August 5, 2023 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) good review and I agree about the OIS in auto being set to turn on at less than 1/60sec as it really needs to be higher as you suggest. I wonder if it is the same in the Q3 with it's higher resolution sensor Edited August 5, 2023 by viramati 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SrMi Posted August 5, 2023 Share #8 Posted August 5, 2023 8 hours ago, viramati said: good review and I agree about the OIS in auto being set to turn on at less than 1/60sec as it really needs to be higher as you suggest. I wonder if it is the same in the Q3 with it's higher resolution sensor If the 1/60 threshold is too low, one can turn it permanently on, as done with most other cameras. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD70 Posted August 6, 2023 Share #9 Posted August 6, 2023 Congrats! Nice overview of the camera. Love the images. Happy shooting. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhasman Posted August 6, 2023 Share #10 Posted August 6, 2023 +1 Congrats! Amazing camera, great photos. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted August 6, 2023 Share #11 Posted August 6, 2023 14 hours ago, SrMi said: If the 1/60 threshold is too low, one can turn it permanently on, as done with most other cameras. Thanks and I do this already when needed but it would be nice to be able to adjust the threshold 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LocalHero1953 Posted August 6, 2023 Share #12 Posted August 6, 2023 Thank you for this review, which I enjoyed reading (and looking at your images), even though I have the Q2 and agree with almost all you say (I never had the Q, so I find the Q2 AF for faces very unsatisfactory). I have posted several reasons here for not upgrading to the Q3, but must admit that a major one is that I prefer my Q2 Reporter edition's looks over the Q3's bland black! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
didier Posted August 6, 2023 Share #13 Posted August 6, 2023 Thanks @colonel And Congrats for your new camera I have been using the very same Q2 reporter since the beginning of 2022 and I am very happy with it. Only the M experience beats it in terms of joy to use and results are very good ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD70 Posted August 7, 2023 Share #14 Posted August 7, 2023 16 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said: Thank you for this review, which I enjoyed reading (and looking at your images), even though I have the Q2 and agree with almost all you say (I never had the Q, so I find the Q2 AF for faces very unsatisfactory). I have posted several reasons here for not upgrading to the Q3, but must admit that a major one is that I prefer my Q2 Reporter edition's looks over the Q3's bland black! Don't let looks hold you back, you can always change them. New Q3 with "facelift". 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! 3 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/380545-my-new-q2/?do=findComment&comment=4830026'>More sharing options...
James1975 Posted August 7, 2023 Share #15 Posted August 7, 2023 Perhaps an unpopular opinion but I have followed your lead. I’ve sold my Q3 and bought a brand new Q2 Reporter (for 1000€ less than the Q3). I am so fed up with my Leica experience. The in store snobbery, the half finished firmware at launch, the many issues that have no part in a 6.000€ camera but that somehow we seem to accept as ok. I loved the Q2 and my experience with the Q3 after having it since launch day is disappointing and underwhelming. Of course many will love it. But I simply want to know my camera will work. It won’t freeze, it will charge fine, it won’t have a four second startup time (even with 1.2), continuous AF will just work etc… And the looks of the Reporter are unbeatable for me. The best edition they did. Arrives tomorrow and I am thrilled. It will go beautifully alongside my Nikon Z8 when I need a grab and go or travel camera for non-pro work. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
city of bristol Posted August 8, 2023 Share #16 Posted August 8, 2023 I leave the OIS on unless on a tripod just as i do with my olympus camera which i use for wildlife photography, why not? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
.HorsesRear Posted October 16, 2024 Share #17 Posted October 16, 2024 My first post. I just purchased a hardly used Q2. The firmware on the camera was at 3.0. My question is updating the camera to 5.1 include previous updates such as 4.0 and 5.0. Thank you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted October 16, 2024 Share #18 Posted October 16, 2024 Each update overwrites the previous firmware and is thus complete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
.HorsesRear Posted October 17, 2024 Share #19 Posted October 17, 2024 Thank you for the response. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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