Q/Q2/Q3 as sole travel camera kit? What has been your experience?

[luetz]

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After many years of acquiring cameras, lenses and other accessories, I was introduced to try a Q2.  The experience of not having to select a camera body and Lens(lenses) for an outing was liberating.  I have since moved to the Q3, totally satisfied.  Unless you do birding/wildlife or action sports it's all you really need.

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[GinaJ]

As a 50mm shooter and for the most part not a major cropper, I don't think I fully appreciated my Q2 until I took a trip to Cancun/Isla mujeres for my brother's wedding.  My CL and M11P aren't weather sealed, the only other camera I had at the time that also had weather sealing was my m43 setup but I didn't want to lug around a giant zoom lens in a bridesmaid dress with heels on.  The weather sealing of the Q2 was nice with all the wind and sand and salt water spray/humidity everywhere.  And it's a quick and snappy little camera that gets the job done, which is better to have when traveling with family and friends who don't want to wait very long for you to compose photos.  

Another bonus is that you can hand off the camera to other people so you can be in images with said family and friends.  99% of the time I can't do that with my m11P, even my friends who do photography as a hobby don't use rangefinders.  

[Le Chef]

57 minutes ago, GinaJ said:

a giant zoom lens in a bridesmaid dress with heels on

Which brand of zoom lens wears bridesmaids dresses and heels? Inquiring minds want to know!

[GinaJ]

The ensemble has to look uniform.....Otherwise one risks incurring the wrath of Bridezillas.  😆

[LocalHero1953]

On 8/11/2023 at 4:05 PM, LocalHero1953 said:

I was about to reply "of course I travel only with the Q2". But then I take a smartphone as well, as a visual notebook, so not quite "only".

Last month I went to France, only with the Q2.......and a smartphone.........and a Leica MP.

Next week we're off to Edinburgh, only with the Q2.........and a smartphone...........and a Barnack..........and a large format camera (I'll be the guy with the tripod and black hood in the middle of the Cowgate).

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

We're off to Ireland by car later this week. So I'm taking the Q2....... and an M4 for colour film.....and a Leica Standard for B&W film.......and a Chroma Carbon Adventurer 4x5 with three lenses.....oh, and a smartphone.

Travelling light with my Q2 🙃

Edited April 1, 2024 by LocalHero1953

[AdHox]

On 9/19/2023 at 5:54 PM, AdHox said:

Six weeks in France and Italy with just the Q3. I tossed up between the Q3 vs CL plus a couple of lenses vs Sony with 2/3 primes.

I opted for the smallest and simplest option.

The Q3 handled everything I through at it, and never was I caught out wishing I had time to swap lenses. There were times when I might have used a wider or longer lens if I had packed them, but the lack of extra lenses did not trouble me. I took a small flash in case I needed it, but only wanted it once.

I would happily travel again with just the Q3. However, I am incredibly overdue to visit Japan again, and I really like something wider than 28mm when visiting there, so I'll probably leave the Q3 at home on that trip and instead take a kit that includes a wider lens.

I've just returned from a couple of weeks in Aotearoa. This time I knew I'd want some long glass on a couple of days, so the Q3 stayed at home and I took an A1 with a couple of lenses. Other than two days where I definitely needed 400mm, I missed the Q3; the A1 is very capable, but not as enjoyable to use.

[liggy]

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We just came back from 3 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia.  An epic trip.

The main shooter was my A7RV with the 20-70 F4 lens.  It's really a great travel kit.  Instead of a fast prime for lowlight I brought the Q2.

Perfect for that job but in most cases I don't think I could go with the Q2 as a one and only.  

[mrlouie]

Travel ?? I got rid of everything to buy a Q2M, I needed color again so now I have a Q3. I love only having one small high end camera with built in lens for everything. 

 

[Sparkassenkunde]

I am back from two weeks in Kuala Lumpur and Bali with only the Q3 and it was a great experience! Didn’t miss my other gear a minute and brought a lot of nice pictures home. With the seamless use of Leica Fotos app in combination with LR mobile I could easily post pictures for family and friends and could post some of my snaps here in this forum. I enjoyed this more than the times I had more than one camera or different lenses with me. Another good thing is the weight - we travel with hand luggage only and I could carry the Q3 over my shoulder ready to shoot everywhere. For my kind of snapshot travel photography it is exactly the right tool. 

[huwm]

I've still not risked it despite having iPhone Pro back up, I just love having an SL2S and couple of lenses too then alternating kit as I feel.

My style of travelling means I can easily take this much kit so I do.

I have no doubt I could however as I spent my impoverished early adulthood, traveling everywhere with an just an OM1 and 50mm, no phone of course as they didn't exist and it never occurred to me that I was missing out.

The Q3 is absolutely all I could reasonably need tbh but....

Edited April 8, 2024 by huwm
just realised this is a near duplication of an earlier response DOH

[alftan]

On 3/1/2024 at 10:06 AM, alftan said:

Took an a7iii with 24-105 on the last trip to Asia in Jan, and discovered that 76% of my photos were shot between 24 and 75mm, with 46% 24-40mm. This helped me understand my preferred focal length.

About to embark on a month long trek to Taiwan, Vietnam and Malaysia with a just the Q2 (and 15pro). Looking forward to learning how it works out. I expect that it will be just fine. 

Back from a monthlong trip with just the Q2. Did not miss having more lenses. So easy to carry, i have it with me all the time. 

Fantastic images, Simple intuitive user interface, Exceptional build quality. 

I expected it to be restricting, it turned out to be liberating. 

[Jed Orme]

I'm very glad to see that it is even more liberating having only the fixed lens when on such a lengthy photo journey as described above.  I recently traded in my Fuji X-Pro3 and 16/2.8, 23/2, 35/2 & 50/2 prime lenses for a used Q2, which cover much the same space as alftan above discovered is his preferred focal length, and hope to enjoy using the digital cropping with the Q2 to achieve it. 

My first outing over the last weekend was to a scenic location where my initial goal was to only shoot wide open at 1.7 with allowing more flex room for the auto ISO settings, and also try out the macro setting.  I had no difficulty capturing only at 28mm but did do some minor cropping when editing.  It will be interesting to see if using the in-camera 35, 50 & 75mm frame lines in the future will become a substitute for the post cropping or greatly minimize it at least.  I really like the idea of being able to see outside the frame lines when composing rather than editing, so may end up using the 35mm much of the time, unless the added width is needed.

[coleica]

Had a Sony a7III which I was planning to take with me on a trip to Norway.  Well, between the body, the 70-200 lens, the 85mm, 50, and 17-34 (?), it proved to cumbersome to even consider taking it all.  Ended up leaving it all behind and used my iPhone instead (btw, the pics came out pretty good).  After returning from the trip, searched to see what was available.  Focusing on single lens system, with high resolution sensor.  Came across the Q2 and started saving my pennies.  Just as I was getting ready to place an order for the Q2, the Q3 was announced.  Having the Q3 for a few months, it has gone to small trips to Ohio, TN, and Chicago.  Far as I am concerned, the perfect camera for traveling, and I could argue cheaper than my old A3.  The price I paid for the A3, and the lenses, easily surpassed the cost of my Q3.  I did also acquired a Leica M6 (1985), but still the whole package is smaller and lighter than what I had.

[alftan]

22 hours ago, Jed Orme said:

I'm very glad to see that it is even more liberating having only the fixed lens when on such a lengthy photo journey as described above.  I recently traded in my Fuji X-Pro3 and 16/2.8, 23/2, 35/2 & 50/2 prime lenses for a used Q2, which cover much the same space as alftan above discovered is his preferred focal length, and hope to enjoy using the digital cropping with the Q2 to achieve it. 

My first outing over the last weekend was to a scenic location where my initial goal was to only shoot wide open at 1.7 with allowing more flex room for the auto ISO settings, and also try out the macro setting.  I had no difficulty capturing only at 28mm but did do some minor cropping when editing.  It will be interesting to see if using the in-camera 35, 50 & 75mm frame lines in the future will become a substitute for the post cropping or greatly minimize it at least.  I really like the idea of being able to see outside the frame lines when composing rather than editing, so may end up using the 35mm much of the time, unless the added width is needed.

Hi Jed

Glad you are enjoying your Q2. The in camera cropping helps with exposure, it will expose to the selected FL. So if you leave it at 35mm, it will expose only within the 35mm box. Yes, it is nice to be able to see beyond the frame, sort of like a rangefinder. 

Posted some of the photos from that trip on LFI, hope this link works. 
https://lfi-online.de/en/gallery/my-gallery.html?tab=albummanager

[Pindy]

42 minutes ago, alftan said:

Hi Jed

Glad you are enjoying your Q2. The in camera cropping helps with exposure, it will expose to the selected FL. So if you leave it at 35mm, it will expose only within the 35mm box. Yes, it is nice to be able to see beyond the frame, sort of like a rangefinder. 

 

This is good to know. The only tricky thing that I've found with the Q3 is that there is so much FOV in exterior shooting that you often end up with a ton of sky biasing your metering. It's fine in sunlight; a blue sky is more or less middle gray, but when it's overcast, the histogram tops out at least one-two stops under and I'm chasing it a lot with exposure comp. It's obviously more severe with Highlight-weighted turned on. Might try center weighted on days like that. 

[Le Chef]

I believe exposure to the crop only happens if you shoot JPG. If you shoot DNG you get full frame exposure and can crop and adjust to your heart’s content in post.

[HeinzX]

For travelling some days, I often use my Q3 and as additional gear my V 5, if long focal length could be necessary. That is a good combination and the V 5 is leightweight and at a low price available. Walking around I take the camera with me, I think which would be the best one for the things I expect. In the most cases it will be the Q3, but there are exceptions. The other camera remains in the suitcase.

[Phil1066]

Currently mid-trip with just the Q2. Left the SL and lenses behind. Loving the freedom and lightweight carry bags so far…..

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Hallo,

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[Wellsyboy]

12 hours ago, Phil1066 said:

Currently mid-trip with just the Q2. Left the SL and lenses behind. Loving the freedom and lightweight carry bags so far…..

How are you coping with the fixed focal length?

 

[Viewfinder_vandals]

Very Good experience until my viewfinder had the delaminating Problem. But the q Series in my opinion is the Best Leica you can get.