Leica Q-P move to Leica M-P 240.. thoughts?

[ShafQ-P]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi All

I’ve just recently joined the forum and hoped you might be able to advise me. 
 

I have had my Leica Q-P for a couple of years now and have taken some amazing photos. However I m now considering moving on to the Leica M-P 240 with a 50mm or 35mm Leica Summicron  (vintage) , Voigtlander or similar lenses. Although I have loved my Q-P I have always found it slightly hard at times to gel with the 28mm focal length. I prefer urban street photography mainly and mainly shooting people.  28mm can be a little intrusive  as it means getting really close and in London / Italy (where I shoot most) that can cause quite a bit of offence. I find myself cropping a fair bit in post at times. I have mainly in the past shot with Fuji x100, Xpro-1, XT-2 and Leica M8.2.  All with 35mm to 50mm lens.  So I am kind of used to that field of view. 
 

I have recently had a very short play with the M240 and m10 (the latter being out of my price range) with a 50mm summicron and did like the feel overall.  I didn’t find the m240 that much fatter then the m10 and I could definitely afford the M-P 240, which is my preference.  
 

I know these are two different type of cameras however I can only afford one.  What should I do? 

So I guess my questions are 

>  Have you made the jump from Leica Q to Leica M240 or vice versa and why? 

> Did you feel you missed the Leica Q and the amazing Summilux lens.

> Did you miss the versatility of the Q, with its autofocus and image stabilisation.

> Is the M240 weather sealed better then the Q and do you think it will hold its value in years to come, just in case I might wish to upgrade in 2/3 years.

> How do the images compare Q-P vs M240.  Which do you prefer and why? 

> I have heard rumours of a M11-P release potentially by the end of the year.  Do you think this may drive prices of previous M models down? 

I’m sorry if it’s a lot to ask and I know it is always a personal opinion.  However, I would sincerely appreciate any advice you could give me.  

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[bobtodrick]

As Robert Capa said “If it's not good enough, you're not close enough.”  😂

I did a lot of street photography in my film days (M4) and my most used lenses were the 35mm and the 28mm, so I have had no issues with my Q (with the 35mm crop).

I kinda agree with the above quote.  I see a lot of street photography these days with longer lenses that lack, for lack of a better term, ‘humanity’.

They are just voyeuristic.  To get real feeling and emotion the subject has to know you are there.

At least in my opinion.

[Olaf_ZG]

33 minutes ago, bobtodrick said:

 

I kinda agree with the above quote.  I see a lot of street photography these days with longer lenses that lack, for lack of a better term, ‘humanity’.

They are just voyeuristic.  To get real feeling and emotion the subject has to know you are there.

At least in my opinion.

And i see way too many images on a WA where the photographer wasn’t close enough. So much needless things in the image. A 40/50 often suits so much better. 
 

To me, the Q is too wide and I rather change lenses than cropping so I prefer a M.

[bobtodrick]

1 hour ago, Olaf_ZG said:

And i see way too many images on a WA where the photographer wasn’t close enough. So much needless things in the image. A 40/50 often suits so much better. 
 

To me, the Q is too wide and I rather change lenses than cropping so I prefer a M.

Different ways to get the same look.  And I will admit that when using my Q it is often set to the 35mm crop unless it is a group. 

I’m more addressing those who use a tele from 20-30 feet away so they don’t have to engage their subject at all.

Edited August 18, 2023 by bobtodrick

[codocee]

I had the Q twice and the Q2 once. Great camera but the size of the lens, weird flare with the evf at times and the fixed 28, moved me to the M system. I have the M262, which is what I could afford. I bought the M10 at the same time to choose between the two. It has worked flawless and I actually favored the images over the M10. Weird I know, but dollar for dollar, it’s a bargain if you find a well cared for one. The price difference between the two buys a couple of decent used lens. I must admit that personally, I love a optical finder.
As usual, if you find it’s not to your liking, chances are you’ll lose little.

 

Go for it!

[Le Chef]

With the lens hood on my Q2 I never get flare unless I want it. Easy to do.

[Casey Jefferson]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Not a Q but a Q2, which I still have alongside the M-P240.

Things I love about the M over the Q2:

- Better colors, contrast, and 35mm summicron suits me better as I have problem getting too close to make people (and myself) uncomfortable 

- 28mm (more like 26mm) is a challenging focal length to shoot up close, it'll result in dramatic composition, or disastrous distortion, 35mm is less challenging. More character for 35 summicron asph, the Q2 lens while clean and modern (doesn't even have much purple fringing!) It does feel a little more sterile than the cron.

- Battery life!

 

And... Q2 over the M:

- Lighter weight, weather resistance, reasonably fast autofocus that I can shoot 1 handed

- Macro mode!

- Silent shutter!

- Unique rendering that looked 3D. The summicron 35mm is no slouch but the 3D pop is different where Q2 doesn't actually need to have bokeh to present the 3D pop.

- Better low light performance. Note that the noise level is actually worse on the Q2 at pixel level but Q2 can shoot at lower lighting when the M240 would fail to even capture visible subject. I played with original Q files and they seems to do a lot better than the M-P240 though.

- It actually take pretty good 4k video, and plenty for my use for studio shooting with constant lighting.

 

Pretty much a wash, I bring q2 for casual sessions like family photo and friends, shoot video for YouTube project. Otherwise I shoot the M-P for its artistically more pleasing color rendering, and more slow paced, "in the zone" kind of shooting experience.

[LocalHero1953]

On 8/18/2023 at 8:13 PM, ShafQ-P said:

> Is the M240 weather sealed better then the Q and do you think it will hold its value in years to come, just in case I might wish to upgrade in 2/3 years.

 

The M series are not weather sealed at all

[Almizilero]

Am 18.8.2023 um 21:13 schrieb ShafQ-P:

I know these are two different type of cameras however I can only afford one.  What should I do? 

So I guess my questions are 

>  Have you made the jump from Leica Q to Leica M240 or vice versa and why?

Yes, Q to M240-P. Same reasons as you. I wanted more range. So I got a 28mm and a 50mm.

> Did you feel you missed the Leica Q and the amazing Summilux lens.

Not because of the lens. But because of its versatility. The Voigtländer 28/2 Ultron is an amazing lens and quite on par on my M with the Q. What I miss is the AF and the Live View via the phone. I got that again with the M10, but without AF, it's not that useful. Surprisingly, I don't miss the IBIS. The Macro function only on very few occasions.

> Did you miss the versatility of the Q, with its autofocus and image stabilisation.

Oh. See above.

> Is the M240 weather sealed better then the Q and do you think it will hold its value in years to come, just in case I might wish to upgrade in 2/3 years.

Not weather sealed and as with everything digital, it will not hold its value. But the gap between the Q and the M240 might get closer.

> How do the images compare Q-P vs M240.  Which do you prefer and why? 

Apples and oranges. Depends very much on the lens you use. The Q has a rather modern look, I feel I got something similar from the M240 and the 28 Ultron. My 50 Summilux V2 gives me much different images. Had a 50 Summicron V5 before, that had a more modern look. ISO performance was slightly better on the Q. And coming back to the apples and oranges, the RAW files of the Q tend towards more green tints, the M240-P towards orange/red tints right after import into Lightroom.

> I have heard rumours of a M11-P release potentially by the end of the year.  Do you think this may drive prices of previous M models down? 

Yes. But only a bit. And the worth of your Q will go down in the meantime as well. Not even sure how much an M11-P would effect the used prices of an M240.

 

Final word: As you might have guessed I only had the M240-P for a short while. Moved on to the M10 for the better body, viewfinder and sensor. Luckily without loss, as I could sell it for the same I paid for it 6 weeks earlier. The M10 is here to stay, I think.