Leica Q2 review

You were born fat?

9 months agopermalink

Foto64

I was a chubby 8 pounds d

9 months agopermalink

radissimo

Leica will make you se*y

*=red dot

9 months agopermalink

Step in the right direction with finally including a higher res FF sensor. This camera with interchangeable M-mount for a price tag below $3K would be even better (Ok, I admit you wouldn't need the M10 then).

9 months agopermalink

$3k lolololol

9 months agopermalink

Yep, likely never happening with Leica. But that's just sort of where the competition is.....

9 months agopermalink

Leica has never been about where the competition is, which is why they are still successful even in a dwindling camera market. The camera you asked for is also what I want, but realistically it would be priced closer to what the M is. Personally, if I could buy a Q with M mount I would happily pay $5k but it would more then likely be priced around $6-7k.

9 months ago*permalink

@Clint Dunn: Just upfront, I am a Leica user myself, own several M-mount lenses but only use Leica M film-based rangefinder cameras. Never went with a digital M since I find them all too overpriced for what they deliver technology-wise. But that's just me - I know many are happy with their digital Leica gear. My point above is just that Leica could attract many more customers when lowering the horrendous prices - not sure if Leica's current business model will still work well in upcoming years when digital gear in general depreciates more and more quickly. This will also affect collectors which is the main reason why Leica is still successful - most profit does not come from regular users.

9 months ago*permalink

@Copalfit - You could make the argument that as the digital camera market matures (it has, look at sales numbers), that new Leica digital cameras will depreciate LESS quickly.

You say that you feel the digital M is overpriced for what it is, sure you are correct. However, to this day no digital camera in existence works as well with rangefinder glass then the M. Even the SL does not play as well with rangefinder glass (corner issues with some UWA lenses etc).

Also, I can make the same overpriced argument about your M film based cameras. For what they are, compared to their peers they are completely overpriced. To this day a used Leica M7 still sells for $2500 yet a far more functional EOS 3 sells for around $250. Are you kidding me, I can buy a brand new Sony A7iii with kit lens for that money:)

9 months agopermalink

@Clint Dunn: You are right regarding overpriced M film cameras - I should have said that I got mine years ago (a mint M6 for less than $1K, and my M7 for $1.5K) which doubled or nearly tripled in price since then easily. In fact from an investment-perspective, my best investments I ever made in photo gear so far! I wouldn't buy any of these cameras now for the current prices either.
You are also right that Leica has a monopoly on rangefinder M cameras - and avoided competition simply by forming another alliance with the Russian Zenit company as seen recently to keep prices up IMO.
And yes, for digital I stick to other mirrorless brands (Sony so far) which I made excellent experience to use M lenses with adapter all the time (some lenses work better than others, this takes some digging online to figure this out but you get the idea).
Honestly, for the price of any Leica M, I would rather spend this money now for a Fuji medium format camera instead.

9 months ago*permalink

VictorTrasvina

Im just glad its not a 35mm lens or my girl would’ve been very, very mad at me for a very long time… After all you can’t hide a Leica :(

9 months agopermalink

Khun_K

Not that is it inexpensive but this is the best-valued Leica at the moment and maybe for some time to come! Leica made a safe and conservative move to have Q to adapt to the new sensor with a fixed lens and digital optimization and optical stabilizer and capable autofocus. Interesting to see what will be the next M to be, but this would be a very strong camera for years to come and the next Leica Fotos and application likely to make this and future Leica much more productive. Good move! Getting one!

9 months agopermalink

Is Leica going to ship a better add-on grip?

The plastic one Leica sells is crap. To swap the battery, one has to remove it.

9 months agopermalink

I’m sure someone will craft a better one in ebony; might look and handle beautifully.

9 months agopermalink

Ebony wouldn't allow a battery door to open fully.

Normal aluminum would be just fine.

If Olympus and Fuji can do such an add-on grip for cameras like the X-T2 and EM1 II, then Leica (or a subcontractor) can do the same.

9 months agopermalink

Archlich

Does it still not having compressed RAW? The pointlessly oversiezed files were mildly annoying with the original Q, would be even more so with the new 47MP sensor.

9 months agopermalink

DNG is a compressed raw format.

No, no Leica camera has a lossy compressed raw option. And no Leica has a 12 bit raw option either.

Also these files are smaller than full sized 14 bit raws from the Nikon D850.

9 months ago*permalink

lapomattiabarambaniviendalmare

You were probably one of those guys who complained about files sizes when the 5D came out with 12mp.

9 months agopermalink

Imager of

Tempted to trade my iPhone for this. 🤔

9 months agopermalink

kreislauf

what iphone do you have?
diamond-laced Iphone X?
Iphone 2020 with 512GB?

9 months ago*permalink

Imager of

It has 1tb

9 months agopermalink

waiman

It'll last longer than your iPhone

9 months agopermalink

Barely.

9 months agopermalink

waiman

Call me crazy but this is actually not that expensive. I thought it was going to be closer to 10K!

9 months ago*permalink

kreislauf

you are crazy!

9 months agopermalink

waiman:

Why would Leica more than double the price of the extremely popular Q?

9 months agopermalink

waiman

Because they can??

9 months agopermalink

panther fan

Well it really is not all that expensive.

A 47MP camera like the Nikon Z7 or Panasonic S1R is 3400-3700$. And paying 1300-1600$ for a Leica lens is actually quite the bargain compared to other Leica lenses. And in line with very premium lenses from other manufacturers.

Yes it is by no means cheap. But the Leica Tax doesn't seem too high on this.

9 months agopermalink

Richmondthefish

Also pricing this to compete with the Zeiss ZX1.

9 months agopermalink

lightandaprayer

$10000 will pay for a Leica M10 and at least one lens and even more depending on whether you go with a Leica, Zeiss, Voigtlander, etc.

9 months agopermalink

King Penguin

Wow I love it.....now if they made a 21mm wide angle adapter for it I’d maybe change from my current M system and lenses.....it would be my perfect travel camera (and as I travel for 10 months of the year, I’d get good use out of it).

I’d even pay the probably eye wateringly price Leica would likely charge for such an adapter.....

9 months agopermalink

nightstreet

I prefer 35-40mm for travel/normal shooting, I guess I have to crop.

9 months agopermalink

lightandaprayer

I'd even go for a third-party wide-angle adapter. . . I've never used a 28mm in over 40 years of making pics but I think that I can adapt. Now that the sensor is larger the crop modes are much more appealing to me. But when traveling I use an UWA a lot so an adapter is a no-brainer purchase for me.

9 months agopermalink

MrHollywood

I can afford this camera. But the Leica business model doesn't interest me, nor does this camera. I'll send more money to Planned Parenthood to help cancer diagnosis instead.

9 months agopermalink

panther fan

@DPreview

Do the crop modes still show frame lines? Or can we change it to get the full EVF in crop modes?

9 months agopermalink

surelythisnameisfree

^This!!
Ricoh's crop mode implementation is so much better because of this

9 months agopermalink

Dan Bracaglia

Crop modes show the full 28mm field of view with frames lines.

9 months agopermalink

panther fan

Thanks for the answer. Would be nice to have the cropped view. Since I would use the camera in 35mm mode 90% of the time I would want the EVF to be that FOV

9 months agopermalink

Rensol

Call me crazy, but this is the first time I think the price is OK and justifiable.
The question is... how to buy it so my wife would not figure out how much I paid for it ... what to tell her when she asks what this one can do A7RII (I have) could not do?
:)

9 months agopermalink

Stick a Sony label over the red dot.

9 months agopermalink

ZeBebito

Bragging rights... legacy... history... all those arguments who won't mean anything when you actually take pictures.

9 months agopermalink

noirdesir

Frame rates are wrong, should be 10 fps not 20 fps as listed (full specs and comparison table). At least it says 10 fps on Leica's website.

9 months agopermalink

Dan Bracaglia

10 fps mechanical, 20 fps e-shutter

9 months agopermalink

Clavewifi

tempted to trade in my rx1rii for the Q2...and the winner is: Leica

9 months agopermalink

PWPhotography

Guess next version of RX1r III will base on the new Sony 60mp sensor, 16bit ADC and base ISO 64.

9 months ago*permalink

PWP: so your attention span didn't stretch to reading the specs?

9 months agopermalink

PWPhotography

? Yeah I read finally ;-)

DPR said "replaces the hugely popular original Leica Q (Typ 116), launched in 2015", really? How many original Q actually sold to be hugely popular?

9 months agopermalink

Foveonite

they were sold out in the first batch...

9 months agopermalink

PWPhotography

In limited quantity? how many totally sold?

9 months agopermalink

PWP: can I/we send you an invoice for “Educating an ignoramus that keeps asking increasingly irrelevant questions”? Can we expect pronto payment? Mind you, we normal people are expensive.

9 months agopermalink

PWP: 😂😂😂

9 months agopermalink

@PWP
It is unlikely that we will see a RX1(R) III in the future.

9 months agopermalink

justmeMN

"its JPEG profiles are some of the absolute worst I've seen in a modern digital camera." -DPR

So, even a $450 (with lens) Canon M100 will give you better JPEG colors. Sweet.

9 months ago*permalink

I think the last time I shot in jpeg it was 2005? It is a weak format only allowing 8 bits of data per pixel, while Raw is 12-14. In Photoshop, I can control a Raw file better than Puny Sissy JPEGs. Lol.🥴😜👍🤭🤔

9 months ago*permalink

So?

Want excellent jpegs, then get a Fuji or Olympus.

The Canon doesn't have the lens quality to match this Leica--nor does Fuji for that matter.

9 months agopermalink

NickyB66

And Fuji has some of the best JPEG files.

9 months agopermalink

JL Auch

Always loved the Q, and the firmware updates addressed some critical problems. The sensor was the largest let-down of the original, just like all Leica cameras, because the highlights would blow quite easily and be completely irrecoverable.

That said, I always felt the Q to be ill-proportioned. I get trying to squeeze a f / 1.7 "do everything" lens on there, but it is simply too large for a camera that should be a take everywhere "Travel" camera.

Essentially the Q, like all fixed lens cameras, is a glorified point and shoot. So when you slap this large piece of glass on their it really hampers the portability. I'd much prefer a 2.5 pancake lens.

9 months ago*permalink

Alan53

That specification chart must have been drawn up by a journalist rather than a photographer – a 1x Optical zoom indeed!

9 months agopermalink

Hmm. Actually I think having to work within the restrictions imposed by a single focal length would teach most of us to become better photographers.

Zooms are really useful, I've got 3 myself, but I shoot my best work when I have a fixed focal length lens on the camera - it forces me to try harder to get a good composition.

9 months ago*permalink

MarcoSartoriPhoto

Already own the Q, I can't afford this second version, but improvements don't seem to justify, at least to me, the purchase of the Q2.

9 months agopermalink

pro photo 2011

@MarcoSartoriPhoto

"... improvements don't seem to justify, at least to me, the purchase of the Q2".

The only correct part is "at least to me".

This is indeed a significant upgrade (47.3 MP full frame sensor, higher maximum shutter speed @1/40000 s, 1/2000 s flash sync, 4K video @24p/30p, C4K, weather sealing, OLED EVF, higher capacity battery) from the Q.

9 months ago*permalink

MarcoSartoriPhoto

sorry, but my sentence is correct because I specified "at least to me".
I personally don't need those added megapickles, nor that high shutter speed. I don't shoot videos. I have 6 spare batteries from the Sigma dp Quattro cameras I own. Weather sealing is a great new feature (but wihat about dust sucked when moving the lens from normal to macro position?).
An even better EVF is a nice addition too.
These two improvements are not enough to me to spend more than 4000 Euros to replace my old Q.
Someone else will suddenly find thhis/her old Q obsolete, on the other hand.

9 months agopermalink

Jersey Shore

Marco, my guess is that while ultra-high resolution is nice for many applications, the real motivation here is to give good results when using the 35, 50 and 75mm crop modes.

9 months agopermalink

lightandaprayer

Marco, assuming your current Q is in good condition, it shouldn't cost you $4000 to upgrade. But otherwise I get your point and I agree with you. . . There is no reason to spend the money if you are satisfied with your camera. There is way too much upgradeitis on this forum and the credit card companies are laughing all the way to the bank. (Oh wait. . . They ARE the banks!)

9 months agopermalink

pro photo 2011

@MarcoSartoriPhoto

Exactly.

That's why when you said: "... improvements don't seem to justify, at least to me, the purchase of the Q2".

I said: The only correct part is "at least to me".

9 months agopermalink

M Lammerse

Besides photography it's a great tool for testing out your marriage (that is when purchasing.)

9 months agopermalink

zeratulmrye

Just buy it without discussing with your wife. Then will you have a real test.

9 months agopermalink

philewar

That's what they call "Stress test".

9 months agopermalink

Gerardjan

it's better to say sorry AFTER the fact than.......

9 months agopermalink

adengappasami

buying a A7R3 and a 28mm F1.4 or 35mm F1.4 is not cheap either..not sure

9 months agopermalink

khunpapa

Test? Weakling!

Just slam down on the table the new DeBier Set for her. She never raises even a quiet whisper to me.

9 months agopermalink

Reactive

It'll be even more of a test when you tell her why you wanted a one-handed camera with great skin tones...

9 months agopermalink

Max Ander

I value my life to much to attempt that.

8 months agopermalink

du four

Buy your wife a diamond ring and then yourself the Leica - no issue.
Small print: if you belong to the very few who can afford one or both of it.

7 months agopermalink

HaoAndHui

You never know what happiness is until you got married, then it's too late.

7 months agopermalink

I am Nikon...But Interested in Renting for 3 Days ...Shooting only Street Photography Downtown Los Angeles.

9 months agopermalink

nandbytes

Could someone explain this
Digital crop - "Yes (1.2x (35mm equiv), 1.5x (50mm equiv), 2x (75mm))"

28mm X2 is 56mm and no where close to 75mm. Not to mention 1.5x is 42mm.

9 months agopermalink

noirdesir

The comparison table also is incorrect in some way on the ISO values. The RX1 II has a wider ISO range listed than the Q2 but the latter gets the green colouring.

9 months agopermalink

NickyB66

Too much of a compromise with the 28mm fixed lens, IMOH 35mm would have been better, even for the higher sensor spec.

9 months agopermalink

Even 28mm isn't wide enough for a lot of applications.
A 35mm would be even more limitting. You can always crop.

9 months agopermalink

Just One Card Slot? Not Professional at all! 🤭🥴😜🤔

9 months agopermalink

(unknown member)

Indeed, definitely not suitable for all the "professionas" here.

9 months agopermalink

photoMEETING

It was not easy to improve the Q.

Q2: Well done, Leica.

9 months agopermalink

SirPeepsalot

Pretty easy actually - the Q sensor is very meh.

9 months agopermalink

Photo_Genius

How can it do 1/40000 seconds shutter speed, does it have a global shutter like the Sony A9 (which can do 1/32000)?

9 months agopermalink

wasTF

both cameras do it with E-Shutter, so basically shutter stays open just the readout is 1/40000 or 1/32000

9 months agopermalink

Bacon2080

I like this q2 more than any other leicas...

9 months agopermalink

Other Than Medium..I believe this is Leica’s first Sensor 47mp (Sony For Sure) That is Not 24mp.

9 months ago*permalink

Nice camera!

9 months agopermalink

wasTF

So this is basically The Sony Sensor from the Nikon D850 ?

9 months agopermalink

Yep! The very same one ..(a jackass will come in here and be a troll and explain why it is not a Sony Sensor), in the Nikon And new Lumix S1R...

9 months agopermalink

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9600049212/sony-vision-over-profit/1#IP_Handling

It would only be the same if you think (but you'd be wrong ) that Sony would provide a sensor with a lot of Nikon design input to another camera manufacturer.

The D850 sensor is 46 Mp by the way.

This link might help you understand how it all works.

9 months ago*permalink

nandbytes

Don't mean to be a jackass but do we know for a fact that Panasonic uses a Sony sensor? I thought they made their own

9 months agopermalink

I see it didn’t take long..Welcome JA’s Michael And Nandbytes. Lol.

9 months agopermalink

Wow Poor Mike....even on this site ...MP can be stretched out. So D850 Sony Sensor cannot cropped less to 46 47? Poor Mike.

By the way Tech Mike...D850 is 45.7mp. Lol

9 months ago*permalink

wasTF

Its just simple, there are not many sensor factories that can produce high quality high volume sensors...

Canon makes their own
Sony makes their own and for Nikon, Panasonic, Leica and Pentax (k1 for example)

who else?

Obviously they are not entirely identical.. so what.

9 months ago*permalink

Sony makes senors for Lumix S1R 47mp Fuji’s GFS Medium Format 102mp.(It will be announced 100mp, But is actually total 102mp)Leica’s Q2 47mp, Sony... Nikon’s D800/E Nikon’s D810 36mp. Nikon’s D850 45.7mp. Sony A7rlll 42mp. Hasselblad uses Sony’s Sensors...in their Medium Format Cameras. Phase One IQ4 150mp by Sony.

9 months ago*permalink

Canon needs to stop making their own Dusty, less than Dynamic Sensors..and start using Sony’s.

9 months ago*permalink

cirta: Are you having fun? Good for you.

9 months agopermalink

Revenant

In the DPR database, the Nikon sensor is stated to be a 47 MP BSI-CMOS (but it only uses 45 MP). The Panasonic and Leica sensors are stated to be 50 MP CMOS (but they only use 47 MP). If it's true that the latter two have more total pixels on the sensor, and are not BSI, then it's not the same sensor.

It could still be a Sony, of course, but can we rule out TowerJazz? Panasonic is involved with them, and I believe they've made sensors for Leica before.

9 months ago*permalink

Revenant, NR reported, while Nikon is looking for Towerjazz, They had already committed to Sony, and refab by Townerjazz.

9 months agopermalink

Revenant

But can we rule out that Panasonic and Leica use a TowerJazz sensor? Surely it would have been a BSI sensor if it was the same sensor as in the Nikon?

9 months agopermalink

Who makes a sensor isn't all that interesting. Who designs it or, how much of the final design and the further down the pipeline processing and tweaking) is done by the customer, now that's interesting.

9 months ago*permalink

Sony Makes Excellent Sensors, I only wished that Sony would make a great Camera...The same goes for Sigma..They make some of the Best Lenses, Art Line, Up there with Otus, costing less, but weighs almost the same! Lol, wish Sigma would make a Great Camera!

9 months agopermalink

Revenant

Yes, I agree that the design is what matters. And the fact that the Nikon is BSI while the other two aren't, suggests that it's not the same design.

9 months agopermalink

No, this sensor isn't even close in terms of DR.

9 months agopermalink

ybizzle

Everything you need, and nothing you don't. The perfect street camera. Bravo Leica!

9 months agopermalink

smeisinger

If you only wouldn't need so much money for it though …

9 months ago*permalink

h2k

"Everything you need, and nothing you don't"
---
Indeed. Who'd need flash or articulating screen.

9 months agopermalink

A tilting (as opposed to fully articulating) screen would be nice for landscape work, and also for street photography although some people shoot the latter blind, from the hip.

But a tilting screen would probably be considered vulgar by Leica. They leave that sort of thing to Panasonic.

9 months ago*permalink

Easy Rider

An sl1 or sl2 with a 24mm f2.8 stm pancake is all you need for street. Spend the rest on several great trips...

9 months agopermalink

@entoman
With this kind of DR and the fixed 28mm it isn't really great for landscape work.
Besides, why would you buy this just to put it on a tripod and use a filter system on it?

9 months agopermalink

LJ - Eljot

Use sunny 16, shoot about the direction you want to image and, thanks to 47MP, do the intended cropping comfortably in post!

9 months agopermalink

Stopthe Gas - I agree with LJEljot.

It's stabilised so there is no necessity to use a tripod. The 28mm lens field of view is excellent for general purpose travel and landscape photography, and the image can easily be cropped for a narrower view, without sacrificing sharpness. And the sensor has very good dynamic range.

9 months ago*permalink

Phill-M

@h2k, a flash for street photography?
I hope you are a fast runner..

9 months agopermalink

KjellRS

Pretty much what I was thinking, but if I could only have one set of photography gear I'd pick an all-rounder that could use a zoom or telephoto lens when I needed it. If you usually work with a whole rig, want a small discrete street/travel camera and can spend $5000 on your second camera then go for it. Though to be honest I think anyone using anything other than a cell phone attracts attention today...

9 months agopermalink