Anybody else using a Leica Q2?

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
Anybody else using a Leica Q2?

Too expensive for the average person, and also you are limited to one lens.
https://www.amazon.com/Leica-Q...-19050/dp/B07PPJ915T

Well, at least it is cheaper than a Phase One XF IQ4. This one costs around $50,000

You better have a lot of computing power and hard disk space for editing 150MB images.

Here is a list of the most expensive cameras, including antique ones that collectors buy (the newer mirrorless of 2020-2021 aren't shown on the list).
https://www.pixinfocus.com/most-expensive-cameras/

I am afraid I am not a fan of fixed lens cameras.

I always like a camera with a zoom lens.

I bought a Leica Q2 and yes, they are expensive, yes it has a fixed 28mm lens. I haven't yet taken more than one hundred images, meaning I am not yet familiar enough with the controls to do things reflexively, I have to think about every adjustment I make. 50 years with only Nikon cameras also means I also have to overcome my "Nikon controls" reflexes which I think are now part of my DNA.



At a birthday party yesterday I caught a niece's youngest boy playing in his new four wheel drive Mercedes.



What I like about the Leica, so far:

1) It's a mirrorless camera so much smaller and lighter than my Nikon D850, with just about any lens attached such as a Nikkor 28mm f/1.8G and the Leitz lens is better.

2) The controls are those I learned when I was a kid: you set the aperture on the lens ring, you set the shutter speed on the dial on the top of the body. The depth of field markings are on the lens, just like with an old manual focus lens. Aperture, DOF and shutter speed are visible without having to turn the camera on. I find this to be faster than turning on the camera and then subsequently running through the thumbwheel controls. You can of course go all electronic and dive into the menus to do it differently, but I still tend to control aperture and shutter speed. There's a histogram in the viewfinder so I can see it at all times in the event conditions change.

3) The build quality is the best I've ever seen on a camera. Fit and finish are exceptional. Because it's a fixed lens there are fewer entry points for dust and humidity. I'm guessing dust spots on the sensor won't be a problem.

4) The lens is very sharp, but of course it is.

5) The camera is basically noiseless. You can set it for electronic shutter with no noise, and it really makes no noise at all. Or you can set it for low noise and have a shutter noise which probably only the photographer can hear it's so low. A noiseless shutter is great when taking people pictures in close quarters. You really can catch subjects in candid, unaware and natural facial expressions and body language.

6) Flash synchronisation goes up to 1/2000th of a second. Base ISO is 50. I can use my flash at high noon with no problem, no need for the limitations of a High Speed Sync capable flash with a whopping output and its attendant size and weight. And the electronic shutter goes up to 1/40,000th of a second. This is not a typo.

7) All of the above would be incidental if the camera didn't produce quality images. I find I have to do less post-processing because the native color profile looks (to my eyes) just fine when opened in both Lightroom and Capture One 21. I generally just adjust the horizon, if skewed, crop to taste, and convert to jpeg.

The downside, compared to a Nikon D850:

1) The autofocus is not as fast (depending on the Nikkor lens used). It's still fast, just not quite as fast as a high end DSLR.

2) The autofocus system is not as cutting edge technology as the high end DSLRs. Face recognition isn't as consistent and it doesn't have eye-recognition. But I lived without face-recognition for a very long time, it's not a deal breaker for me.

3) I have used my Nikon CoolPix A camera for several years. It was my walk-around camera when on a hike or anytime I didn't want to be bothered with a massive DSLR and heavy, cumbersome lenses. It is smaller, but it has a 16MP APS-C sensor and the Q2 has full format sensor, a whole lot of megapixels and a Leitz Wetzlar lens. So I have been using a mirrorless fixed lens camera for a long time before getting the Q2.

The Nikon CoolPix A let me produce images like this:



I expect to do better with the Q2.

Fantastic pictures

Thank you Saeed. But one last thing, converting to a black & white seems to be easier (better?) than with my Nikon NEF files.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I am afraid I am not a fan of fixed lens cameras.

I always like a camera with a zoom lens.

Wink's photos are quite nice!

But I am with you about fixed-lens cameras at the Q2's price range. In relation to fast-focus and things like that, several very expensive medium format cameras lack those features (fast and accurate focus, eye focus, and so on). But they do produce very nice images because of the high MP sensors, most of which exceed 50MP by a long run. The problem is that editing such large images require more computer power, and hard disk space.
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Wink: your Q2 should be a perfect landscape camera, specially if you want to print real large photos.

Take a look at this table, although your Q2's sensor surpasses the largest one shown:
https://improvephotography.com...th-megapixel-camera/

With some friends we did a 3-day bicycle trip in the Loire River valley. We stopped for a bag lunch in a little town called Candes-Saint-Martin and I snapped a couple of shallow draft boats on the river bank.




I heartily recommend bicycle touring in this region of France.

Beautiful photos,as always, from Wink.

TT

quote:

Beautiful photos,as always, from Wink.

Indeed.

Wink is a pro.

He takes incredible pictures, because of his ability.

I take lots and lots and lots.

And pick the better ones

Great photos as always!
Love the stone house and the snow covered mountain is a wonderful picture.
Both it and the boats make me feel like I am there!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Wink is a pro.

He takes incredible pictures, because of his ability.

I take lots and lots and lots.

And pick the better ones

Saeed, my secret is to only show the good ones. After a couple hundred thousand photos you start to get a better feel for what works.

Here's something you don't see everyday. I attended the World Rafting Championships (it happened to be near where my daughter lives) and of course had my camera around my neck. This guy came zooming down the footpath with an incredible videography setup and a single wheeled sort of powered skateboard for locomotion. He surprised lots of people since it was totally silent.





I have no idea how this thing works and what difficulty might be involved to stay upright. But falling down apparently is not an option.

For sure!

Very sad no one there to help him.

For scientific reasons of course!

There was a young man riding one of those down the street here in Vegas a couple of days ago. He was really flying along!