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Drawn to the Q2...


john clark

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Hi folks, I'm a long time member (can't believe I've been here (or on the old site) since 1999!) but been away from the site for a good few years. Now that I'm rekindling an interest in photography I'm exploring what I really need and how to keep things simple.

 

I'm drawn to the idea of the Leica Q2, as much because it will remove some of the choice from photography (i.e. which lens to take) and let me get away from the multi-buttoned confusion that is my current camera (Fuji XT2). One lens, simple controls, high quality, something that will get out of the way of the image creation process. Q2 is that camera.

 

I just wanted to hear from other Q2 users about their daily experiences with the camera - good bits, bad bits, whether you'd buy it again, that kind of thing. Specifically from the angle of a tool that gets out of the way.

 

My favourite compositional form is the square, and the high res full-frame sensor gives me lots of cropping options for high quality square-format photos. I'd be especially pleased to hear from Q2 users that prefer to crop to the square. Do you find it works well for this (by my calculations the 28mm becomes roughly a 50mm effective focal length when cropped to the square).

 

I enjoy my XT2 but the mistake I made was adding loads of lenses, and I always seem to end up taking a single lens with me when I head out. And its many buttons still occasionally land me in hot water (even after having the camera for around six years). I'll keep it, but sell some of the lenses, to help fund the Q2. One of my all-time favourite cameras I owned was the Contax G2 - I loved that camera, and in a way I see the Q2 as sort of the digital successor to the G2, strange though that sounds. I hope that the Q2 can 'get out of the way' in the way I always found the G2 could back in the film days....

 

Thanks!

 

PS. Not sure if this is the best place for the question, given that the Q2 is a Leica but is not a rangefinder...

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I hope someone will pitch in. The price of the Q2 is too high for me to play along, but I certainly see the attraction and understand your argument for going that route.

My more economic approach was to get an X100f and do a set-and-forget configuration. It is set up as a X100F "monocrome". The many buttons won't go away but I don't have to think about anything. If I really had taken on to digital, I would probably have considered the Q2 but film photography is still what gives me most enjoyment, despite all its shortcomings.

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Niels
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First up, have you considered the original Q? It has the exact same lens. And the sensor is pretty good. You will end up with a 16Mpx file once you've cropped it - but that is more resolution than you think it is. I've only just recently swapped over from 16Mpx cameras to 20Mpx cameras.

 

The thing about the Q series is that it is much better value than an M if you want a complement to your other gear. For example, I shoot with Olympus cameras. But, I thought maybe I could get an M and a couple of short lenses for, say, parties or what not, where I'm close to what I'm shooting. OTOH, why not just get a Q? Sure, you could do the same photos with a phone, but you aren't getting any latitude in the case of poor exposure, or low ambient light, or high contrast scenes, etc.

 

The 116 is probably cheaper than either an M9 or an M 240. And you get the lens with it.

 

As to NHSN's point, I would be shooting more film if it didn't cost so damned much to process and scan properly. I almost thought of buying an M4 or M7 for the situations I mentioned above. But what made me change my mind wasn't the cost of the cameras, it was the cost of the film.

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Similar to yourself I have been away from photography for a few years and rekindling the hobby, I was a original Q user at the time and have come with the Q2 as my camera of choice.

 

So simply put if you want a sealed camera this is the one to get, if you want the quality of the lens then a Q will do an amazing job, the major benefit of the Q2 for me is the ability to crop as you have outlined. I have posted a pic on photo of the week which was taken from a fair distance.

 

So brass tax if you have lots of money get the Q2 if you want to sell a few lenses and put some cash in your pocket get the Q - honestly just get the Q2 and ignore my sensible advice you will love it.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Went through the same thing a couple years ago.

I just didn’t seem to be able to find a digital camera I clicked with and after 25 years of film photography I drifted away about 2005.

Then three years ago a friend let me play with his Q…I was hooked and purchased one within a week.

Love it. After years of hauling around a 20lb camera bag I find the one lens concept very freeing…instead of sweating over which lens to use I look at a scene and decide how to shoot it to best effect with the lens on the camera.

I’ve owned an M6 kit, R3 kit and various Nikon’s…the Q rates with the best of them.

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  • 1 month later...

I shot with the Q2 Monochrom almost daily for 4 months and then sold it for the M10M. I really wanted to like the Q2M and the images I took with it is beautiful especially at f/1.7. What I didn’t like was the autofocus. Basically the Q2 AF is most dependable is when you look through the VF or the rear screen, press the shutter half way so the little rectangles light up confirming what is in focus. If you shoot this way then by all means it’s an excellent camera. But if you shoot fast like in a street situation where the subject is in the frame whether in mid frame or closest to the lens where you expect the camera to properly focus depending on the chosen focusing mode then the camera will disappoint you by locking on some random part of the frame. The camera works best with single point focusing dead center and your subject is also dead center but still the focus point will wander and from time to time you need to check if it isn’t at some corner because it can’t be locked in place. So…for street and fast shooting a NO. For all other subject matter a big YES.

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I was thinking about a Q2 myself but couldnt justify the cost, although honestly I no doubt have more tied up in all the cameras & lenses I own, and could certainly sell some stuff to at least partially finance a new Q2. Recently, tho, I bought a Fuji X Pro 2, hoping I can do some level of "set it & forget it", and just shoot manually with no BS and 100&% natural color... It arrived in the mail today, and I just got my first shots off... Had some issues of course, not knowing the menus and settings, but did shoot it manually and sorted a couple things on the fly. I've another thread in this forum about it and will post some pix and stuff over there.

 

For the OP, @john clark , have you considered renting a Q2 to give it a go? I always THINK I might rent a prospective camera/lens to test it out, but in the end never have. 

 

BEST LUCK tho. 

Edited by Ricochetrider
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