Is the Leica Q2 right for you?
Leica recently announced the Q2, a 47MP rangefinder-style digital camera with a super-sharp, fixed 28mm F1.7 lens. It’s a heck of a lot of fun to shoot with – if you can afford the $ 4995 price tag – but is it right for you? Based on our time with the camera, and its specifications, we’ve examined how well-suited it is for common photography use-cases, including:
- Candid and Street photography
- Travel photography
- Family and Moments photography
- Landscape photography
- Portrait photography
- Video
Leica Q2 for Street photography
Leica cameras have been associated with street photography as well as photojournalism for generations, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Q2 is well-suited for capturing candids. Its 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens is not only impressively sharp, it’s also stabilized for hand-held shooting, in low light.
The camera offers two ways to set an autofocus area, either via the touchscreen or the rear four-way directional pad: whichever you choose, point movement and overall AF responsiveness is excellent. There is no touchpad AF option when using the Q2 with your eye to the finder, though, only the directional pad.
If you’re more of a purist, go ahead and manual focus: the focus ring is well damped and really quite pleasing to turn. The camera offers two focus assist tools: Auto Magnification and Focus Peaking (available in a variety of colors) – one, both or neither can be turned on. There’s also a hyperfocal scale on the lens barrel.
The 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens is not only impressively sharp, it’s also stabilized for
hand-held shooting
Being neither seen nor heard is important for street photographers. The Leica Q2’s leaf shutter is nearly silent and its electronic shutter is completely silent, though you may encounter some rolling shutter. The former can sync with a flash up to 1/2000 sec. There’s no in-camera flash, but a strobe can be attached to the Q2’s hotshoe.
The Q2 has a new 3.68MP OLED electronic viewfinder that’s a major improvement in terms of detail and color over its predecessor, which used a field sequential-type display. Its 3″ 1.04-million dot rear touch display is also lovely to compose with, but the lack of screen articulation limits your ability to compose from the hip.
28mm can sometimes be too wide, especially in instances when ‘zooming with your feet’ isn’t possible. For these moments the Q2’s ‘Digital Frame Selectors’ or ‘crop modes’ are quite handy. The camera offers 35mm (30MP file), 50mm (15MP file) and 75mm (6.6MP file) crop options. When selecting one you’ll still see the full 28mm field of view, just with corresponding frame line for the crop you’ve chosen. If shooting Raw+JPEG, the former saves a full-resolution file with the crop applied, the later will be a cropped-in file.
Back to IntroPhoto by Carey Rose
Leica Q2 for Travel photography
When it comes to travel photography, you want a camera that’s not going to let you down. Battery life, weather-sealing, versatility of focal length and low light capability are all factors worth considering: after all, this might be your one chance to get that shot.
Overall, the Q2 has solid battery life. It’s rated 370 shots per charge (CIPA), but as usual our experience suggests you’ll likely be able to get closer to double that number, depending on how you shoot. Unfortunately, the Q2 has no ports, so there’s no in-camera charging: you’ll have to pack the charger in your bag.
One of the most significant upgrades the Q2 received was the addition of weather and dust-sealing. It’s officially IP52 rated which means it should be able to tolerate some drizzle and/or encounters with particulate matter.
The Q2’s biggest detractor from being the ultimate travel camera is its lack of zoom
The Q2’s biggest detractor from being the ultimate travel camera is its lack of zooming capability. Sure the 35mm, 50mm and 75mm in-camera crop options are handy, but the latter is fairly low resolution: 6.6MP. So if you have any desire to shoot at a truly telephoto focal length, the Q2’s not for you.
On the other hand, the Q2’s lens should have you covered in low light. The 28mm F1.7 Summilux is fast and darn sharp, even wide open. And the camera’s new 47MP sensor should offer a good deal of dynamic range for shadow lifting – but further testing is needed to confirm this.
But at the end of the day, what’s the point of traveling if you can’t upload and share your photos? The Q2 offers low power Bluetooth to keep your device paired so you can easily transfer photos via WiFi as needed. The only down side here is the Q2’s default JPEG profile is somewhat lackluster, so you may want to run your image through a favorite mobile editing app before posting. No word yet on whether you can transfer DNGs.
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Photo by Scott Everett
Leica Q2 for Family and Moments photography
One of the most important questions to ask yourself when shopping for a camera to capture special moments is, ‘Will this camera make me want to reach for it when heading out the door? Will I want to bring it along?’
We think the Leica Q2 fits the bill well – it looks gorgeous and is not too big nor is it too heavy. Plus it should be able to stand up to some abuse thanks to its magnesium alloy body and moisture/dust-resistant construction.
The combination of excellent manual focus and fast/accurate autofocus gives you versatility to take your time or speed things up
We also feel the combination of an excellent manual focus experience and fast/accurate autofocus gives you versatility to take your time and compose, or speed things up. That being said, other cameras on the market offer highly-reliable tracking/Face Detect modes that will essentially remove focus from the equation, if you so desire. These cameras are generally easier to use and are a better option if you’re a novice looking for a family/moments camera.
We’re also not terribly impressed by the Q2’s rendition of skin tones in out-of-camera JPEGs, they tend to look neutral and unsaturated to the point of being unflattering – for best results we suggest processing Raw files. If you’re not comfortable working with Raws, there are other cameras with lovely JPEG engines that will suit you better.
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Photo by Scott Everett
Leica Q2 for Landscape photography
A rangefinder-style digital camera may not be your first thought when considering a camera for landscape work, but the Q2’s impressively sharp lens (corner-to-corner), compact size and high resolution sensor make it a fine option. Furthermore, we hope its base ISO of 50 gives an advantage over the competition when it comes to dynamic range (but again, more testing is needed to confirm).
The Q2’s impressively sharp lens, compact size and high resolution sensor make it solid choice for landscape
And as previously mentioned, the camera has some degree of dust and moisture resistance – it also offers good battery life. There are however some ergonomic considerations for landscape shooters, namely, the lack of a flip-out screen. It’s also nearly impossible to open the card or battery door with the camera mounted on a tripod. Additionally, the lack of light-up buttons may make adjusting settings a challenge in the dark.
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Leica Q2 for Portrait photography
28mm is obviously not a traditional portrait focal length, and if you’re a stickler for shooting portraits with such, well, the Q2 really doesn’t make much sense. But for those willing to bend the rules, 28mm and 35mm (via the ‘Digital Frame Selector’) can easily be used for photojournalism-style environmental portraits, like the one above. The Q2 also offers 50mm and 75mm crop modes, but at resolutions of 15MP and 6.6MP, respectively.
If you’re a stickler for shooting portraits with a traditional portrait focal length, the Q2 really doesn’t make much sense
A top flash sync speed of 1/2000 sec also makes this camera a good choice for daylight portrait work using strobes. However the lack of an Eye AF mode means you’ll need to move a focus point over your subject to maintain a sharp image – or use manual focus.
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Leica Q2 for Video
You might think it’s a little silly to include video as a use case for a rangefinder-style camera, but don’t be too quick to chuckle – the Q2 shoots stabilized DCI or UHD 4K/30p footage though a ridiculously sharp lens capable of delightful manual focus pulls. Plus, you can easily tap to focus. It’s also capable of Full HD shooting at 120p for slow-motion clips and its new base ISO of 50 could translate to less need for an ND filter when shooting in bright light.
The Q2 shoots stabilized 4K/30p footage though a ridiculously sharp lens capable of delightful manual focus pulls
While you’re probably not going to win the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival with a movie filmed on the Q2, it should be more than usable for run-and-gun style shooting. Just don’t get too fancy because there are no ports of any kind – that’s right, no headphone, microphone, HDMI or even USB connection.
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The Wrap
Ultimately, if you don’t mind the Leica Q2’s fixed lens and touchscreen, it is a great choice for a wide variety of photographic disciplines including street, travel and family photography. It also makes a handy all-in-one landscape camera. And while its 28mm lens can be used for wide angle ‘environmental portraits,’ it’s probably not the right choice for most portrait photographers. Same goes for videographers: its footage is usable, but other cameras will suit you better.
Of course, more testing is needed to know exactly how the Q2 lines up to its competition. For now, read our Leica Q2 First Impressions, and we look forward to publishing a full review soon.
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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
