Leica Q2 Digital Camera (19050)

Update: Check the price before buying. This camera should be around $5000 but some resellers are selling for as much as $1000 more. Shop carefully. Original: I have recently re-discovered photography. Last year I picked up a Sony A6400 and a couple lenses. Although I certainly appreciated the Sony build and picture quality, the camera was too much for what I was looking for. I wanted something smaller and didn't want to have to carry multiple lenses and think about which I wanted to use for each photo. I sold the a6400 and replaced it with a Sony RX100 VII which is (for my usage) the a6400 in a smaller package with a single zoom lens. The RX100 VII takes excellent photos, it's super small, very pocketable. Overall this is the perfect camera with the only exception being the 3 million settings in the 2 million menus. I found I was generally shooting in full auto mode more than not but I wanted to be able to get more artistic with my photography and longed for a more minimal menu system and user experience. I looked around alot and the Q2 never really popped up on my radar right away but, once it did, I watched every video I could on it. It was certainly a risk for a $5000 camera but it seemed to me that the user experience was much more minimal, the controls on the camera seemed more immediate and to the point. I dove in - bought it here - and was amazed and knew I made the right choice from the first moment I held it. The camera is absolutely solid. The photos are amazing. The user interface (software) is clean and minimal and there are no extraneous settings. Unlike the Sony, you actually have a chance of understanding what each setting does and it's quick to find things you're looking for. However, now that I've had the camera for a month it is pretty well setup for me, and I rarely have to go into any menu anymore. The camera is very fast to use. I have two user profiles setup that are mostly similar with the exception that one is color and one is high-contrast black-and-white. They are very easy to switch between as needed. There is just enough ability to customize buttons and dials on the body. The best thing about the Q2 is that I don't have to pre-decide aperture priority or shutter priority - I just turn the dials as I want them and the camera does the right thing. If I want to change the aperture I simply do it - using a physical dial/ring - the camera knows what I'm doing. I equate this to, if I'm thirsty, I just get a drink. I don't have to tell the glass and the bourbon that I want a drink before I get a drink. I just get the drink! immediacy is key. The tactile feedback of this camera simply makes photography more fun and inspiring than I've ever experienced before. It feels amazing. Would I be happier if it was a tiny bit smaller and a wee bit lighter? Yes. But you quickly get used to it. I purchased the Leica thumb support (because I wanted an exact match for the design) and an extra battery. The strap that comes with it is pretty nice quality. I picked up a third-party leather wrist strap and titanium clips to make changing from neck to wrist straps easy. That's really all you need with this camera. I never shoot with a flash so no need for that. I never shoot with a tripod so no need for that. This is the most compact camera kit I've ever had. The lack of ports actually makes it wonderful - no extra cables needed. The Lecia FOTOS app on iOS works really well. With the Sony I always have to fight to try to get the phone to connect to the camera. The Leica just connects and then allows me to transfer photos to my phone for instant backup/sharing, etc. Overall, the workflow of this camera is simple, clean, and doesn't get in the way of the art itself! THAT is KEY! Regardless of the fact that "it's a Lecia" - this is the perfect camera for someone who enjoys the art of photography, wants to shoot digital, and not have to fight with the hardware and software. I'm very happy with the Q2 and can't wait to be un-locked-down so I can take it out further into the world.

If you are a true believe in "simple is best" I cannot think of a camera that is better, period. Optically superb, its 47mp sensor will afford more details than you will ever need. Instead of troubling you with zoom, this camera forces you to think more simply, and "shoot now and crop later". Its 28mm wide angle lens is more than adequate in most situations, and you can crop the image quite a lot yet maintaining details. You can always take 3 shots vertically to be stitched together. Shortly after getting this camera, I took it on a 2-week trip through Italy. I also brought the Leica SL with 24-90. Out of a few thousand pictures I took, I used the SL for less than 100. It is now my go-to camera for many situations from going on a hike to dinner parties (pre-COVID, anyway) Sure, it's an overkill for 99% of use cases, but knowing that it has the extra power, you can become more confident it being the one and only camera to be carried. Price-wise, it's like you are getting a top-quality 28mm lens, with a free body. Sure, it's expensive, but far more economical and much lighter than comparable alternatives.

Added this to my digital arsenal. Being trained in film back in the day, I am still about the print, this camera produces great images at 16x20, I’m also shooting with a hasselblad x1d — both awesome cameras but different applications. The Q2 is fast, quiet and sharp. Living in a wet area I appreciate the sealed version of this camera. Easy to learn and master. UPDATE: After shooting this camera for awhile, and printing some of its images myself, I’m impressed. Nice color range, raw files are about 140Mb, plenty of clarity for 16x20”s. Extremely sharp, fast camera 📸. I also shoot a Hasselblad X1D, files are larger and hold up better than the Q2 when printing. I take the Q2 with me everywhere, I use the x1d when I’ve the time to set up and really explore an image. The Q2 is a really nice camera - I will continue to explore with it.

Good to go to camera with pretty good lowlight power and solid day stills. I had Leicas before and with m9 had that sensor back in a days. I did like the glass(basically only reasonable price value) the rest is for kids or lazy ones. Price of it is out of this universe, fixed glass, lack of hand speed, just a superb point and shoot camera for the price of used cars.

I’ve taken this camera to 28 countries and shot 35,000 photos and I still love it. This camera helped me rediscovered my love for photography that no other camera has in the past. Usually after a week with a new camera, the honeymoon phase is over. This camera, I feel that every time I pick it up.. buy a camera that makes you want to take more photos. Buy a camera that you want to take with you everywhere. This isn’t a big bulky DSLR that you only take out on special occasion or events or you always keep in a bag. This will be around your neck all of the time.. unless somebody steals it because this thing is SO nice.

Camera couldn't switch between macro and regular mode. Very disappointed.

This is a piece of art and also a camera. The picture quality is outstanding, and the color render is fantastic. Almost US$ 6,000 looks like, in the beginning, too much, but after you start taking pictures, I believe worth every penny.

When you spend $5000 on a fixed lens camera, even if it’s half the price of an M, you have the right to expect a lot. I come from a 50 year career in photography, selling cameras for arguably a premier Leica dealer in the 1970s. I own several M cameras (film) and several lenses. I think I know what to expect. So, having had the Q2 for less than a day, here are some initial opinions and a few comments on buying a Leica on Amazon. What I’ve noticed that I don’t like: Although the menu is simplified (compared to other camera), finding your way around is often dependent on certain settings. It took me 10 minutes to get to ISO setting when it wasn’t grayed out. The focus lock (to get out of AF or in) you have to press a tiny button that is hard to find and press easily. If you don’t press it, you may not be in autofocus when you think you are. Camera comes with a lens hood with a loose slip on cap. You don’t get a lens cap that fits on the lens, just the one that fits the hood. When it falls off, you’re probably going to be pissed at the replacement cost. And the hood screws on and doesn’t line up unless you give it a hard twist. Nothing to show you it’s lined up other than a good guess or tightening it harder than you might like. Leica uses their own hot shoe design. Unless you lay out hundreds for a Leica flash, another brand will only work manually, no TTL. Good luck seeing the red A for automatic shutter or aperture. It’s not much lighter that the black surface it’s on. The good: it’s a Leica. This is not a lightweight point and shoot. It’s a tank. You get 47 mp at 28mm, so cropping down to 35, 50, or even 75 gets you a reasonably sharp result. Zoom lenses are a product of the digital age. If you wanted one for a Leica, you bought a Nikon or Canon with a Vivitar lens. Some design factors are typically Leica. No battery door, so you can change batteries in the dark without looking (assuming you’ve laid out $275 for a spare battery). Electronic viewfinder that actually works well. Focus aids that fringes items in focus. Quiet, quick, unobtrusive (except for that red dot that says your holding on to a chunk of change). Manual aperture and shutter speed like it was in the film era. Bright touch screen. I’ve quickly discovered why I’m loving this camera. You can buy an M camera for almost twice as much, but a lens will cost almost as much as the Q2 in addition. What you end up with is still a manual focus, manual aperture camera with ‘digital’ film. The Q2 allows you to easily operate manually or an automatic ‘point and shoot’ camera. The Q2 is as much a piece of art or jewelry as it is a camera. It even comes in a box that looks like a jewelry cabinet. Thus my disappointment receiving a camera that was obviously used, or an open box return at best. (See photos). And my advice buying one on Amazon, although my rating is solely based on the camera, not the vendor or fulfillment. When I’m spending more than a few hundred dollars on something I make sure of two things. It comes from an authorized dealer (or Amazon), and it must be ‘Prime’. Otherwise, when you get what you don’t expect, you don’t have the benefit of returning it without questions, or getting hit with a restocking charge. With Leica, there is not a registration card in the box, and as long as you’re buying a legit camera (yes, I’m sure some vendors still sell Grey market cameras), Leica will honor their warranty. I’m sure when I get a fresh unit (this one looks new, but I question why someone would return a Q2 unless something was wrong with it), and I have some time to get used to it, I’ll have a better opinion and will update my review. Don’t consider this a vendor review. I deliberately didn’t name the vendor. I’ll leave one there once I resolve my fulfillment issues. UPDATE: Received fresh camera from another vendor. What a wonderful camera! In fact, after a disappointing time with an M9 a few years back, this camera is close to perfect. The only thing I would consider giving it up for would be a Q2 Monochrom. 🤤 Besides that, a cap that wasn’t destined to get lost would be nice. The one they give you is about 1/4” too shallow. And maybe flash contacts that could use a non-Leica, less than $500 flash. What is it? CF21 or CF23? You could sell them for $150 instead of forcing people to buy a used one on eBay. I don’t need the red dot either. I can tell it’s not a LUMIX.