LEICA Q2/Q3 : Watch this before you buy

Here are 7 things that I don't like about the Leica Q2. These are personal opinions and I am not discrediting the Leica Q & Q2 as a whole. It is just not for me.

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#streetphotography #leica

[mattwaller]

Very valuable review. I read so many "long term review" articles on the web expecting to get exactly this, and so often they're still just regurgitations of the spec sheet. You actually point out important discoveries in how the camera works in real life. Not that I can afford a Q2, but if I was considering one I would take all of this into account.

[-grey]

I like these kinds of deep dives into usability quirks. It might sound picky to some people, but fluid usability is so important over time. The less you fight with the tools in your life the easier life becomes.
For me 2, and 4 also affect Fuijfilm cameras. It's not so much about the price with them, but it nags at me that a brand who markets their jpegs so hard could miss these things. I just use Kelvin and the LCD only now, just to be sure, so there is a work around, but it could be better.

[samatkinsphotography]

Interesting. I bought the Q2 when it was first released but never gelled with it and sold it about 6mths later favouring my M10-P. But...Fast forward to the present and I now have a Q2 Monochrom and a Q2. The Q2M is a permanent addition to my daily life and always with me. The Q2 is consistently used as a back-up for second camera purposes to my SL2-S. The Q2, for me, doesn't work as well for street photography as I had imagined but, like life, it's all about adaptation. I'm a brand loyal type of person and I personally enjoy the aesthetics, the usage and the feeling that I get using the range. Thankfully there's so much choice out there and something for everyone.

[DylanRichards]

A lot of these are the reason I love the Q2 Monochrom. That solves all the colour-related issues, and I like the wide look (especially for street candid portraiture). BUT... now that I'm missing colour, I'm not at all interested in the Q2 to fill that niche. Never mind how noisy it is in low light. I'm actually planning on picking up the x100v (for the 3rd time ha!) instead.

[FormlessPhotography]

Literally everything said here is true and accurate. I definitely have each and every one of these annoyances along with the AF modes. I get that is a contrast detect system but the face and subject tracking boxes are extremely erratic at times making it impossibly inconsistent in certain situations. I’m on the fence about selling mine as well and seriously considering a Q2M as I’ve found myself enjoying shooting street in black and white. Great video with honest points. This is actually the only video that I’ve ever seen offering these criticisms. Keep up the great work my friend.

[irenedp]

I am a professional photographer, so I understand that I come from a different place. I have a Q1 since 2018, essentially for scouting. I must say that I haven’t noticed -nor would care much about- your annoyances. For instance, I shoot with the EVF and don’t use liveview, and I don’t shoot jpegs. I don’t care about the color shown on the evf because what matters is the base rendering on LR, and if the white balance is wrong it takes a second to correct I switched from a Fuji x100 f which had all kinds of buttons, film simulations and whatnot, because a) the lens was just the opposite of sharp, b) rhe ISO performance was a joke. The Leica has no no bells and whistles -nothing compared to the Z9 and the D850 I use for other work- but it has a beautiful lens, produces great quality images, and is easy and convenient to use. I would say that this philosophy extends to the M and S Leica series -maybe excepted the M11, which freezes… now, that would be an annoyance!-. So probably you should switch brands.

[joshuarothman]

Great video—I’ve stumbled across a lot of this stuff as well in my time with the Q2, and you're right that no other reviews mention them. Still, I guess everyone’s different—I love the camera more than any I've ever owned. I even quite like the slightly-wider-than-28mm focal length—it was a major reason I was willing to buy it! And I’ve learned to live with everything else, including the WB. For me, it’s still the best all-in-one camera. I love using the crop modes and never changing (or thinking about) lenses. Also, I think you can assign ISO to the FN button using the Customize Controls section of the menu. Customize Controls let you edit the list of functions that pops up when you long-press either FN or the wheel button.

[mrstring]

You can assign ISO to the FN button. Go into customize control, select FN Button and choose ISO from the drop down menu.

[andreasd]

Congrats to your decision, comming from your experience with the comparison to the XF 18 1.4 LM WR. It seems we had the last months a comparabel history in changing gear between functionality and luxury, with finaly similiar results. I will sell all my digital Leica equipment too in the next days and will go further on with a X-PRO3 + 18 1.4 + 33 1.4. The X-PRO3 is for me a camera which a "feel good" feeling too and high functionality. The two new Fujinon lenses are superbe and I miss nothing. The set remains cheep, compared to Leica equipment. Leica Q2, SL2-S and M10-R I have tested personally in 2020/2021. Yes, my feeling with those cameras was great, but the overall functionality was far away from what I like to have for my kind of making and taking images, by a much more higher price to pay for and absolutely comparable images to my Sony computer with Voigtländer E-Lenses. I've decided to make me free of the unvisible, imaginary and phantasy triggered Leica feeling & look and to concentrate me more on my images as such, with a Sony computer as working horse and a poor man's Leica for my feel good :-) When I look at my best pictures of the last three years, which make me feel the best when I look at them, then they were taken with all kinds of cameras from different manufacturers. So why look for "happiness" in a camera brand? We're photographers aren't we?

[kehlemusic]

Great Video! Your decision to sell the Leica is completely reasonable IMO. I had a M Typ 240 and after that a M10 and sold them both again after around two years. Maybe I just got bad luck, but I've never had that many annoying issues with any other brand. Both cameras froze up completely on a regular basis, so that you'd had to remove the battery and restart the camera -> Decisive moment my ass.
Live View modes we're far from anything I'd consider usable - Always jittery, sometimes extremely glitchy, sometimes even with weird artifacts(!?). Also Auto-WB was completely unusable in my case and I had many other smaller Issues along the road. I always loved Leica, their hardware is extremely nice, but (at least in my case) they were simply unreliable. I always felt that they are just too expensive for what you get. Im now fully set for Fuji (and some Nikon stuff) and couldn't be happier. I always feel like Fuji has become what Leica used to be back in the 80s or so.

[ALWH]

I bought a Q2 when it came out before the price hike. Really wanted to love this camera, the lens is wonderful, autofocus is decent, sensor is nice. The most inconvenient thing for me is the lack of tilt screen, this goes for all Leica. One of the major change I switched to mirrorless is using live view instead of EVF to shoot, specially shooting low. I shoot a lot of close up and the macro feature is perfect but it’s hard to shoot low to the ground item without tile screen. I was hoping I will switch from struggling with how many lenses to bring to go out and just one, but that hope hasn’t happened yet. This is a very unique camera, great but not for everybody. No camera is perfect, sorry Q2 doesn’t fit your needs.

[SamuelStreetlife]

First video of 2022! Wanted to post a different video but this is a left over from last year :) Happy new year everyone and see you soon!

[therealjoetoole]

Interestingly, none of your problems are my problems. I shoot raw, and use the evf exclusively, so I don't have the WB issues, or shooting with the screen. I NEVER use auto ISO. As for the 28 really being closer to a 24, you're right. However, Leica authority Sean Reid addresses that issues in his excellent Reid Reviews site, and doesn't have a problem with it at all. Good enough for him is good enough for me. My main issue with the Q2 is not an issue for you, I guess. The problem is, is that even with all touch screen functions off, I can still sometimes center the focus point when my nose touches the screen, (left eye shooter) which is ridiculous because all touch functions are supposed to be off! I work around it by focusing and re-composing. Sorry the Q2 didn't work out for you. It's almost perfect for me and I can see it being my workhorse for many years to come.

[johannesmiller]

Min. 8:00: no problem to amend the list of quick access functions (incl. ISO) for the FN button at all, see manual pg. 46. „RTFM“ 😉 I tried it, works flawlessly - there is no „limitation“ to this regard.

[gnuhapi]

Fun video Samuel. A lot of your peeves would not be relevant to me if I owned a Q2, since you are a professional and a perfectionist. I did buy a Q2 Monochrom and love it for the simplicity, ease of use and the quality of the RAWs. I did miss the ability to reach out and the occasional need to shoot color, so I bought an M-10R, a 50, 90, 35 and am waiting for a 28. Have sold a lot of Fuji lenses that I rarely used and am debating selling the X-Pro2, XE3 and X100V. While I enjoyed all the possibilities they presented, I realized that they were not being used, It's time to simplify life.

[HenleyBailey]

Had an M9, couldn't justify owning it and swapped to a Fuji X-E3 and Ricoh GR3, no regrets but also kind of regrets. The M9 is just so nice to use and the whole feel of photography being about the moment rather than focusing and menus etc I really miss. Also, sort of miss my Sigma DP2 Merrill, that's an amazing camera in very niche and specific ways. Kind of want an M9 and Merrill again... But maybe I'll just get the X-Pro 4 when it arrives... Or maybe I should spend more time taking photos with the gear I already have.

[karimnasser]

Interesting about the wider than 28mm image. I was about to buy a Q2 but what was holding me back was the wide 28mm focal length, I tend to shoot mostly between 35mm and 75mm, and mostly 50mm. If the Q2 is rather a 24mm than a 28mm then I won't even bother.

[kenb]

What an articulate intelligent analysis. I hope Leica are listening !

[kistovisback]

I'm in the other extreme when it comes to "niche" and "beautiful" cameras. I have an a6400 and the tamron 17-70. There's nothing I miss, the system does all I need it to do and does it very well. But every couple a weeks or so, I get the "beauty" craving and I start looking at the x100v's and the like. I've so far managed to stay strong and not give in to the temptation :) Maybe we all tend to want what we don't have.

[pmcbMadeInIreland]

Really informative, as ever, thanks a million. I have no need for a Q as my X-Pro2 and his little brothers/sisters serves me beautifully but I’m always interested in hearing about other camera experiences out of sheer curiosity. Health and happiness for 2022 to you and your viewers.