Let’s Roll!

Jan 30

After parting ways with the Fuji X100V, I continued to explore various options, including other Fuji models and Sony cameras, but none felt quite right. So, I spent the rest of January looking for something else that might fit my newfound needs. Eventually, my search led me to Samuel Elkins' YouTube channel and his video comparison of the X100V and the Leica Q2, which almost immediately elevated my interest in Leica's digital range of cameras. After watching the video, I opted to rent a Q2 at the beginning of February.

My timing was, truthfully, and unexpectedly, perfect. The Q2 arrived just hours before a gnarly winter storm hit the Texas Hill-Country covering everything in ice. This meant I couldn't travel to work, thus giving me an ideal chance to compare the Leica to that of my Nikon D500. Much to my surprise, and delight, though not to the delight of my checkbook, the Q2 performed great. So much so, that towards the end of 2022, I actually bought a Leica Q2 Reporter.

Anyway, in this post, I'll delve into my likes and dislikes about the Q2, offer some overall feedback, and share both images and notes from my week-long experience with the D500 and the Q2.

Let’s roll!
-Tyler

What I liked:

The build quality on the Leica is absolutely phenomenal, as is the fit and finish. I rented the standard version of the Q2, and my God, it’s built like a dang tank.
The weight. It is not as light as the X100V, but its weight feels right and again, lends it to feel very sturdy. “Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work you can always hit them with it.” - Boris the Blade
The 28mm Summilux lens is, arguably, one of the best and sharpest lenses that I have ever used. Even when shooting wide-open, it is tack sharp. Plus the bokeh is beautiful.
The IBIS is great and certainly helps when needing to shoot at a slower shutter speed.
The design is simple and the controls are extremely straightforward. I love the dedicated dials and the tactile feedback they provide.
The raw DNG files are a thing of beauty, and I truly love the Leica color science. I also like that when shooting in one of the faux zoom modes that the crop is automatically applied in Lightroom.
The Leica FOTOS app is great, and works so much better than Nikon’s Snap Bridge.
The Macro ability surprised me, and I found myself using it a lot.
The 46.7mp sensor.

What I didn’t like:

Having to return it, feeling an almost immediate void, and subsequently having to contemplate my life choices for the better part of the year.

Randomness:
During my initial time spent with the Leica Q2, it proved itself to be a solid workhorse and a camera that far exceeded any of the expectations that I set for it. I used it in conjunction with my standard Nikon setup, a D500 with a 17-50mm 2.8 lens, as a means to make the test drive a fair one. Even though the Q2 has a fixed 28mm lens, it was able to cover, thanks to its 46.7mp sensor, the entire range that I was able to get with the D500. (Granted, via cropping in post, but even the cropped images were still larger than the original and comparable Nikon shots.) The Q2, for me, just flat-out worked for everything I needed it to do, and in a much smaller package. While the X100V managed to spark up my creative mindset again, the Q2 threw gasoline on it, and caused the spark to turn into a fully fledge creative inferno.

Despite how much I loved the Q2, and knew it was what I wanted, it still took me roughly 8 months to work up the courage to pull the trigger on an actual purchase. And honestly, it wasn’t even due to the price-point. It was more or less due to the fact that I had been shooting Nikon for roughly two decades and was just so used to the Nikon ecosystem. I even contemplated switching to Nikon’s Z system, just because it was familiar, but at the last minute stopped myself because it would not have been the solution to my original problem – pairing down and getting back to the basics. So, I eventually sold off all of my Nikon gear, and pulled the trigger on a Leica Q2 Reporter. I haven’t looked back since, and I damn sure don’t regret it. The Q2 is now my only camera, and I cannot see myself ever, at least willingly, parting with it. With that being said, it was the Nikon gear that I utilized for 20 years that helped me put food on the table and capture some of the best moments of my life.

The First Outing / All Leica Q2 Images