Yeah, I know. The Leica Q2 was announced in 2019 – 4 long years ago – and furthermore there’s a Leica Q3 now. So why am I wasting time posting about the Leica Q2 at such moment of our existence, you ask?

Well, it just so happened that back in September I had a 2 week break in Portugal. It was the most enjoyable time and the camera I brought with me was the Leica Q2. So I thought perhaps I could share my experience using this camera. This is not a camera review, just my user experience.

I don’t own this camera. I was never a big fan of the Leica Q series. It’s a good camera, it’s nicely designed, nicely build, it looks the part – as always, because this is a Leica. But I never considered shelling out my hard earned money for a Leica Q since its first iteration in 2015. Not sure why, but it just never triggered my emotions.

This Leica Q2 belongs to my other half. So while technically I don’t own this camera, it stays at our place and sits on the display cupboard together with ALL my other cameras. I can grab it and use it whenever I feel like it – just like all my other cameras. So, technically not my camera, but objectively also my camera. Whatever. You got the idea.

Two weeks: how did it feel?

Honestly? I didn’t fall in love for the Q2. It doesn’t feel right to me.

Initially I thought it was a case of more time needed to get used to it. But after spending two weeks together, there was no chemistry and I still don’t feel comfortable using this camera. You know when you feel connected to a camera, to the point it becomes an extension of your body and everything feels like second nature? Two weeks and I didn’t get there.

The handling

I don’t like the handling. The camera feels heavy and cumbersome in my hands. In theory, I am not supposed to get this feeling. I have larger and heavier cameras that I feel comfortable with. But somehow the Q2’s ergonomics don’t fit me.

And this was with the additional grip. With the genuine Leica handgrip attached to it, it’s supposed to give you a better grip. And it does, but I just never felt comfortable with. After a few days I decided to remove the grip altogether. Maybe without the handgrip – so I thought – the camera would become lighter and more comfortable?

Objectively, the body of the Q2 is designed like a typical M series body. However, the lens of the Q2 is not small and light like your typical M lens. This means that, while using a Leica M series camera you normally get a well balanced camera / lens combination (unless you attach a Noctilux), with the Q2 the feeling is not the same.

Let’s not forget the Q2’s magnificent 28mm f1.7 lens. It is not old school manual like an M lens: it has AF, focusing and aperture rings that are both by-wire, and all associated electronics. So it’s bigger and heavier. As a result, the camera feels front heavy in my hands.

I’m not even sure if, for me, the additional handgrip improves the handling or not. Ergonomically, the protrusion offered by the grip is far from perfect. You know Leica. Leica grips are design statements. Remember the one for the M9? I had one for my M-E and it never worked for me.

In the Leica Q2, with the handgrip attached, I was never sure how and where to place my fingers. Whereas without the grip, you get the typical rounded edge and smooth surface of the Leica camera body. It’s lighter and less bulky, but then it feels ready to slide out of your hand.

I’m not saying you are supposed to shoot single handed with this camera. This is not a point & shoot. But as a reference I have a Leica M-E and for some reason it feels better in my hand. Maybe because I use a thumb-grip? It surely helps to feel more secure. Maybe I should get one for the Q2.

The strap

I used the camera with the original Leica leather strap. It’s nice, it’s classy – and it’s a bit hard. So often times – looking back, I realize now – the strap would annoyingly get in my way whenever I raised the camera to shoot.

Perhaps I’m used to my soft touch Peak Design strap that I use in all my cameras. Peak Design straps are comfortable, light and soft. I’ve been using it for years now. They never get in my way. So here is my advice – don’t use Leica’s leather strap. It looks fantastic, it’s vintage styled, but maybe not user friendly. Not for me, at least. Not a show stopper for sure, just slightly annoying. It’s just a strap.

The rings and dials

The EV compensation dial is hard to turn. Again, not the end of the world. But harder that I’d like it to be. Not comfortable.

I understand the risk of accidentally turning the EV compensation dial – a common flaw in many digital cameras. Got it. But to mitigate this issue, need not go to such extremes.

I’m used to changing EV compensation without taking out my eye from the EVF, so that I can see the adjustment in live view. But I just couldn’t make it work with the Q2. The EV dial is hard to turn.

Then there is the AF ring in the lens. In the Q2, you select Manual Focus or Macro mode by pressing a button and then turning the focusing ring in the lens. Gosh, first time I tried doing it, I was like am I doing it right? I was afraid I was going to break something. I’ve seen better design for this feature in other cameras.

I know Leicas are built like a tank. I have an M-E and several Leica lenses. But none feel like this Q2 – designed for steel fingers.

The (frequent) occasional crash

I did not count exactly how many times it happened to me, but quite often in this two week break. I get this message in the screen saying “please turn the camera off and then on again”.

Did it affect my photo taking, did I miss any opportunity? No, not at all. Nor did I lose any data while files were being written in the SD card.

Did it annoy me? Maybe yes, but not much. Turn off the camera, then turn it on again. All back to normal.

I’ve read online that some Q2 owners have to remove the battery altogether to reboot the camera when it crashes. Not in my case.

The EVF

The EVF is very good, among the best I’ve used. It feels very natural. Apart from the high resolution (3.68M) the refresh rates are very good as well. There is no flickering when you move around or nail focus.

Yet something that took me a while to realize: the information displayed in the EVF (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc…) is shown with white fonts over a narrow horizontal black strip, top and bottom. But this black strip actually covers your filed of view. Strange. I’ve seen better applications – normally the view shrinks slightly in size and remains 100%.

If you want to be clinically precise with your framing, you actually have to turn off the information display. Otherwise, as said, you won’t get the full image view.

Altogether…

The strange grip and cumbersome handling, the hard leather strap getting on my way, the hard to turn EV compensation dial, the occasional crash… Altogether and in two weeks I didn’t fall in love with the Q2.

It didn’t work for me. These are small nuisances that, all combined, will lead me to favoring other cameras in lieu of the Q2. It’s got to do with my personal preferences and perhaps you would feel the opposite, rightly at home using the Q2, which is fine. But not me.

The good stuff: image quality

You would be right to think everything above is irrelevant when you consider the superb image quality from the Q2. Below some straight out of camera samples.

Image quality is extraordinary. The colours look great to my eyes. Everything else feels excellent. You are not to expect otherwise as this a Leica, right?

Shooting outdoors, there is a strong tendency to overexpose. This, again, is very common now with digital cameras. The easiest workaround is to simply use the EV compensation dial (yes, that hard to turn dial…) or go old school and adjust your shutter speed and aperture. Get the exposure right and you will be rewarded with the good stuff.

The Q2 gives you 47 MP to play with. That’s plenty of megapixels for most amateurs like you and me. It obviously means you can crop and reframe at home. In short, you can digitally zoom in.

I’m sure you heard about this special feature: press a dedicated button and framelines for 35mm, 50mm and 75mm will show up on the EVF on each press, over the native 28mm field of view that remains unchanged. It’s an interesting feature and a nice reference to Leica’s historical rangefinder past. Is it useful? Not sure.

To be fair

The problem here is that I can’t stop comparing the Q2 to my Sony RX1Rii that I featured here and here before. Both cameras share the same philosophy: full frame, high megapixel, fast fixed lens, designed for the ultimate performance matched with portability.

Portability. And this is the key thing. The Sony is considerably smaller and lighter. Carrying the camera for a whole day walking around a city or trail hikes – which is what I do when I travel – the Sony doesn’t bounce around your body like the Q2.

The Sony RX1Rii feels better in my hand, more agile and faster. I’m not saying it is faster – but it feels faster.

And then – and this comes down to my personal preference – the Sony has a 35mm focal length, as opposed to the Q2’s 28mm. I’m very much a 35mm guy, it’s by far my preferred length. Hence I feel immediately at home with the Sony.

I’m not saying 28mm is not good. You can even argue the wider view gives you more flexibility, you can crop-in to 35mm if need be. Whereas with the Sony you can’t crop-out from 35mm to 28mm… True, but this is personal preference. I feel more comfortable shooting with 35mmm and I’m definitely not good at 28mm.

Biased?

I guess you can say so. My experience using the Sony as a travel camera influenced my judgement using the Leica Q2 in this 2 week trip.

Still, nothing stops me admiring the Leica Q2 sitting in my cupboard together with my other cameras – yes, the Leica looks the part. In this regard, it beats the Sony hands down. And to be clear: I’m not saying the Q2 is form over substance. Performance-wise, the Q2 delivers the goods and is top notch.

However…

…unless I’m travelling to a place where a 28mm lens is a must, I’m sure the Sony RX1Rii will get my priority. Still my perfect travel camera to this day.