Click on the above image to see it full-size and be in awe of what the Q2 can do.
The Leica Q2 Monochrom is sometimes derided by online commentators as a highly overpriced posers camera. All flash and no substance. Why on earth buy one when there are so many excellent alternatives which are equally capable? But are they?
Yes, some people buy the Leica Q2 Monochrom because they are ‘into cameras’. They like machinery and devices and nice-looking things. They are not ‘real photographers’ but I am and I have a Leica Q2 Monochrom and I can categorically state that this camera is better described as a highly effective utility camera more than a glamorous accessory for the well-off pseudo photographer.
How is it so effective? It is the ability to crop the image so mercilessly and yet still retain such excellent image quality which allows one to take very effective street photographs. This is what the large 47-megapixel sensor is designed for: to be cropped. To effect digital zooming. It should and can be used to great effect to attain good depth of field and a sharp image that has been captured very rapidly and instinctively.
Although using the camera in fully automatic mode and relying on autofocus is great, you can use the camera entirely manually and employ the hyperfocal distance by setting ISO to 800 in bright weather, stop down to F8 or F11, select one 500th of a second of one 1000th of a second exposure and use manual focus to find the hyperfocal distance so the image is sharp from about 5 feet to infinity. You can walk around and almost invisibly grab photos at will in seconds. P.S. You can lock autofocus at the hyperfocal distance using the custom control menu and using the small button at the top/back.
Sometimes I use the camera off the eye to make people usure as to whether you are taking a photo or not. This is effective as framing is wide with the 28mm lens.
And sometimes I use the motor drive to make it easier to grab that ‘decisive moment’ when the composition is the best and the facial expressions the most telling. This is useful when taking portraits and the subject is moving around.
Of course the camera is also great for any other subject matter requiring fine quality or very large prints. You don’t need 47 megapixels for publishing images online or in books. Fifteen megapixels is more than enough. You can obtain great images at 7 megapixels and less.
Another thing: some commentators on YouTube label this camera the Q2 ‘Monochrome’. It is not. Yes, it only takes black-and-white images of a super-high Leica quality but the ‘e’ at the end needs to be dropped! 😉😎 Even Bing search misspells the name!! It puts an ‘e’ at the end. Wrong. Please Bing; you can do better than this. By the way Bing search is better than Google search even if Google dominates. Bing search is truer than Google’s which is distorted for self-interest reasons.
It is careless for YouTube makers to misdescribe this super camera which is much more effective than some commentators give it credit for. It is a great camera, truly.
I know the price is too high for many which is a shame but this sort of image quality comes at a price.
I use the Lecia handgrip and I use the highest possible quality UV filter to protect that oh-so-precious 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens. What a cracker of a lens it is. Razor sharp and great bokeh. And its own refined image quality.
More: digital photography
P.S. I know that this is not about cats! But years ago, in truth, I ran out of things to say about cats. This site has over 20k pages!! Somehow, I managed to find new topics and new ways of saying the same thing but I think it is time to stop! 😱💖
