Leica Q2 camera review by Jon She (website, Facebook, Instagram):
I’m really grateful to Leica Camera for issuing me the first Q2 in China last Thursday night (they had someone deliver it to me at 10pm local time – I guess to match the global launch events). Leica releases new “full” models (as opposed to their “P”, and many custom finish and packaging versions) only every 4-5 years, so it’s always a major event in the photography world, and something I’d been looking forward ever since hearing about it at Leica Rumors. I’ve used a Q (and recently a Q-P) as part of my regular setup along with my M’s since it was launched back in June 2015, as it is a great backup/complement to an M. Although cheaper than a Summilux-M 28mm lens, it still has a great f/1.7 lens, a light but solid magnesium-alloy body, fast auto-focus, and macro functionality. The EVF and real focus ring also allow for precise manual focusing.The Q2 now improves on the original in many ways: higher sensor resolution (47.3 megapixels vs the original 24) – which allows for “digital focal length” (in-body crop) options of 35mm, 50mm, & 75mm, a much longer battery life (it uses the same very nice quick-release battery as the SL), weather-proofing (though my Q survived 45 deg C in the Afar Desert to minus 25 deg C in Vladivostok even without this), ISO 50-50000 (the Q had a base of 100), 10 fps, and a much clearer OLED EVF. My favorite fix is the removal of the C-Continuous shooting mode from the power-on/shutter release – I can’t tell you the number of times on the Q I accidentally had it set to C instead of S-Single mode, and ended up with numerous duplicate shots! Another great fix is the diopter-correction knob next to the EVF is now recessed, so that it won’t easily be accidentally nudged – which happened a lot with the Q in my case, requiring almost daily adjustments.
