Leica today announce the new Leica Q which is set to be a professional photographer’s daily camera. It is packed with a Leica Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens, 24 megapixel full frame CMOS sensor and ISO sensitivity of up to 50,000.
It is available on sale in Singapore now at all Leica Stores located at Raffles Hotel Arcade, ION Orchard, Mandarin Gallery, Vivocity and at all Leica authorised at the S$5,990.
Our First Impression
We only had a few hours with the new Leica Q before pushing out this article, and we are already getting use to it and how to operate the camera without looking through the user manual.
Design
Leica Q maintains the sleek & clean design of a top tier classic Leica camera with an aluminum top plate and magnesium alloy body.
Buttons, dials and ring controls are strategically placed for swift two hand operation in either auto or manual mode. It is not recommended to operate the camera with one hand because of the chunky body and weight.
The thumb rest and diamond pattern on the leathering provide a firm & comfortable grip even on the flushed body.
Camera
With the Leica Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens and 24 megapixel full frame CMOS sensor on the spec sheet, you can almost be immediately be convinced that Leica Q will be able to deliver superb image quality event without trying it. And true enough the camera manage to produce crisp and vivid images even at ISO6400.
The images starts to get more grainy at ISO12800 all the way to ISO50000. At f1.7 aperture, the shallow depth of field and beautiful bokeh makes it easy to achieve impressive images without much effort.
It is not like this camera is made for selfie enthusiast, but we think its good to mention this. With a 28mm lens, it is easy to squeeze in a selfie for a couple of people, but it will be a crowd if you try to squeeze in more than four.
Leica Q also comes with “digital zoom” the pictures into 35mm and 50mm foca length, that some one trying to compensate the 28mm prime lens. But in actual fact it is just auto cropping of the pictures. So we would rather do our own cropping on the computer then letting the camera do it.
Test Shots
Click the test shots to enlarge.
Verdict
After a few hours with the Leica Q, we grew to love the camera more and now making it hard for us to return the review unit to Leica tomorrow. If budget permits, we will love to own a Leica Q as the Leica Summilux 28 mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens can create such beautiful images and yet it keeps things simple as a compact camera.
High ISO Test
Click the test shots to enlarge.
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