Leica Q2, Sony a7rII and Morocco: The long and sho...

Leica Q2, Sony a7rII and Morocco: The long and short of it

By Joseph Koh

I guess like many people, I’ve heard so much about the legendary ‘soul’ of Leicas, and have always wondered how much is true and how much is hype. Unfortunately, Leica prices are arguably just as legendary, and have always held me back. But when the Q2 came out this year to mostly rave reviews, I figured it was time to take the plunge and check out the fabled ‘Leica magic’ for myself. In comparison to other Leicas, it was relatively cheap (‘relative’ being the operative word here): the Q2 is priced at around the same level as a standalone Leica lens of similar specs, so ‘you pay for the lens and get the camera for free’, as some commentators pointed out. But more importantly for me, the fixed lens meant that I wouldn’t end up spending inordinate amounts of money on additional lenses, no matter how much I ended up being spellbound by Leica’s siren song.

So I ordered the darn thing. And fortunately, I took delivery of it in time for a holiday to Morocco as part of a group tour. I also brought with me my trusty Sony a7rii, and a 70-200mm f4 lens to cover the telephoto range (and a few other lenses, which I ended up not using much). This combo was surprisingly versatile and enjoyable to use for travel photography; I almost never lug around the 70-200mm lens when travelling, but the focal length allowed me to get a little more abstract with my photos and opened up a whole new area for me to explore photographically. Meanwhile, the compact form of the Leica was great for walking around the bustling streets of Casablanca, Fes, and other towns, and for doing street portraits.

I don’t mean to do a review of the Q2, so suffice to say that it autofocuses very fast, handles really well and the lens is tack sharp. I love its discreet, compact form, which is unintimidating for people I’m photographing (whether fellow travellers or locals). And yes, it looks drop. dead. gorgeous.

One oddity I struggle with slightly is its ISO settings on manual exposure mode: it only allows for whole stop increments (even though the camera has 1/3 stop increments when on auto ISO). I find this a hassle, as I generally set my aperture first, then shutter speed, and finally my ISO when manually exposing. With the Q2, I now have to do all that, and then re-adjust my shutter speed to fine tune my exposure. I really wish Leica would offer a 1/3-stop option in their settings. I’m now changing the way I shoot with the Q2, setting my ISO before shutter speed, but then I sometimes find that I’m not shooting at precisely my ideal shutter speed (which is more of an issue when I’m getting down to the lower shutter speeds).

I did have one major disappointment with the Q2: its so-called weather sealing (‘dust and water splash proof’, according to its marketing). When I brought it with me to the Sahara, some sand got into the dials which made them quite stiff. I wasn’t in a sandstorm, and I hadn’t dropped it in the sand or anything; it’s just that in a desert, sand gets everywhere. No problem, I thought — the camera still worked, and I would just bring it back to the shop so they can help clean it. Well, Leica sent it to their service centre, who said that sand had gotten into the camera and damaged the lens elements, the warranty was void and it would cost more than A$2,700 to fix! Needless to say, I was somewhat… upset. Fortunately, after a few emails and calls to the manager of the store I bought from, who escalated the case, Leica decided to fix my camera for free as a gesture of goodwill… (It still took about four months to get my camera fixed and shipped back). While I completely believe it should have been covered under warranty, I guess the end result is the same. But, a word of warning if you’re thinking of buying the Q2 for its weather sealing: don’t. At least, not if you’re planning on visiting a desert any time soon.

Enough of words; below are the pics I got.

First from the Q2