[Leica] Q2

[Howard L Ritter Jr]

Well, I guess you’re right, Sonny. I just took a look at B&H, and found something from Sony that I’m sure I never missed before, so it must be new, which is a 28-60mm f/4-5.6 E-mount FF zoom, which is genuinely compact. It reminds me of a FF version of their APS-C 18-55 kit lens, with shorter maximum FL. I just may not have paid much attention to the shorter primes from Sony and others. Still, I don’t find a tiny Zeiss 35/1.8, only an f/2 that’s … actually, about the size of the Q2’s 28!

I may have to reconsider parting with the a7R; maybe just the 24-70 zoom. 

And since I’d already bought the Q2, of course I was looking for justification 😇. But that doesn’t exclude seriously seeking counsel. 

—howard


> On Jun 13, 2021, at 12:11 AM, Sonny Carter via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
> Howard, I'm not sure if I understand your assertion of a lack of decent
> compact prime lenses for your Sony.
> 
> If anything I have too many!   Have you looked at the Sony and Rokinon 24mm
> lenses?  How about the Samyang 45?  same with Zeiss 35mm f2.8.  Tiny and
> lighter than a Summicron 35, and a good deal less dear.
> 
> I'm using several of these on my A7r3 with pretty good results, and now on
> my A7c which gives me a definite Lika-Leica experience, especially when you
> team the resulting images with Topaz sharpen, well, "Oh my heart!"
> 
> Your email started a thread, but it sounds more like you were out to
> justify the Q2 rather than seriously seeking counsel.
> 
> ;-)
> 
> Let us see some pix!
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Sonny
> http://sonc.com <http://sonc.com/look/>
> Natchitoches, Louisiana
> 1714
> Oldest Permanent Settlement in the Louisiana Purchase
> 
> USA
> 
> 
> On Sat, Jun 12, 2021 at 10:57 AM Howard L Ritter Jr via LUG <
> lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
>> Looking for LUGgers’ opinions/experience with the Q2. And with Topaz Labs’
>> Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI software.
>> 
>> After decades of flogging a 35mm, then FF DSLR or mirrorless, on various
>> outings and expeditions, I have finally come to the realization that the
>> opportunity to use a lens longer than 50mm for a few percent of my shots,
>> most of them not particularly memorable, isn’t worth the bulk and weight of
>> a 24-70 or -85 zoom. I’ve gotten progressively unhappy with the lack of
>> decent compact primes for my Sony mirrorless FF a7Rii, and the resultant
>> need to tote the 24-70. My everyday-carry lens on an M body is 35mm and I’m
>> much more apt to wish I had something shorter mounted than longer. I’m not
>> above going out with the M240 or MM sporting the lovely 21-35 Vario-Elmarit
>> R on an M adapter and EVF.
>> 
>> So I’m going to Iceland (again) next week with my son for a
>> circumnavigation of the island by the Ring Road, with side trips to the
>> volcano and the Snaefjellsness Peninsula. This prospect really stimulated
>> some analytical thinking, and I went ahead and ordered a Q2 from B&H. It
>> arrived yesterday and I’m familiarizing myself with it. It’s a real gem,
>> well advanced from my M240 in terms of being a thoroughly modern FF digital
>> camera, and it really feels right to/for me. It’s going to replace my Sony
>> a7Rii, Sony RX1-R, and a few lenses.
>> 
>> My reasoning is that with a 28mm prime lens and a 47 MPx sensor, I can
>> crop and enlarge to the equivalent of 90mm and have a 4.5 Mpx image file.
>> I’ve found that Gigapixel and Sharpen can produce an image file 4x as large
>> as the original (2x the pixel dimensions) that looks at least as good as a
>> native image file made with a lens of 2x the FL. So the 4.5 Mpx crop can be
>> up-res’d and sharpened to look like an 18 Mpx file taken with a 90 mm lens.
>> And the 24 Mpx images from my late, lamented NEX-7 that I see as background
>> on my 25” iMac’s 250-dpi, 15-Mpx screen every day remind me of how
>> stunningly detailed 15 Mpx can look 2’ across the desk even at 13 x 21”.
>> 
>> Any helpful advice or reports from Q users?
>> 
>> Images to follow.
>> 
>> —howard
>> 
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> 
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