Today we have had a play with the New Leica Q (TYP 116). We are very impressed with the feel and the handling of the camera but how does it compare to the well established Leica flagship system?
Leica M is an interchangeable lens system, we have selected the 28mm f2 lens for this comparison as it is the most similar to the fixed lens on the Leica Q.
Of course there are many fundamental differences between the two, the main one being manual focus on the M vs. autofocus on the Q. Leica Q has got a high resolution electronic viewfinder and the M has got an electronic one as well as the traditional optical rangefinder which many Leica users love and won't change for anything else.
Of course there are many fundamental differences between the two, the main one being manual focus on the M vs. autofocus on the Q. Leica Q has got a high resolution electronic viewfinder and the M has got an electronic one as well as the traditional optical rangefinder which many Leica users love and won't change for anything else.
As you can see from these images the Leica Q is a bit smaller and might be a bit easier to fit in your camera bag. Also at just over 600grams it is a lot lighter than the 1kg M kit.
We have also had a look at the image quality. First we have taken some samples at ISO 200 and apertures f1.7 (Leica Q only) F2, F4 and F8. We set both cameras to RAW and developed the in Adobe Lightroom without any alterations.
Let's take a look at the centre of the frame:
Let's take a look at the centre of the frame:
Leica Q appears to produce a bit more detail here. The colours are significantly different at the same white balance setting (TUNGSTEN) - Leica M appears to be a bit closer to reality.
Lets have a look at the edge of the frame:
Again Leica Q seems to give more detail, especially at wider apertures.
The fixed lens compact has a much wider ISO range and as it is a later camera we expect it's sensor to perform a lot better at high ISOs. Lets have a look:
Even though we expected the Q to outperform the slightly older M they seem to be almost exactly the same and if Leica ever decided to add some ISO range by updating firmware it would probably be very similar to the Q at the higher numbers as well.
Doing this test we have noticed that the Leica Q had got a very impressive range of shutter speeds when shooting in aperture priority. We have even managed to take a few shots a 1/16000 of a second. At any speed above 1/2000 the shutter does not actually move and the exposure is silent which most likely means the exposure is done electronically by switching the sensor off and on and then off again for the duration of the exposure.
We were doing this test in artificial lighting and noticed this shutter mode can produce uneven exposure which looks a little bit like banding on video cameras:
Doing this test we have noticed that the Leica Q had got a very impressive range of shutter speeds when shooting in aperture priority. We have even managed to take a few shots a 1/16000 of a second. At any speed above 1/2000 the shutter does not actually move and the exposure is silent which most likely means the exposure is done electronically by switching the sensor off and on and then off again for the duration of the exposure.
We were doing this test in artificial lighting and noticed this shutter mode can produce uneven exposure which looks a little bit like banding on video cameras:
This is very unlikely to occur in natural lighting and does not seem to be a big problem.
Overall the Leica Q sensor seems to give slightly more detail, but the difference is not huge and we think that the next Leica M body (whenever one comes out) will have an updated sensor which will be the same or even better than the Q.
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Overall the Leica Q sensor seems to give slightly more detail, but the difference is not huge and we think that the next Leica M body (whenever one comes out) will have an updated sensor which will be the same or even better than the Q.
Please comment, share like and tweet this comparison if you enjoyed reading it.
Jakub