# Leica Unveils the Leica Q Today, Bringing Iconic Leica Features to an Innovative New Camera



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jun 10, 2015)

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<em>Thanks to High Quality Leica Optics and an Exceptional Feature Set, Photographers Can Now Capture Rich Detailed Imagery Anywhere in a Snap</em></p>
<p><strong>June 10, 2015 –</strong> Yet again refining the way the world takes photographs, Leica Camera unveils the Leica Q today, a trailblazing camera design concept that proudly combines all of the high performance qualities of a full frame sensor in a beautifully designed and highly innovative compact – a milestone for the brand and the photography sector. Equipped with the fastest lens in its class and an interface that makes for easy and intuitive handling, the Q is the perfect instrument for instantly capturing the decisive moments of life and turning them into lasting memories. The Q boasts the ability to shoot full HD video, instantly share content socially via built-in WiFi, and features an extremely fast autofocus, putting the Leica Q into a category of its own.</p>
<p>“We’re very proud to offer the world’s first camera that combines the quality and functionality of our iconic M models, along with the convenience and speed of a super high end compact camera,” said German Product Manager, Peter Kruschewski. “The new Leica Q carries the rich traditions of Leica cameras forward with the high quality features you come to expect from Leica, while also keeping the future in mind by integrating social sharing and cutting-edge specifications. It really is a true Leica, while being an industry trailblazer at the same time.”</p>
<p>The Leica Q combines a high sensitivity full frame sensor with a fast aperture lens and optical image stabilization to give photographers near limitless capabilities.  Shooting in any lighting situation is never out of the question when using the Q; whether it is a sun-drenched landscape in the high noon of summer or the dark and shadowy nights of an urban metropolis.  The versatility of the Q is augmented by the ability to shoot rapid-fire burst shots that can capture any subject, no matter how fast they move, in any light.</p>
<p>In addition, the new “digital frame selector” function displays the focal lengths of 35 and 50mm at the push of a button, to allow photographers to see focal lengths beyond the fixed 28mm lens. As with a rangefinder camera, photographers utilizing this feature can still see what is going on outside the digital viewfinder’s bright-line frame and can react much faster to changes in and around the subject.</p>
<p>The “Made in Germany” seal of quality for the Leica Q also guarantees that only the finest materials are used in its construction. In traditional Leica style, the top plate is crafted from a solid block of aluminium, the body is made of magnesium alloy, and all lettering and markings on its setting dials are laser-engraved. The thumb rest on the back of the Leica Q and the diamond pattern of the camera’s leathering also ensure ideal grip, and clearly illustrate that form and function still go hand-in-hand at Leica.</p>
<p><strong>More details on exciting new features of the new Leica Q:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>24-megapixel, full frame, CMOS sensor precisely matched to its lens.</strong> The Leica Q delivers richly detailed pictures with almost noise-free, richly detailed pictures at ISO settings up to 50.000.</li>
<li><strong>Fastest autofocus in the compact full-frame camera class.</strong> Precision focusing in real time.</li>
<li><strong>High speed burst shooting.</strong> The newly developed processor from the Leica Maestro II series sets an enormous pace in this category with continuous shooting at a rate of ten frames per second at full resolution.</li>
<li><strong>Integrated 3.68-megapixel electronic viewfinder.</strong> The highest resolution viewfinder of its kind displays both the fixed 28 mm view along with focal lengths of 35 mm and 50 mm on demand.</li>
<li><strong>Conveniently placed functions provide instant access to all the essential controls needed when taking a photo.</strong> Not only can you control the focus manually, but the Q is also equipped with a touchscreen that can select a focus point with a simple touch of the fingertip.</li>
<li><strong>Ability to save two versions of the photograph.</strong> The JPEG image files are saved in the selected framing, while the RAW files in DNG format preserve the entire field captured by the 28 mm lens.</li>
<li><strong>Video recorded in full HD.</strong> Depending on the scene, users can choose between 30 and 60 frames per second for video recording in MP4 format. The video setting also features a wind-noise filter which guarantees crystal-clear sound.</li>
<li><strong>A WiFi module for wireless transfer of still pictures and video to other devices.</strong> The app also allows you to remotely control settings such as aperture and shutter speed from your smart phone or tablet. The free Leica Q app to access these features is available on both the App Store and Google Play Store for iOS and Android.</li>
<li><strong>Free downloadable Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.</strong> This processing software offers a comprehensive range of functions to enhance and edit your Leica Q images.</li>
<li><strong>Full range of accessories.</strong> Just like the camera, every item in the range of accessories and technical equipment for the Leica Q is functionally designed for easy handling and manufactured from only the finest materials to ensure versatility, reliability, and durability.</li>
</ul>
<p>The Leica Q, priced at $4,250, is now available at your local Leica Store, Leica Boutique or Leica dealer.</p>

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## Dylan777 (Jun 10, 2015)

Beautiful


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## dolina (Jun 10, 2015)

What the Typ 113 should have been minus the full frame.


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## zlatko (Jun 10, 2015)

Looks great. So elegant and purposeful.


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## LukasS (Jun 10, 2015)

Fixed lens? Seriously?


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## dolina (Jun 10, 2015)

LukasS said:


> Fixed lens? Seriously?


Are you aware how expensive Leica lenses are? ;D


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## Rocky (Jun 10, 2015)

I have a question able why Leica choose a fixed 28mm. It is too wide for everyday use and not wide enough for buildings. Why don't they use a 35mm instead?? That will make the package much smaller without the retro-focus design. 35mm is also a better every day lens.


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## Sporgon (Jun 10, 2015)

zlatko said:


> Looks great. So elegant and purposeful.



Yea, I've known a few women like that.

Generally not very flexible.


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## meywd (Jun 10, 2015)

Sporgon said:


> zlatko said:
> 
> 
> > Looks great. So elegant and purposeful.
> ...



true ;D


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## slclick (Jun 10, 2015)

I guess you could buy a bag full of fixed Sigma Quattros.


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## dolina (Jun 11, 2015)

Rocky said:


> I have a question able why Leica choose a fixed 28mm. It is too wide for everyday use and not wide enough for buildings. Why don't they use a 35mm instead?? That will make the package much smaller without the retro-focus design. 35mm is also a better every day lens.



I think Leica is trying to replicate frame lines on an EVF. To do this the lens should be wider than the angle of view of a 35mm and 50mm.

If this is the goal then lens distortion should be corrected in hardware at most or at the very least software.

I have no doubt that this will be a very good camera and I expect Sony to release a RX1 II to trump it. 

Think a7r II specs in a RX1 II body designed for 2016.


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## Rocky (Jun 11, 2015)

dolina said:


> Rocky said:
> 
> 
> > I have a question able why Leica choose a fixed 28mm. It is too wide for everyday use and not wide enough for buildings. Why don't they use a 35mm instead?? That will make the package much smaller without the retro-focus design. 35mm is also a better every day lens.
> ...


35mm and 50mm frame line is useless on this situation. The lens is fixed. Why should we care about the other frames lines. You cannot change lens anyway. After the picture has been taken, You can crop the pictures anyway you want. Why should you care about the 35 and 50mm frame while you are taking the picture.


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## dolina (Jun 11, 2015)

Rocky said:


> 35mm and 50mm frame line is useless on this situation. The lens is fixed. Why should we care about the other frames lines. You cannot change lens anyway. After the picture has been taken, You can crop the pictures anyway you want. Why should you care about the 35 and 50mm frame while you are taking the picture.


It is actually useful as the EVF through a 28mm lens may be able to emulate an optical range finder at 28mm. In software the camera could produce 35mm and 50mm framing.


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## Rocky (Jun 11, 2015)

dolina said:


> Rocky said:
> 
> 
> > 35mm and 50mm frame line is useless on this situation. The lens is fixed. Why should we care about the other frames lines. You cannot change lens anyway. After the picture has been taken, You can crop the pictures anyway you want. Why should you care about the 35 and 50mm frame while you are taking the picture.
> ...


Do you want the camera to throw away more than half of the pixels from the sensor???


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## dolina (Jun 11, 2015)

Read the press release. 


Rocky said:


> Do you want the camera to throw away more than half of the pixels from the sensor???


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## Rocky (Jun 11, 2015)

dolina said:


> Read the press release.
> 
> 
> Rocky said:
> ...


????


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## LukasS (Jun 11, 2015)

dolina said:


> LukasS said:
> 
> 
> > Fixed lens? Seriously?
> ...


So I presume the idea was that they won't be separated (I mean: stolen) and there won't be an issue what to do with the body? 

I had to take a look at the prices - yes, they are expensive, but to be frank I don't mind. In my 11 years with canon - lenses stay and bodies change and for me it is a good investment to buy great lenses - they tend to repay with beautiful results over and over again.

On a side note, apart from Zeiss, Leica's trademark holds great value for me since as long as I remember, so I'm happy they are releasing in this field - hopefully with success.


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## dolina (Jun 12, 2015)

I see the Q as being positioned at Millennials who are first time Leica owners and as such this product isn't aimed at you.

Perhaps you should consider a M Typ 240 or M Mono Typ 246 that allows for the flexibility you want?



LukasS said:


> So I presume the idea was that they won't be separated (I mean: stolen) and there won't be an issue what to do with the body?
> 
> I had to take a look at the prices - yes, they are expensive, but to be frank I don't mind. In my 11 years with canon - lenses stay and bodies change and for me it is a good investment to buy great lenses - they tend to repay with beautiful results over and over again.
> 
> On a side note, apart from Zeiss, Leica's trademark holds great value for me since as long as I remember, so I'm happy they are releasing in this field - hopefully with success.


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## meywd (Jun 12, 2015)

Rocky said:


> dolina said:
> 
> 
> > Read the press release.
> ...



I guess he meant this


> Integrated 3.68-megapixel electronic viewfinder. The highest resolution viewfinder of its kind displays both the fixed 28 mm view along with focal lengths of 35 mm and 50 mm on demand.


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## dolina (Jun 12, 2015)

That's what I said.  


meywd said:


> I guess he meant this
> 
> 
> > Integrated 3.68-megapixel electronic viewfinder. The highest resolution viewfinder of its kind displays both the fixed 28 mm view along with focal lengths of 35 mm and 50 mm on demand.


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## dolina (Jun 13, 2015)

I can confirm that the 50mm jpeg is 8MP. The original raw is 28mm RAW at 24MP.


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## meywd (Jun 13, 2015)

dolina said:


> I can confirm that the 50mm jpeg is 8MP. The original raw is 28mm RAW at 24MP.



WOW you got it already? tbh I don't understand the concept of changing the focal length, do they correct distortion in software/hardware? because even if you crop its not true 50mm, the bokeh is not the same as well.


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## dolina (Jun 13, 2015)

meywd said:


> WOW you got it already? tbh I don't understand the concept of changing the focal length, do they correct distortion in software/hardware? because even if you crop its not true 50mm, the bokeh is not the same as well.


Leica did this to simulate framelines inside the EVF.

I dont want to further anger Rocky but that's how Leica wants to do it.

Again, this camera is very much targeted at Millennials (35yo and younger) who are buying their first Leica.

This is why it also has so much features to complement our iPhones and Android smartphones.

$4,500 is a great sum for what is essentially a point and shoot.

But consider the price of 24MP M Typ 240 $6,380 and 28mm f/1.4 Summilux $5,950 that are not autofocus or autoaperture.

Makes the Q 1/3rd cheaper than an M + Lens.

Fine, you cant change lenses but have you seen the focal length range of RF? It is miniscule vs SLRs.


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## meywd (Jun 13, 2015)

dolina said:


> meywd said:
> 
> 
> > WOW you got it already? tbh I don't understand the concept of changing the focal length, do they correct distortion in software/hardware? because even if you crop its not true 50mm, the bokeh is not the same as well.
> ...



I don't think I will ever be a customer of Leica, because if I had the budget I would get a 1D X and a super telephoto, plus I don't understand why people buy RF cameras, with an EVF you get what you see, with an OVF at least you get the framing right, but with a RF you get nothing, and as you said not much focal range, however lets hypothetically say that I am, I would get the M, because first its 24MP all the way, second I can change lenses, third....well I am only buying because I like RF for a reason....and this camera is not a RF, is it?


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## dolina (Jun 13, 2015)

meywd said:


> I don't think I will ever be a customer of Leica, because if I had the budget I would get a 1D X and a super telephoto, plus I don't understand why people buy RF cameras, with an EVF you get what you see, with an OVF at least you get the framing right, but with a RF you get nothing, and as you said not much focal range, however lets hypothetically say that I am, I would get the M, because first its 24MP all the way, second I can change lenses, third....well I am only buying because I like RF for a reason....and this camera is not a RF, is it?


Something similar to this?






It's essentially a point and shoot with a full frame sensor and an AF system that may exceed a 1DS3 or 1D4. Only other alternative is the Sony RX1 from 2012.

You buy it because it's a Leica in the same way you buy a Porsche because it is a Porsche. You can get the same sort of performance from a Subaru STI and mod it to exceed it but you're buying the storied history.

The brand.

Not to mention it is light and what have you.

Because at the end of the day a 1D X weighs over 3 pounds while the Q is less than half that.

The Q has a tight integration with your smartphone.

Again, this is an aspirational camera for photogs. But then again you buy on your usage.


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## meywd (Jun 13, 2015)

dolina said:


> meywd said:
> 
> 
> > I don't think I will ever be a customer of Leica, because if I had the budget I would get a 1D X and a super telephoto, plus I don't understand why people buy RF cameras, with an EVF you get what you see, with an OVF at least you get the framing right, but with a RF you get nothing, and as you said not much focal range, however lets hypothetically say that I am, I would get the M, because first its 24MP all the way, second I can change lenses, third....well I am only buying because I like RF for a reason....and this camera is not a RF, is it?
> ...



yeah ;D, in a combat zone that will make you an instant target, well I understand the brand thing, however the AF and the FPS are not that useful, since without a telephoto you won't need it, and you are in the wide focal length range, but yeah every product has its customers.


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## dolina (Jun 13, 2015)

meywd said:


> yeah ;D, in a combat zone that will make you an instant target, well I understand the brand thing, however the AF and the FPS are not that useful, since without a telephoto you won't need it, and you are in the wide focal length range, but yeah every product has its customers.


It also has a red dot! 

Again, targeted at Milenials. I am surprised it does not have 4K resolution video or a UHS-II memory card.


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## Rocky (Jun 13, 2015)

Rocky said:


> dolina said:
> 
> 
> > Read the press release.
> ...


Dolina,

Why are you saying that I am mad. You need to be more careful with what you are saying. Also I mentioned about throwing away more than 1/2 of pixels from the sensor and cropping to 50mm, you does not seem to agree at that time now you are saying the same thing. Just think and be careful what you are doing.


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## meywd (Jun 13, 2015)

Rocky said:


> Rocky said:
> 
> 
> > dolina said:
> ...



now it seem you are really mad , at first he was just pointing you to the press release because he was simply explaining why they included the feature, then when he confirmed that the image will have less resolution at the extended focal length modes he mentioned it to us, but in the end, dolina didn't make the camera, Leica did, so when you ask "Do you want the camera to throw away more than half of the pixels from the sensor???" its not for him to answer, ask Leica.


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## dolina (Jun 13, 2015)

meywd said:


> Rocky said:
> 
> 
> > Dolina,
> ...



I do not own Leica nor Canon. Pls dont get mad!


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## Rocky (Jun 13, 2015)

meywd said:


> Rocky said:
> 
> 
> > dolina said:
> ...


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## Kiton (Jun 13, 2015)

Last Friday I had the chance to shoot about 300 test images over 40 minutes in the street with the Leica Q thanks to Camtecphoto in Montreal.

I was surprised by how nice this camera really is. I can not shoot with a Sony A7, the viewfinder makes me sea sick after a very short period of time, a huge disappointment because the camera seems to be a really good choice.

The viewfinder in the Leica Q did not have the same effect on me as the A7. It does a slight choppy effect when panning as all of this type of viewfinder have.

The autofucus is quick and accurate.
The controls are placed very well and easy to use. I still have and use a Pano GX1 as a pocket camera and the controls on the GX1 are really poorly placed by comparison. I only shot at 400 asa and 1600 asa and the files are beautiful. I shot some street scenes at 1.7 in daylight to see the forgiveness and it held up well. The ability to go from auto aperture to manually selected aperture is solid and really well designed. 

The camera is almost silent. It makes my 5d mk 3 on "silent mode" sound very noisy. It is well balanced and fits in the hand very naturally. You are holding a Leica and you know it, not some scaled down econo-version.

The only "con" is the camera is a touch slow to boot up from a sleep. I could see myself touch the shutter to wake the camera if I though a street pix was about to present itself, with the 5d, I only soft touch the shutter as I begin to lift the camera and it is ready by the time it is at my eye.

Locally, It runs about 1k more than an A7 with a 28mm f2, so it is well priced for the target market, it seems to be a hell of good camera.


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 13, 2015)

Rocky said:


> After the picture has been taken, You can crop the pictures anyway you want. Why should you care about the 35 and 50mm frame while you are taking the picture.



Nikon Leica Pure Photography. Get it right in-camera, or go home.


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## Dylan777 (Jun 14, 2015)

dolina said:


> I can confirm that the 50mm jpeg is 8MP. The original raw is 28mm RAW at 24MP.



I'll save my $6-8K for future MF sensor Fuji x100 body style. Either 28mm or 35mm f2 is fine with me 8)


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## Rocky (Jun 14, 2015)

neuroanatomist said:


> Rocky said:
> 
> 
> > After the picture has been taken, You can crop the pictures anyway you want. Why should you care about the 35 and 50mm frame while you are taking the picture.
> ...


The picture is taken with 28mm lens. If you want the 35mm or 50mm view, you have to crop it later or let it to be crop by the camera and throw away the rest of the pixel.


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## dolina (Jun 14, 2015)

Dylan777 said:


> dolina said:
> 
> 
> > I can confirm that the 50mm jpeg is 8MP. The original raw is 28mm RAW at 24MP.
> ...


Leica's just $4,500. ;D

I cannot imagine spending so much money on a Fuji.


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## Dylan777 (Jun 14, 2015)

dolina said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > dolina said:
> ...



Even better: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=26712.msg527274#msg527274 ;D

I got broke in not too long ago. They took the RX1, the wife favorite camera. Waiting for RX1 II, hope they make even smaller. Will buy one for the wife. She been using my a7s + fe 55mm lately


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## dolina (Jun 14, 2015)

Dylan777 said:


> I got broke in not too long ago. They took the RX1, the wife favorite camera. Waiting for RX1 II, hope they make even smaller. Will buy one for the wife. She been using my a7s + fe 55mm lately



So glad the Q's made in Germany and not in Japan.


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## Rocky (Jun 14, 2015)

dolina said:


> Dylan777 said:
> 
> 
> > I got broke in not too long ago. They took the RX1, the wife favorite camera. Waiting for RX1 II, hope they make even smaller. Will buy one for the wife. She been using my a7s + fe 55mm lately
> ...


My refrigerator is made in U.S.A. with a lot of components made in somewhere else.


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## dolina (Jun 14, 2015)

Rocky said:


> My refrigerator is made in U.S.A. with a lot of components made in somewhere else.


Happy Flag Day Rocky, pls dotn get mad.


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## Rocky (Jun 14, 2015)

dolina said:


> Rocky said:
> 
> 
> > My refrigerator is made in U.S.A. with a lot of components made in somewhere else.
> ...


   ;D :-*


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