this video is sponsored by Squarespace the 28 millimeter lens isn't actually a 28 millimeter the auto white balance hasn't got a clue what it's doing the little black bar that pops up on the LCD screen that's annoying and the crop modes I think that's a little bit gimmicky so yeah let's talk about the Leica Q2 I bought the Leica Q2 about three months ago and I thought I'd just share my experience with you and also answer your questions that you sent in on Instagram I want to be as objective as possible and I feel like the honeymoon phase is definitely over so I want to approach this video as if we're just sat in a coffee shop chatting about it [Music] the image quality is absolutely outstanding on three separate occasions I showed people the back of the camera and they replied in some kind of way whoa that is sharp and just verbally expressed their surprise these are by far some of the best files I've ever worked with bringing the photos up on a big screen editing them in Lightroom the files are just beautiful the two things that are contributing to that image quality number one obviously the sensor and number two the lens I've heard people saying that the Q2 is entirely worth it just for that 28 millimeter lens if you wanted an equivalent 28 millimeter summer looks lens that's going to cost you about five thousand pounds so it's funny that you can get the 28 millimeter similux F 1.7 for cheaper but it's attached to the body of the Q2 that 28 millimeter lens is probably the best 28 millimeter lens I will ever use combine that with the 47 megapixel files the image quality really is what carries this camera even though it does have some faults thank you talking about the beautiful Optics let's talk about the infamous Leica look now I don't know exactly what that is and I know Peter McKinnon described it as a Vibe so that's not very detailed either and I was in the Leica store last week and I asked an employee there what is the like a look when we were chatting about cameras and stuff and he couldn't give me an explanation either but after a little bit of research I think it's a mix of things some of that being the Deep blacks the rich colors but mainly the shallow depth of feel bear in mind that if you're shooting at 28 millimeter you're not going to get the same characteristics and subject isolation as a longer focal length but using the Leica Q2 at 28 millimeter if I had to describe the Leica look when I'm shooting at F 1.7 F2 F 2.8 the Focus fall off is just absolutely stunning the bokeh and shallow depth of field kind of looks dreamy I know that's hard to describe but it has its own characteristic and it looks so good that I've noticed myself taking more photos of just everyday details that are around me thank you let's talk about something here that a lot of people seem to complain about when it comes to the Leica Q2 a lot of people think that the 28 millimeter actually feels more like a 24 or a 26. my opinion on that is that I don't really have one because I still use the 28 millimeter for 28 millimeter situations whether it is a super wide environmental shot or it's a close-up detailed hectic street scene where I'm trying to fill the frame whatever you want to label the focal length I still think it looks great I'm not saying that all these people claiming the 28 millimeter isn't a 28 millimeter are lying obviously there's a recurring theme Here If multiple people have mentioned it but I think this only becomes a problem when you're not happy with the results if you're using a 28 millimeter lens and it looks as it should and then you pick up a Q2 and it doesn't look as it should and it feels a bit weird I can see why that might be a problem but for me I don't mind I think the photos look good yes you have to take into consideration Distortion and the characteristics of a wide lens but where whether it's a 24 or 26 or 28 whatever label we give this the photos look great and I don't have any quants with it [Music] the digital zoom and cropping feature feels a little bit pointless for those that don't know you can bring up 35 50 and 75 millimeter frame lines and then when you take the photo you get that cropped version of your image now the raw file does restore the whole 28 millimeter focal length so that's cool but when you use a 50 millimeter crop it doesn't look like a 50 millimeter lens because it has none of the characteristics or compression of one so you're just cropping in on a 28 millimeter file which is fine because we know when we buy the camera it's a 28 millimeter lens so we shouldn't try to replicate any other focal length if that makes sense and I don't mind people cropping either I crop on my images so it's not an issue with the crop itself it's just why would you say that it's 75 millimeter when it's just not it doesn't look like 75 millimeter it looks like a 28 millimeter that's cropped I don't know maybe some people like it maybe it helps with people's compositions and some people just like knowing that that's what 50 millimeter would look like but I'm still gonna use the Q2 as a 28 millimeter because that's what it is so these 35 15 75 millimeter frame lines I don't know seems pointless to me we will get back to the video in just a second but I wanted to quickly share with you today's sponsor Squarespace I have personally been using Squarespace as the all-in-one place to run my online business with hundreds of beautiful templates to choose from creating a space online that feels like your own has never been easier I use Squarespace to sell my presets organize and showcase my photography and I recently share more personal work with my audience via a Weekly Newsletter I cannot recommend Squarespace enough so why not at least start a free trial and see what you think after that when you're ready to launch go to squarespace.com forward slash mic should lead to save 10 of your first purchase of a website or domain now let's get back to the video [Music] talking about the auto white balance it's just awful pretty much unusable if I'm looking in One Direction the auto white balance will display it as a bit cold and blue and I'll just move like 10 yards and it'll change to a warm temperature I've never seen such a unpredictable Auto white balance in a camera before for me it's not a massive problem because I just set my white balance anyway when I go out and do street I'll just check the weather and use the cloudy or daylight temperature or even set a custom Kelvin itself and then I'll just leave it for the most of the day unless the weather changes dramatically so it's definitely a first world problem and it has not affected me using the camera at all I just don't use Auto white balance as simple as that and I just get on with it but um I imagine some people will buy the camera and realize why is the auto white balance so dodgy it's just not great and for a camera that's so expensive I thought it was worth mentioning something else that's really annoying on the Q2 is the little black bar and I'm sure many of you have heard people mention this before but if you half press your display settings will come up and actually get in the way of your composition that's wild to me why does it do that every other camera on the LCD screen it's set to the side or it's below or it's above so your display settings should never get in the way of what you're actually framing the only way I've got around this and the reason it's not a massive issue for me is I bring the camera up to my eye quite a lot so when I look through the evf this isn't an issue the display settings are not in the way of your composition but when you're looking on the LCD screen the black bar does get in the way so if you use the screen a lot that's a pain fortunately for me I'm using the electronic viewfinder loads so uh the yeah the display settings are never an issue but why is that even a thing in the first place so yeah another little problem with the Q2 is that the battery life is not good solution to that is buy another battery except for the fact that they're 130 pounds which I'm a victim of because you know if I'm doing Street all day in London I don't just want to keep turning my camera on and off I like to keep it on ready especially if I'm in a scene where Lots going on so yes my battery drains quite a bit and I did have to go to the like store and buy a new battery so now I have two and that's fine I've spent many days eight or nine hours in London and two batteries is good enough I've not actually got through the second battery so that's fine but everyone uses their cameras different you might be able to make one battery work but whatever the case a new battery was 130 30 pounds which is annoying again but I guess that's just a Leica thing so I should get used to it I feel like I can't make this video about the Q2 without mentioning just how beautifully well made the camera is in regards to comparing Leica cameras with others I just think it's no competition the little things that are just in the shutter speed switching the camera on and off moving the aperture ring it honestly feels incredible and you can see the attention to detail and German engineering that's put into these cameras they look and feel amazing so I've opened up your questions on Instagram about the Q2 and I'm just gonna quick fire some answers are you scared to drop it a little bit at first I was but not anymore Luke Palms asks for you in Brackets F what everyone else says slash thinks was it worth the investment yes yeah it was it's my favorite camera I can't wait to pick it up almost every day I don't know how much complaining it sound like I've done in this video but um 100 it's definitely worth the investment Andrew asks is this the end camera where you can't imagine needing to use another camera no I was in the like store the other week and the m6 is gorgeous uh the n10 M11 they're fantastic cameras they're on the wish list so now even though I bought the Q2 I'll probably buy more it's just the way life is Prince POV asks have you missed slash used the x100v in the three months yes I use the x500v two or three times a week if I'm just going out on a casual walk or if I'm walking to the gym or if I'm just doing something low-key the x100v is way more pocketable so that's easy to bring with me but if I'm going out to do a full day of street photography then the Q2 obviously Eric asks do you find yourself wanting the optical viewfinder for out of frame visibility that's a good point because using the optical viewfinder on the x100v is fantastic I've not found myself wanting it when using the Q2 because the Q2 doesn't have it so I just accept that that's the case but that has made me think about getting an M6 because that is way more analog and yeah you can reap the benefits of a proper Rangefinder that way Adam asks does the like magic really exist yeah Harper says feel nervous walking on the streets with the Rolex of cameras no the camera is insured it's just a tool at the end of the day so if I was ever in a situation that was dangerous the camera means nothing to me at that point in the first week I questioned like putting it down on surfaces or being anywhere with it because it's expensive you just gotta be rational about these things common sense is needed with street photography I like to think I'm a pretty safe person and I've got my wits around me to some extent if something like that stopped you or made you behave in a certain way when out on the streets then you've got to be aware of that but now I use the Q2 like I would the X100 video like I would my iPhone so yeah Paul Taylor says is it that much better than the x100v and is the 28 millimeter easy to get used to I don't know how you use 28 millimeters so it's very individual I think the 28 is great but you you might not like it so it's hard to say and yes I think it is that much better than the x100v this is coming from someone that loved the x100b I still love it it's a great camera but the Q2 really is phenomenal Juan asks why would anyone buy that camera for 5 000 pounds I don't know why would they do that Devin said are you gonna get the m6 probably Edward asks how fast does your memory card fill up this is a good point because the files are massive I use 128 gigabyte SD card and I've not filled it um or even come close to filling it I think I've just finished shooting a full day of Saint Patrick's parade in London so I probably took 600 photos and I will put the raw file information here but that didn't fill 128 gigabyte SD card so that's pretty good Phil says is it worth three or four times the cost of the x100v if you're comparing cameras then no it's not you buy a Leica Q2 knowing that it it costs that much if that makes sense and like I don't want someone to buy the camera that also is looking at a budget version does that make sense it's a bit like Louis Vuitton don't care that you can buy h m clothes because Louis Vuitton want Louis Vuitton customers they're not competing is that what I'm trying to say rationally speaking it's not worth three or four times more than the X100 today but it does cost that much I hope that gives you an idea of where my head is at with the Q2 it really is my favorite camera I love using it the results are fantastic I'm having so much fun shooting straight with it and uh I won't be getting rid of it I know there's a couple of questions in there from people saying will I be getting rid of it or was I disappointed not at all I think I'm in this for the Long Haul and uh yeah it's an amazing camera [Music] thank you [Music]