My love affair with my Leica Q

BEAR with me. I would like to share my experience using my two-year- old camera. This is my treasured Leica Q. I am not an endorser but an amateur trigger-happy shooter. For me, photography is not about device features, or even technique, but a with it — a buddy that is a joy to use. That’s how I had felt with the Q.

Years ago, when I was drooling over Nikons and Canons, I started glancing and secretly researching with envy Leica cameras with no expectation to buy one (mainly for budgetary reasons).

But a model intrigued my mortality for anything superior, being mir control dials, fast and accurate autofocus and dedicated manual focus that

I was told by the reviews I chanced upon during my nocturnal browsing that “for the traveler who demands the best in a camera in regard to building quality and optical excellence they need not look farther than the Leica Q.”

Why? The Leica Q is a German-engineered and -built full-frame, heritage performance and quality. The camera is remarkably simple to operate, with little in the way of bells and whistles but from this we are presented with a camera that is nimble and quick, allowing quality EVF, the camera hails from its historic roots of the heralded

I had a fantastic time with this camera. If you can handle the cost of this camera (ugh!), you will simply not regret your decision to own one.

Leica Q is an acquired taste, like a 99-percent cocoa dark chocolate. The sensory experience is satisfyingly rich but without giving up some sweetness. The mirrorless shooter can be operated in auto you want from each and every shot. This is not Hershey’s chocolate.

Leica doesn’t overwhelm with unnecessary features. The Q presents what you need, no frills, and where you would want it to be.

I will not bore you with a long list of specs but simply go to where it

This is an intimate street shooter. A camera with attached telephoto can create a sense of intimacy but keep you discreetly away. Leica Q will want

overall consistency of colors and contrast among the photos: Leica Q is the most reliable camera that I have ever used. As such, I can trust that most images will come out as my eyes see them and that nearly all will be usable. isn’t a word often applied to digital cameras, but it must with Leica Q. Trust and reliability are the biggest acquired instincts and how these and other attributes balance together.

focus on composition superfast, whether thinking about the shot in the moment or how to crop-in later on.

In terms of image quality, I found it to be impressive all around. sharp throughout the frame. I personally like to shoot wide and occasionally crop in, in post (as opposed to in-camera).

In low light, the Leica Q also does very well, though the top two is so good that I can crank up the NR, without hurting overall image quality much. In fact, a few of the music photos sprinkled throughout

“Leica Q’s leaf shutter is one of the quietest shutter I’ve ever used,” quiet shutter combined with the black understate body make it perfect for capturing some sneaky stealthy street photos”. Let me once again use

It is in fact near-silent. I’m a fan of street photography, and while it’s certainly not my strongest photographic discipline, it’s something I’m lot of fun because of how incredibly quiet it is. Even when shooting inside a public library, the Q was barely audible in operation.

The more I started to use the Leica Q the more and more I fell in love Canon system, I used to worry too much with these questions whenever I was getting ready to go off on a trip or looking at a scene to capture: “What

- ing exposure, aperture, focus, drive mode had me jumping and hoping through menus, knobs, wheels and so on.

Before you know it, you have wasted a perfect moment to just - down a checklist of questions for shooting nowadays. I can focus on composing and capturing what is in front of me.

Leica Q is not for everyone and likely isn’t for most people. The camera is costly but could save you money over the long run. You get one lens and won’t be tempted to purchase any more, because you can’t interchange them. The single piece of glass won’t be enough for the majority of shooters, though. That’s okay.

The Leica Q is one of the best investments—it’s more than a purchase— inspires me to photograph more are what matter most. Leica Q isn’t a camera, it’s an experience. Again, a relationship. This is not a review of the Leica Q but an experience I thought was worth sharing. The joys of a simple camera have given me the time and shots and felt like I have taken better quality pictures than I had with my camera has given me the experience to align myself with the creativity I want to create, and hope that this inspires more photographers who can relate to where I was prior to using a simple camera system.

any other full-frame Leica camera, and offers a great shooting experience, in a simple, tough-built body, with impressive image quality and a very

I am not complaining.

Good work, good deeds and good faith to all.