B&W On Cue From Leica
Leica’s Q series of fixed-lens full-frame cameras has been a bigger success than the company originally envisaged, with the Q2 currently one of its biggest sellers. Consequently, a Monochrom version makes a lot of sense, creating what has to be the ultimate digital street photography camera. On the outside, the Q2 Monochrom gets the ‘stealth’ treatment with a matte black finish and a complete absence of badging. Even the discreet model name engraving is still picked out in black rather than white paint. Not surprisingly, the magnesium alloy body is weather sealed (to the IP52 standard) so you don’t have to worry about shooting in the rain.
On the inside, the Q2 Monochrom has a B&W version of the Q2’s 47.3MP (effective) CMOS sensor, and the removal of the Bayer filter array increases the dynamic range
(now at 13 stops) and the sensitivity, which extends from ISO 100 to 100,000. With the RGBG filters gone, the Q2 Monochrom is also capable of creating sharper images with lower noise, making the most of its Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH lens which, like any of Leica’s M mount primes, retains a mechanical focusing ring (rather than fly-bywire) and an aperture collar. However, it also incorporates optical image stabilisation. Of course, the Q2M has autofocusing and a full complement of PASM exposure control modes with a choice of multi-zone, centred-weighted average and spot metering methods. The provision of more auto control options is undoubtedly one reason the Q cameras have been popular. The AF uses contrast-detection with 225 measuring points with face recognition.
Leica is claiming an AF response time of 0.15 seconds.
The Q2M has the same 3.68-million dot OLED EVF as the colour camera, and the same 3-inch, 1.04-million dot TFT LCD monitor. It’s a fixed panel, but has touchscreen controls. The advantage of the
EVF is that you see exactly what the camera sees – a black and white view – unlike the M10 Monochrom’s optical viewfinder. Like all the previous models, the Q2M has a leaf-type shutter, but the low speed range now extends down to 120 seconds.
It’s supplemented by an electronic shutter with a speed range of 1-1/40,000 second, and the camera can be set to automatically switch between the two. RAW files are captured in the Adobe
DNG format with 14-bit colours. JPEG capture is set to one size and quality level, but there are crop option that equate to the 35mm, 50mm and 75mm focal lengths. Given the high resolution to start with, these settings represent 30, 15 and seven megapixels resolution. There’s a single memory card slot for the SD format with UHS-II speed support, so Cinema 4K video recording is possible at 24fps and, with the electronic shutter, continuous stills shooting at up to 20fps (10fps with the leaf shutter). The Q2M also records 4K UHD video at either 24 or 25fps, and Full HD at 24, 25, 50 or 100fps
(PAL standard). Other features include auto exposure bracketing, dual-delay self-time, and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
The Q2 Monochrom is priced at $8,990 which might look a lot, but bear in mind this includes the lens… a similar setup with the M10 Monochrom would be significantly more expensive and, in fact, it’s the value-formoney aspect (compared to any other Leica full frame offering) that has also made the Qs big sellers.
For more information visit https://au.leica-camera.com