I have not used Sony, rather, I am a 40+ year Nikon photographer. But I bought a Leica Q2M last year and absolutely love it.
Love the size, weight, and feel of the camera; love, love, love the menu interface -- simplest and best camera software I've ever used; also love, love, love the lens and images it produces.
It is a little bigger and heavier than a point-and-shoot camera; you can't really fit it into a coat pocket (unless you're wearing a really big coat); but of course it is a high-quality, full-frame 35mm camera with better-than-SLR (or at least as-good) image quality. So for what it is, the size and weight feel solid, not too much.
With respect to AF, I grew up shooting sports for money with manual film cameras and we made it work without bitching about it. So I actually shoot my Q2M on manual 95% of the time because I love the control it gives me and I'm fast enough with it for what I shoot. In the rare instances I want or need AF, it is a simple switch and I find the AF to be fast enough. (Personally, I think newer or younger photographers who have only known AF cameras become too focused on AF spec's and how many milliseconds it takes to focus -- which is about as valuable as pixel-peeping on new lenses -- but that's just my old-bastard pov IMHO.)
The main thing about it: the switches, controls, and menu on the camera are the simplest, best-positioned, and most intuitive I've ever found on any camera. When I first picked it up, I couldn't believe other camera manufacturers hadn't already used some of the same simple, intuitive controls.
The only downside to me is the lack of interchangeable lenses. That is limiting if, like me, you like to shoot wide or long lenses. But it also offers advantages: (i) because you can't change lenses, you aren't tempted to take any with you so the size and weight of your kit is much smaller; (ii) it enables the camera to be seriously weather-sealed, and keeps the sensor and internals cleaner; and (iii) it forces you to be more creative with your shots -- you have to act like a real photographer and use your feet to get the correct scene/framing/image structure, instead of simply zooming or changing lenses and getting a different perspective.
In sum, if you want the simplest camera with the highest image quality -- and do not need interchangeable lenses -- I strongly recommend the Q system. But be warned, I love mine so much, I may move to the Leica M system soon now Leica has released a non-rangefinder version. And I hear that is a risk of owing a Q camera!
I have not used Sony, rather, I am a 40+ year Nikon photographer. But I bought a Leica Q2M last year and absolutely love it.
Love the size, weight, and feel of the camera; love, love, love the menu interface -- simplest and best camera software I've ever used; also love, love, love the lens and images it produces.
It is a little bigger and heavier than a point-and-shoot camera; you can't really fit it into a coat pocket (unless you're wearing a really big coat); but of course it is a high-quality, full-frame 35mm camera with better-than-SLR (or at least as-good) image quality. So for what it is, the size and weight feel solid, not too much.
With respect to AF, I grew up shooting sports for money with manual film cameras and we made it work without bitching about it. So I actually shoot my Q2M on manual 95% of the time because I love the control it gives me and I'm fast enough with it for what I shoot. In the rare instances I want or need AF, it is a simple switch and I find the AF to be fast enough. (Personally, I think newer or younger photographers who have only known AF cameras become too focused on AF spec's and how many milliseconds it takes to focus -- which is about as valuable as pixel-peeping on new lenses -- but that's just my old-bastard pov IMHO.)
The main thing about it: the switches, controls, and menu on the camera are the simplest, best-positioned, and most intuitive I've ever found on any camera. When I first picked it up, I couldn't believe other camera manufacturers hadn't already used some of the same simple, intuitive controls.
The only downside to me is the lack of interchangeable lenses. That is limiting if, like me, you like to shoot wide or long lenses. But it also offers advantages: (i) because you can't change lenses, you aren't tempted to take any with you so the size and weight of your kit is much smaller; (ii) it enables the camera to be seriously weather-sealed, and keeps the sensor and internals cleaner; and (iii) it forces you to be more creative with your shots -- you have to act like a real photographer and use your feet to get the correct scene/framing/image structure, instead of simply zooming or changing lenses and getting a different perspective.
In sum, if you want the simplest camera with the highest image quality -- and do not need interchangeable lenses -- I strongly recommend the Q system. But Be warned, I love mine so much, I may move to the Leica M system soon now Leica has released a non-rangefinder version. And I hear that is a risk of owing a Q camera!
I have not used Sony, rather, I am a 40+ year Nikon photographer. But I bought a Leica Q2M last year and absolutely love it.
Love the size, weight, and feel of the camera; love, love, love the menu interface -- simplest and best camera software I've ever used; also love, love, love the lens and images it produces.
It is a little bigger and heavier than a point-and-shoot camera; you can't really fit it into a coat pocket (unless you're wearing a really big coat); but of course it is a high-quality, full-frame 35mm camera with better-than-SLR (or at least as-good) image quality. So for what it is, the size and weight feel solid, not too much.
With respect to AF, I grew up shooting sports for money with manual film cameras and we made it work without bitching about it. So I actually shoot my Q2M on manual 95% of the time because I love the control it gives me and I'm fast enough with it for what I shoot. In the rare instances I want or need it, AF is a simple switch and I find it fast enough. (Personally, I think newer or younger photographers who have only known AF cameras become too focused on AF spec's and how many milliseconds it takes to focus -- which is about as valuable as pixel-peeping on new lenses -- but that's just my old-bastard pov IMHO.)
The main thing about it: the switches and controls on the camera are the simplest, best-positioned, and most intuitive I've ever found on any camera. When I first picked it up, I couldn't believe other camera manufacturers hadn't already used some of the same simple, intuitive controls.
The only downside to me is the lack of interchangeable lenses. That is limiting if, like me, you like to shoot wide or long lenses. But it also offers advantages: (i) because you can't change lenses, you aren't tempted to take any with you so the size and weight of your kit is much smaller; (ii) it enables the camera to be seriously weather-sealed, and keeps the sensor and internals cleaner; (iii) it forces you to be more creative with your shots -- you have to act like a real photographer and use your feet to get the correct scene/framing/image structure, instead of simply zooming or changing lenses and getting a different perspective.
In sum, if you want the simplest camera with the highest image quality -- and do not need interchangeable lenses -- I strongly recommend the Q system. In fact, I love mine so much, I may move to the Leica M system soon now Leica has released a non-rangefinder version.
Apr 19, 2026 at 03:51 PM
Previous versions of CaliTexican's message #17023644 « Considering a Leica Q3 43 but used to Sony »
