Vienna & Prague with nothing but the the Leica Q by Scott Vuocolo

May 15, 2017 Guest Post, Leica, Mirrorless, News, Street Photography, Travel, User Reports 18

Vienna & Prague with nothing but the the Leica Q

by Scott Vuocolo  – His Flickr is HERE

Hi Steve!

While the Leica Q is not a new camera, and certainly not a cheap one, it seems a good choice for home and travel photography. I’ve used almost every camera system on the market over the last 10 years and have recently grown accustomed to using the Sony A7 series on my international travels. While the A7II is terrific, I sometimes find myself spending more time thinking about which lens to use than I do taking photos. Somewhat of a paradox of choice I suppose.

Therefore, I decided to give the Leica Q a try on my recent trip abroad to see how I dealt with using only one focal length for an entire trip. No choices involved – 1. get camera, 2. take photo. I’ve used fixed lens cameras before, but never solo on a trip, and never at 28mm – both the Sony RX1 and Fuji X100 are 35mm as you know.

Long story short, if you’ve shot a Leica M body before you’ll be familiar with the layout of the camera. Its well made and feels as such. If you can get over the shock of having autofocus on a Leica (excellent by the way), you’ll be rewarded with a camera that for the most part, just gets out-of-the-way and lets you shoot. The 28mm F1.7 lens is simply terrific, and the battery life was more than enough for an entire day of shooting – something that I can’t always say for my A7II.

I can honestly say that I never missed having a choice of lenses during our strolls through Vienna and Prague, and I think the restriction to 28mm made me think differently about the photos I did take, to their benefit. Its likely not perfect for everyone, especially considering its price. However, it’s a camera that makes me want to use it, and one that doesn’t sacrifice quality for ease of use – important assets when hiking a mountain in Peru or exploring a cave in Iceland.

These are some of my favorites from the trip.

Best,

Scott
Flickr

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18 Comments

  2. Great pictures. It makes me want to go out and get the Q to complement my M. Did you zone focus for the bubble picture (My favorite btw) or did you shoot everything with the AF on? How much post did you do for your colors or is that OOC?

  3. I recently acquired a like-new used Leica Q. It is a fantastic camera in every way that matters, especially usability and IQ. I must say that it puts my RX1 to shame. Both have 24MP sensors, but the images from the Q are sharper and more detailed and have much better color. Needless to say, the autofocus is vastly superior both in terms of speed and accuracy, and the MF feels like a real helicoid MF lens that can easily be set for zone focusing. These features may make the Q preferable even to the 42MP RX1RII for some users.

    The only reservations one might have about this camera are focal length and price. Anyone who likes 28mm or thinks he/she could learn to like it (that’s me) and who can afford it should not hesitate to get the Q. It really is a fun camera to use, and the results are outstanding.

  5. These are excellent – take your well deserved praise. The camera though excellent for this purpose did not make the images- you did .

  6. Last year i did travel with my A7II + FE 2/28 and found this combo quite liberating and versatile in its own way, or the way you put it that the restriction to 28mm made me think differently about the photos I did take, to their benefit. I could not agree more, wide angle for building structures, street photos, low light pictures (IBIS could be very useful) or even a little bit bokeh at f/2, you name it. But i think your pictures with Leica Q is a bit better and sharper than my Sony combo kit, not to mention it is faster and lighter than Sony 28mm combo (800 gr).

    Great pics, Scott.

  7. Nice images. I particularly like the bubbles and goose shots, but they are all very good with variety.

  8. Thanks all – really is a great place to walk around and experience. It rained a bunch and it was still fun!

    I guess I never mentioned the lack of weather sealing on the Q considering the rain, but with my bag it wasn’t a problem.

  9. Nice shots. Those are two of my favorite cities. I, too, found that using a single focal length (17mm on my Olympus OMD EM-1) was a great way to photograph those places.

  10. Punchy, colorful, strong lines and light – my kind of pictures – great job.

  14. Couldn’t agree more. My Leica Q is my go-to camera for the street and for travel when I only went one camera. Thanks for your post and images!

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