The RX1/R does have an EVF - however it's optional and not integrated (as it is with the RX1R Mark II). The great thing about the EVF of the Mark I is that is that it can be pivoted 90 degrees, ...which is great for candid photography and for portrait composition. The bad thing is that it is fragile, low quality plastic, and can be bumped out or dislodged rather easily.
Great comparison. I didn’t realize the Q was that much larger than the RX1. I’ve had the original RX1 for 10 years and it’s my most used camera. The size of the Q would prohibit me from carrying and using as much as my RX1. I do carry 3 spare batteries- they’re cheap. Also have EVF, which comes in handy, as well as a small Sony flash, which is affordable and fantastic
Good piece. I have never used the Leica but I do enjoy my RX1 very much. The Leica's speed to autofocus looks great, as does the design of its controls layout and lens barrel. I have learned to carry extra batteries for my Sony - they do go fast. If the price was the same, however, I might still get the Sony, for its size . . . I carry the camera everywhere and so very small is very beautiful.
+Bruce Levin You are right. You can use a tiltable EVF on the RX1R. My experience from using it is it can be bumped easily and detracts from the small form factor of RX1R.
Tiltable screen is nice, but if you get one with autofocus problems like the one I did, it's not very useful. EVF & some or all MF was necessary to nail it. What really makes the RX1R II is the spectacular output. Q out seems intentionally crippled so as to not compete with SL, as they supposedly have same sensor, yet IQ even with the zoom on SL is superior. RX1R II is kind of a pain in the arse with the battery life, nasty/even cruel Sony social media & customer service, etc., but the IQ is flat out awesome, especially in close focus (not true macro) mode where you get better background separation than in standard mode.
The EVF for the Sony is excellent and I have never bumped it or had any issue with it. I applied some black gaffer's tape on the back of the evf just to be sure it would not slip off, and it never has... An excellent addition, and the IQ from the EVF is as good if not better than the Q's.
Yeah, it's a swell review. Except no comparison pics. IQ is very different. Sony's also tend to be better for people who like working with their files (infinite malleability on this came in 5-10 minutes you can have something Getty worthy easily), whereas Leicas tend to have out of box JPEGs that are just fine, plenty of pop and sex appeal, then you can move on with your life (better for the wealthy). However, I'd say that's more true of the SL than Q, the latter of which just doesn't have the pop of the SL, despite having a great prime lens. I hate when companies intentionally cripple their product lines so as to not compete with something higher up the latter. Let everything shine, and you'll sell more of everything! People like buying great stuff. d'oh
Yes, I agree with the lack of comparative pop in the Q right out of the box, looking at the shots up against the SL. Why should it anyway. The SL is a different beast. Anyway this was highlighted to Wetzlar. Quite a lot of the owners were initially asking about it. Eventually, those of who were serious about their cameras, realised the pop can be achieved by tweaking the WB & aperture on the go. I use a grey card to achieve SL-like IQ. When you say, "intentionally cripple their product lines", you're confirming, you already know what the Q is capable. Bringing out the best out of a gadget we invested on is entirely upto each of us. Like Wetzlar continues to say, it's up to you.
I know I'm late to the party here... But good lord, 28 is not too wide for street. Many of the most famous street shooters of all time use 28mm exclusively. Anything more narrow requires stepping "out of the pocket," and that's dead wrong for a lot of a street shooting.
a moving distance ring that can can let in water and get jammed up due to grit and sand etc. wow that is really a step above 1/500th vs 1/2000th flash sync, well that is nice. really ! and with your focus speed test, the leica q was in auto and the sony was in manual. depending on what settings it was set to can greatly effect focus speed. but the leica better be faster for the money as far as long term depreciation. if you compare ebay completed sales the leica 8.2 and sony a900, both flagship models in 2008. they are both about 1/3 of their original price...
Sure wish the RX1R was weather sealed! It has the IQ of a camera you want to use ALL the time. But the lack of weather sealing and HORRIBLE battery 20-25 minute life kill that (at 1 to 3 shots per minute max, on a standard photo taking walk). Had 3 full batteries to start and couldn't complete my full walk back with a charge left in any of them. Not a major hike whatsoever. 21 blocks to a restaurant downtown and back. Depreciation: The 5D II, also a 2008 model, is now $822 on Amazon. So similar loss of value. Difference is, Sony tends to release models yearly, so you get that huge initial drop off in value faster. However, thankfully, they update the RX1 more slowly. The old RX1R, in fact, is about $1500 used on Amazon, but that's a model that's been physically modified for a special purpose that most people wouldn't want. A regular used one sells for $1948. The RX1s are holding their value better than most cameras I've seen. Hmm. Didn't expect that. Odd. :)
Andy Coones 1) The Leica does go to 1/2000 flash sync. Bigheadtaco does a video of it...yet to test it on mine. 2) Many Leica lenses have lasted more than half a century perfectly so I doubt your weird comment about the focus ring is an issue.
Hey docstowatch, regarding the battery life: I have an a6000 and something that helped me with the battery life on Sony cameras is to turn off airplane mode. By default it's under the same menu for wifi/send to phone. Hope that helps.
A 20 minute review with almost no real images to compare?? It would have been far more informative if you had walked the streets and taken real-world images with each camera.
The video is good but you shoot it with very wide angle lens what lead to distortion in the cameras shape, so we can't realize the actual sizes of the cameras, it is better to film using normal focal lens, i think 20 minutes is to long specially that you didn't show any street photography as examples.
The video cam give your hands the look and manual dexterity of a mannequin, its all good though, the cameras are clearly seen, but does look rather odd.
I own both and the Sony has better IQ, better dynamic range, allows for more customization, and (unlike the Q) the macro function for the Sony does not require the lens to drop 2 stops of light, which is significant for certain applications. The Sony is also physically smaller and - if you learn to work it -- equally fast, especially when using the hotshoe EVF and manual focus with peaking and magnification. The Q is perhaps better for everyday photos that do not require the very best IQ, and the AF for the Q is certainly faster.... Overall, the Sony RX1R is the better camera and I would wholeheartedly recommend it over the Q for those who are interested in the very best image quality.
Sony has the worst menu interface of any camera. I've owned a number of them and love the hardware but have always ended up selling them cos of the shit controls
Nice review. Pleasant voice and tempo. Good points made. Concerning the comparison: I think the Fuji X100 is a much more similar contender, at least in terms of ergonomics, user interface, and having an EVF, which the Sony lacks. Yes, the sensor size is different, but in 2016 that doesn't really matter a lot. X100 Ts image quality and low light performance probably exceed the Leica Q.
"X100 Ts image quality and low light performance probably exceed the Leica Q.". Uhhh... no. Not even close. Try actually shooting both rather than guessing. Vastly superior lens on the Q and the only way an APS-C sensor is going to compete with a full frame on high ISO is with Fuji's cooking the numbers.
Watching this comfortably and lazy from the couch and surrounded by state of the art Fujifilm cameras. The Panasonic Q and the brainshift Sonny both are ‘enormous tools’ and not the sharpest in the toolbox.
Sony will be the best system if they get their shit together with ergonomics and menu's.. A7x and a6xxx are great sensor in an awful stupid menu and body..
+Ricardo Antunes Actually Leica Q is focus by wire, similar to Olympus 12mm f/2 and 12-40mm f/2.8 lenses with distance markings. How you can tell is if you move the focus ring from AF to MF while turned off, when you turn on, the focus will take a second to shift to the MF point. If it's purely mechanical, there would be no shifting.
+MirrorlessReviews i dont want to make an argument and honestly i dont have all the technical knownledge but i have read in several reviews it was not. But you can be right ;)
Ricardo Antunes Yes I read those too and honestly thought it was not by wire, until I noticed this behavior when I used it, which must mean it's a digital encoder ring implementation. Also, if you rotate the MF ring quickly back and forth, the focus has a delay, another evidence it's by wire. It makes sense because it auto magnifies when moving the MF ring, and if digital then it's easier to do that.
You nailed it i always felt that Sony cameras are computers not cameras. And usually Leica is the opposite
The RX1/R does have an EVF - however it's optional and not integrated (as it is with the RX1R Mark II). The great thing about the EVF of the Mark I is that is that it can be pivoted 90 degrees, ...which is great for candid photography and for portrait composition. The bad thing is that it is fragile, low quality plastic, and can be bumped out or dislodged rather easily.
Great comparison. I didn’t realize the Q was that much larger than the RX1. I’ve had the original RX1 for 10 years and it’s my most used camera. The size of the Q would prohibit me from carrying and using as much as my RX1. I do carry 3 spare batteries- they’re
cheap. Also have EVF, which comes in handy, as well as a small Sony flash, which is affordable and fantastic
I don’t get why so many folks are complaining about the review. This was a great comparison video!
Good piece. I have never used the Leica but I do enjoy my RX1 very much. The Leica's speed to autofocus looks great, as does the design of its controls layout and lens barrel. I have learned to carry extra batteries for my Sony - they do go fast. If the price was the same, however, I might still get the Sony, for its size . . . I carry the camera everywhere and so very small is very beautiful.
You really should mention that the RX-1 has a very good tiltable EVF.
+Bruce Levin You are right. You can use a tiltable EVF on the RX1R. My experience from using it is it can be bumped easily and detracts from the small form factor of RX1R.
Tiltable screen is nice, but if you get one with autofocus problems like the one I did, it's not very useful. EVF & some or all MF was necessary to nail it. What really makes the RX1R II is the spectacular output. Q out seems intentionally crippled so as to not compete with SL, as they supposedly have same sensor, yet IQ even with the zoom on SL is superior. RX1R II is kind of a pain in the arse with the battery life, nasty/even cruel Sony social media & customer service, etc., but the IQ is flat out awesome, especially in close focus (not true macro) mode where you get better background separation than in standard mode.
The EVF for the Sony is excellent and I have never bumped it or had any issue with it. I applied some black gaffer's tape on the back of the evf just to be sure it would not slip off, and it never has... An excellent addition, and the IQ from the EVF is as good if not better than the Q's.
simple and straight forward. this is how comparison videos should look like!
Yeah, it's a swell review. Except no comparison pics. IQ is very different. Sony's also tend to be better for people who like working with their files (infinite malleability on this came in 5-10 minutes you can have something Getty worthy easily), whereas Leicas tend to have out of box JPEGs that are just fine, plenty of pop and sex appeal, then you can move on with your life (better for the wealthy). However, I'd say that's more true of the SL than Q, the latter of which just doesn't have the pop of the SL, despite having a great prime lens. I hate when companies intentionally cripple their product lines so as to not compete with something higher up the latter. Let everything shine, and you'll sell more of everything! People like buying great stuff. d'oh
up the ladder. hahaha. no edit button on RUclips. They don't have enough money to code one yet.
Yes, I agree with the lack of comparative pop in the Q right out of the box, looking at the shots up against the SL. Why should it anyway. The SL is a different beast. Anyway this was highlighted to Wetzlar. Quite a lot of the owners were initially asking about it. Eventually, those of who were serious about their cameras, realised the pop can be achieved by tweaking the WB & aperture on the go. I use a grey card to achieve SL-like IQ. When you say, "intentionally cripple their product lines", you're confirming, you already know what the Q is capable. Bringing out the best out of a gadget we invested on is entirely upto each of us. Like Wetzlar continues to say, it's up to you.
Mister XYZ I agree. In fact, I've set my Q to produce only RAW images
If one is more comfortable with the 35mm focal lens as the 28mm is too wide for most street photography, the choice is quickly made...
Very well said!
I know I'm late to the party here... But good lord, 28 is not too wide for street. Many of the most famous street shooters of all time use 28mm exclusively. Anything more narrow requires stepping "out of the pocket," and that's dead wrong for a lot of a street shooting.
Review was good except no mention of variable focal length 28mm, 35mm 50mm on the Leica and clear image zoom on the Sony
Did u actually use the cameras? No sample pictures to compare?
Sony's are not dumb proof! too many people complaining on the complex menu lol.
Maybe because it's an area they could improve?
Sure but i quite like it 🤓
a moving distance ring that can can let in water and get jammed up due to grit and sand etc. wow that is really a step above
1/500th vs 1/2000th flash sync, well that is nice. really !
and with your focus speed test, the leica q was in auto and the sony was in manual. depending on what settings it was set to can greatly effect focus speed. but the leica better be faster for the money
as far as long term depreciation. if you compare ebay completed sales the leica 8.2 and sony a900, both flagship models in 2008. they are both about 1/3 of their original price...
Sure wish the RX1R was weather sealed! It has the IQ of a camera you want to use ALL the time. But the lack of weather sealing and HORRIBLE battery 20-25 minute life kill that (at 1 to 3 shots per minute max, on a standard photo taking walk). Had 3 full batteries to start and couldn't complete my full walk back with a charge left in any of them. Not a major hike whatsoever. 21 blocks to a restaurant downtown and back.
Depreciation: The 5D II, also a 2008 model, is now $822 on Amazon. So similar loss of value. Difference is, Sony tends to release models yearly, so you get that huge initial drop off in value faster. However, thankfully, they update the RX1 more slowly. The old RX1R, in fact, is about $1500 used on Amazon, but that's a model that's been physically modified for a special purpose that most people wouldn't want. A regular used one sells for $1948. The RX1s are holding their value better than most cameras I've seen. Hmm. Didn't expect that. Odd. :)
Andy Coones 1) The Leica does go to 1/2000 flash sync. Bigheadtaco does a video of it...yet to test it on mine. 2) Many Leica lenses have lasted more than half a century perfectly so I doubt your weird comment about the focus ring is an issue.
Hey docstowatch, regarding the battery life: I have an a6000 and something that helped me with the battery life on Sony cameras is to turn off airplane mode. By default it's under the same menu for wifi/send to phone. Hope that helps.
docstowatch sorry, turn ON airplane mode
One of, if not the best Leica Q review I have seen. THX!
A 20 minute review with almost no real images to compare?? It would have been far more informative if you had walked the streets and taken real-world images with each camera.
Great that you are showing the operation and autofocus very useful video thanks
The video is good but you shoot it with very wide angle lens what lead to distortion in the cameras shape, so we can't realize the actual sizes of the cameras, it is better to film using normal focal lens, i think 20 minutes is to long specially that you didn't show any street photography as examples.
The Leica Q is the best Panasonic camera I've ever owned, though... ;)
The video cam give your hands the look and manual dexterity of a mannequin, its all good though, the cameras are clearly seen, but does look rather odd.
I’m still deciding between rx1r2 and this Q as used. What do you think I should get?
Best review of the Q for me.
I wish you covered video capability as well. Does Leica Q shoots 4k video at all?
KJ no
I wish they would still sell the Q new...at least sell the Q for another 2 yrs even after the Q2 is out.
I own both and the Sony has better IQ, better dynamic range, allows for more customization, and (unlike the Q) the macro function for the Sony does not require the lens to drop 2 stops of light, which is significant for certain applications. The Sony is also physically smaller and - if you learn to work it -- equally fast, especially when using the hotshoe EVF and manual focus with peaking and magnification. The Q is perhaps better for everyday photos that do not require the very best IQ, and the AF for the Q is certainly faster.... Overall, the Sony RX1R is the better camera and I would wholeheartedly recommend it over the Q for those who are interested in the very best image quality.
True, Sony makes good audio equipment. Canon makes good photocopies. When you mention Leica obviously you don't know what you are talking about.
Sony has the worst menu interface of any camera. I've owned a number of them and love the hardware but have always ended up selling them cos of the shit controls
I thought I lost my internet signal! Ooor editing of the video!
Nice review. Pleasant voice and tempo. Good points made. Concerning the comparison: I think the Fuji X100 is a much more similar contender, at least in terms of ergonomics, user interface, and having an EVF, which the Sony lacks. Yes, the sensor size is different, but in 2016 that doesn't really matter a lot. X100 Ts image quality and low light performance probably exceed the Leica Q.
"X100 Ts image quality and low light performance probably exceed the Leica Q.". Uhhh... no. Not even close. Try actually shooting both rather than guessing.
Vastly superior lens on the Q and the only way an APS-C sensor is going to compete with a full frame on high ISO is with Fuji's cooking the numbers.
Remove "obviously" from your reviews, things aren't always obvious.
Watching this comfortably and lazy from the couch and surrounded by state of the art Fujifilm cameras. The Panasonic Q and the brainshift Sonny both are ‘enormous tools’ and not the sharpest in the toolbox.
But their different focal lengths?
Leica q should be compared against Rx1r mark 2. 😋
Champagne or Cava.
Please review some expensive cameras.
Sony will be the best system if they get their shit together with ergonomics and menu's.. A7x and a6xxx are great sensor in an awful stupid menu and body..
Sony is so bad at making clean cameras haha, they try and pack so much shit in there that it's just a huge mess.
+Tj Holowaychuk This comment makes no sense. God forbid they include as many options and custom-ability as possible.
+leonche64 The menus on the LEICA are much simpler.
leonche64 some people appreciate simplicity, craftsmanship etc. Sony is great at a lot of things, but those are not on the list.
Okay, that is a little different meaning than the first post.
+Fidelity Simple for the simple-minded, eh?
Terrible video work, always focus on the fabric.
Stupid focus shifting on the Sony! Why? Its 2017!!
basic
The Sony has so much shit on it only a poser would want that.
leica is not focus by wire.
regards.
+Ricardo Antunes Actually Leica Q is focus by wire, similar to Olympus 12mm f/2 and 12-40mm f/2.8 lenses with distance markings. How you can tell is if you move the focus ring from AF to MF while turned off, when you turn on, the focus will take a second to shift to the MF point. If it's purely mechanical, there would be no shifting.
+MirrorlessReviews i dont want to make an argument and honestly i dont have all the technical knownledge but i have read in several reviews it was not.
But you can be right ;)
Ricardo Antunes
Yes I read those too and honestly thought it was not by wire, until I noticed this behavior when I used it, which must mean it's a digital encoder ring implementation. Also, if you rotate the MF ring quickly back and forth, the focus has a delay, another evidence it's by wire. It makes sense because it auto magnifies when moving the MF ring, and if digital then it's easier to do that.
It is by wire.
one is half the price of the other