Leica's compact, full-frame Q2 captures 47MP photos and 4K video
There's a lot of power, so long as you don't need to change lenses.
Leica made a few waves with its original Q camera in 2015, and not without merit: the Q was a compact full-frame camera that took advantage of the company's reputation for high-quality lenses. You'll be glad to hear, then, that Leica is back with a full-fledged sequel. The just-unveiled Q2 borrows the same basic formula, including the non-removable 28mm f/1.7 prime lens, but gives you a much higher-resolution 47.3-megapixel sensor and, at last, 4K video capture. It's also billed as the only camera in its class (admittedly a rather small class) with dust and water resistance.
You can also expect some subtler additions. There's a new 3.68-megapixel OLED viewfinder that provides a more accurate representation of the final shot. And if raw speed is important, you might like both the 10 frames per second continuous shooting as well as an autofocusing time under 0.15 seconds. That's not the fastest lock-in time we've seen (Sony has something to say about that), but it's good for a camera like this.
Leica even makes use of its new sensor give you a form of zoom. The Q2 includes an option to crop the image to simulate common focal lengths like 35mm, 50mm or 75mm, letting you trade some detail for a tighter-looking shot. The original 28mm image is always available in case you'd prefer to see more.
The Q2 is on sale today, although it definitely won't be a trivial purchase with its $4,995 price tag. This might be worthwhile if you're a die-hard Leica enthusiast, though. While some Leicas are ultimately rebadged Panasonic cameras, the Q2 stands out -- it's a smaller and more stylish counterpart to a workhorse like Panasonic's S1R.
