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Leica's Q-P is a pricey full-frame camera with subtle refinements
Leica is keeping up its habit of releasing subtly refined P variants of its cameras, this time focusing on its full-frame street camera, the Q. The newly unveiled Q-P mostly focuses on stealth, with the signature red Leica dot going away in favor of textured matte black everywhere and a logo engraving on the top. It won't call quite so much attention to itself while you're concentrating on your street photography, in other words. There are some functional changes to the design as well. The shutter and power/drive controls have been redesigned to more closely resemble what you'd get in the M10 or CL, with more reassuring clicks that let you operate more by feel.
Leica's Q camera is beautiful, expensive and totally worth it
Leica is known for making cameras that are too expensive for most people. Its latest one, the Leica Q (Typ 116), is no exception. You can tell a lot about its high value simply by glancing at it; the gorgeous magnesium alloy and matte black finish makes it look exquisitely premium. There are also little details around the chassis to make you further appreciate its design, including an area that allows your thumb to rest comfortably while you're shooting. At roughly 23 ounces (640 grams), the Q isn't exactly lightweight, but doesn't feel heavy either -- its mass is distributed perfectly throughout. But OK, enough about the appearance. How does this $4,250 camera actually perform in the real world?
The Leica Q is a compact and stylish full-frame camera
Leica's been relatively quiet since Photokina 2014, where it revealed a full set of cameras for every different budget and taste. Today, though, the German manufacturer is stepping out of the shadows and introducing the Leica Q, a beautiful small camera with some powerful attributes. It features a 24-megapixel, full-frame CMOS sensor, an ISO range of up to 50,000, a 3-inch, 1.04 million-dot LCD screen, NFC, WiFi and 1080p video-recording at 30 or 60 fps. Leica says the sensor powering the Q was custom built for it, designed to work perfectly in conjunction with the Summilux 28mm f/1.7 fixed lens. Like with most of the company's cameras, however, you'll have to break the bank to own one of these. The Leica Q is available now for a cool $4,250 -- which, if it helps, does include a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.
