Yesterday I had the chance to fool around with the new Leica Q, it's like a young electronic cousin to the Leica M - It has it' look and feel from the Leica M series of cameras, all the way back to the film cameras so the handling is very familiar, now the differences;
First I was blown away by how far they have come with the electronic viewfinder, almost no time lack when moving the camera around or focusing clear bright view and OK in size.
The weight was surprising, about half of a Leica M9 with similar lens weights.
In stead of a thumb rest there is now a distinct groove for the thumb, worked OK, but it really needs a finger grip on the front for large hands.
The lens is internal focusing so no movement of any part of the lens, should give some resistance to the weather and dust.
The Focus ring has a simple lock to set it in auto Focus, the feel of the manual focus was very slick and well dampened, it was clear that it took little effort to move the internal focusing elements but it does it very smooth.
Aperture has a a Automatic setting with just a firm stop, no lock, it's similar to the old Canon F lenses if anyone still remembers them
Again the aperture ring is dampened and with clear click stops, very smooth.
The Macro setting is controlled by rotating a ring at the lens base... You guessed it; dampened and with clear click stops, again very smooth.
Video establishes correct focus and exposure quite quickly , I'm no video geek but it seemed very capable.
Overall it's a very attractive camera to get into Leica full frame at a much lower cost than a new Leica M with lens; 1/3 the price, or as an addition to us old farts that just need a smallish camera to pocket during dinner and cocktails
Pretty sure Leica has hit a home run with this one!
