I learned photography in the 1960's and 70's using only B&W film. Thats all I could afford. When the first Monochrom M came out I jumped at the chance to shoot B&W exclusively. I have marveled at the chance to get back to my roots shooting only B&W images. Color film back in the time I learned photography was expensive and printing was not something you could control compared to today's digital imaging software. You were so right when you said the camera makes you look for the light. Thanks Mike

I'm lucky to have a Q2 Monochrome. I love the simplicity of it and the limitations it enforces. It could easily be argued that the quality of the photos aren't that much better than a conversion of a color raw file, or than a black and white jpeg from a Fuji or whatever. Until you start using it in low light. There's basically no noise until ISO 50,000, and it's not bad at all. The noise is obvious at 100,000, but it looks more like film grain than digital noise. To me, the only thing that would make it better would be a 35mm lens rather than the 28 (and if the lens were a little shorter), but that's just me. Have fun shooting in the dark!

Nice shots. I, too, own the q2 mono. I really do love it. It's so simple, so pure because it doesn't have a colour sensor. Oh, I use a red filter with mine.

The Q2M is my fav camera. Using it almost daily. I shoot fashion and beauty for a living, but for personal work I prefer B&W. Just wish that Leica would also make a 50mm version. That way, I wouldn’t need any other personal camera than those two… Guess it would be bad for their business model ;) As for AF, while it’s not as good as Sony, Nikon and Canon models, once you’ve learned to work with it, it’s very useable. Having said that, the MF experience is great and far better than most other cameras. I prefer to use MF, while I also use an M11 with a 50 Lux. The 28mm of the Q2 is the star of the camera. There are very few better lenses out there in terms of rendering.

I really love this Todd. I`m from the UK and have never been to New York although travelled to the States a few times, but in all the movies or TV series, I`ve ever watched featuring New York, notably the great NTPD Blue, I've never seen the Highline featured or TBH mentioned. Its fantastic though what the city have done in forming this urban walkway and with all the vegetation looks really great. Thanks for et another Photography travelogue Todd, I really love the last few you've done, they're all just so interestinng.

I love this camera for all the quirkiness you described. I hear you on the flip screen, but I got to play around with a friend’s Q3 and while the flip screen was great the camera object wasn’t as beautiful. Not a deal breaker, but it made me love my Q2 Monochrom more!

The Q2 mono has been my re-entry into the art of photography, visualizing light and this tool makes it fun, for me. Enjoyed your video, thanks. I have a dark yellow filter that stays on my Q2 mono , it gives me the contrast that I enjoy in photographs, makes post work easier.

Excellent video for someone deciding whether to get one. It most definitely pushes you to see the light.

I primarily use an orange filter with my Q2M.

Like others here, I have a Q2M and really love it for it's understated looks, simplicity, and just because it's a pure monochrome camera. I have 4x B+W brand filters which I use - the orange, red and deep red are the ones I use the most as they give me the high contrast I like, and also a yellow filter which adds so little contrast it is negligible so that's been a waste of money. Skin tones are considered by the "experts" to be unflattering when using the red filters but because of my preference for high contrast images that doesn't bother me much as rules and guidelines are meant to be broken right? The Q2M really forces me to study the light conditions, I already think in b/w - have done for years - and shoot a lot of my non-landscapes in b/w with my Nikon Z8 using it's monochrome picture control. The high ISO speeds you can shoot with in the Q2M and still have a useable image are astounding. I've seen some of my shots taken at 25K ISO which look great. Really looking forward to seeing your next videos (plural! - I hope you'll hold on to the camera) and how you progress with it. You are probably aware of Alan Schaller's work - if not, you really need to check him out. Another Brit, Paul Reid is also a very talented street photographer shooting a lot of portraits with the Q2M - and they work beautifully with the 28mm lens. Best, Alwyn

And so begins the Leica rabbit hole ... 😎

Nice video, love NYC. Like all cameras and users, the best is what suites. I’m very happy with my Q2 as I love both mono and colour, so despite the Q2M having a superior sensor it would not suit me. Was not aware the colour processing in software was missing despite it should have been obvious to me so thanks for mention. I own a set of mono filters for when I set my camera to JPEG fine, high contrast mono only but find I only like using the orange and red as the others have little effect and software can do better. The green which is supposed to lighten foliage seems to do the opposite! Thanks for sharing.

Great episode, Todd, esp. the preamble and historical context. As a longtime resident, I'm delighted to see you showcase it (I'm biased since, well, you're in my neighborhood). The Highline was the best addition to the city since Central Park and is a 'must do' for any visitor, especially from spring to fall but, strangely, it has been my experience that not many visitors know about it - or it's something they learn about later. I've spent many days/evenings with friends and family there since its opening. Btw, you could've spent an entire episode shooting Zaha Hadid's building, The Standard Hotel (the 'massive building' you mentioned), sunsets and, for nature lovers, this elevated industrial-botanical gem has quite a range of specimens. Endless photographic possibilities. Um, the shots and camera review were great, too. :-)

20min flew by. Excellent vibe you've got going. I'm not a street photographer and have never been interested in Leica's but I wish this video was 20 minutes longer. Cheers, Todd!

Right now, I just have a red filter. When the sky is clear, it darkens it too much for my taste (although if there are some clouds, it can be great). I'll be getting an orange or yellow filter to use on clear days.

Great video. I love my Q2m

Nice work on the history of the Highline! Such a wonderful place!

Hey Todd, thank you for sharing your insight of this camera. I Primarily shoot video with a Black magic camera which we all know has an incredible image, but I shot some video on an iPhone and obviously the quality was not as good but my brain shifted to this mindset of like, I need to compensate with composition and lighting. I say that to say I realized a Lesson of I can take that mindset and try to do that with my much higher quality black magic camera and then all the image quality is just an added bonus. This video is similar in nature in that lighting and composition is a must with black and white photography. This style of videos are great! Keep up the good work.

This is very different in both the geography and photography of what I'm used to on your channel. Or at least what I've seen! I think NYC in general must be wonderful for shooting in monochrome. The Q2 Mono is certainly a unique camera. And I feel a fixed lens must be frustrating to even the most committed of photographers, at times at least! I would love to shoot with one for a time. Nice video btw! 👍

The High Line is spectacular - such a good decision to preserve & repurpose this structure.

Great video. Thank you!

Leica, I was wondering when that will happen to you, reduced to Das Wesentliche. I enjoy watching your journey in photography, as there are quite some parallels with mine (I shoot landscapes too and print large with my Canon Pro 4600). That said, the Q is Leica's entry drug. I promise you that you'll end up like me with a pair of M6s, as analogue film will inevitably catch you at some point as well. Until then, there are a lot of options on the way. As you already have the Q, next in line would be an M, say a used M11. Superb camera for landscape photography. And then the lenses ... and the SL3 and, in the near future, the S4. It's a universe of its own, never letting you go.

Welcome to NY!

Yes, I would like one of these cameras. But for shooting in conditions like this, is there any advantage over a good Sony, Nikon, etc. and processing afterwards? I get that high ISO shots are better but I'm just seeing too many limitations. And, no, I'm not buying that 'it's a special Leica' look. While I think that they're a nice, well made camera, I feel that's just trying to justify the cost.

Hi Todd, I know you just started with it but I’m interested in your thoughts even if down the road more. I’m curious on how the files deal with hilights, I know with film hilights can be handled very subtly with really nice roll off and tonality, I know all monochromes have issues with clipping the hilights so need underexposing, does this lead to a compression of tonality or does it still give a broad smooth falloffgrey to white continuum? Thanks, enjoy the Q2M👍😀

@jacobh5817

18 күн бұрын

The M9 Monochrome and the M246 are indeed susceptible to blown-out highlights. The newer monochromes incl. the Q2 are much more forgiving. On top of that, Leica introduced highlight-weighted metering, where the highlights can be pushed to the very limit, resulting in the largest possible range. I use the Q2M almost on a daily basis and the tonality and roll-off is one of the best of all my cameras and imo better than any b&w converted image of a color sensor.

Just wondering why you left the on-site video part backwards? Not a criticism, I enjoyed the content.