I keep reading about the Leica Q2 and whenever I read/watch something great about it I take my Sigma fp out for a jaunt.

just a GX8. Not under discussion here. 

I don't know how the Leica QP didn't make it on to my radar until after it was discontinued but I've just become aware of its existence and now it's mostly gone. Much to my chagrin...

I came across a nicely filmed Youtube review of the Leica QP by a fellow named Evan Ranft. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zESfiXqUJZE  He did a good job elucidating his attraction to the camera and seasoned his review with the reality that he uses it in conjunction with other cameras, not as his "only" camera. 

The Leica QP is pretty much a version of the Leica Q which was an immediate ancestor of the current Q2. It's a body that's designed and built to look and feel like an M series rangefinder camera but it's not a rangefinder; it's a contrast detect AF camera with a full frame (35mm) sensor and a permanently attached 28mm f1.7 Leica lens. The regular Q was nice and all but the QP is stealthier and does away with the red dot (Leica branding) on the front of the camera and makes up for it with  a nicely engraved logo treatment on the top plate which is far less showy. The camera is also differentiated from the conventional Q cameras because it's finished with a highly durable, matte-like paint finish that has a high resistance to scratching, brassing etc. 

The 28mm Summilux lens is purported to be worth the price of the camera. I'm sure it's a great performer and it has a few other tricks up its sleeve. There's a macro switch and their is also a manual/autofocus clutch like you'll find on the S-Pro lenses from Panasonic and the Pro lenses from Olympus. The value is in the rendering of the lens and the sensor but the sizzle is the stealthy and low profile body. 

The reason I would want one would be for the look of the product and the quality of the files. But there's one horrible flaw to this camera that keeps me from searching for a pristine, used one. It's a fatal flaw in my estimation but... not everyone will share that viewpoint. 

So, what's the dead fly in the punchbowl? It's the focal length of the permanently attached optic. It's a 28mm. That's just too wide to make this camera an all terrain street camera for me. I wish it had a 35mm equivalent; or, even better a 40 or 50mm lens. Then it would be absolutely perfect. 

I sure wish Leica would make a camera like this in two versions. One with a 28mm on the front and one with a 50mm on the front. You could buy one of each, take a deep and satisfied sigh, and then be happy and content with your small and effective two camera system. Heck, if I never go back to working for clients that duo is exactly what I'd buy and use for my perpetual and indulgent personal work. But sadly, everyone seems transfixed with the "idea" of wide angles. 

You know my take on lenses wider than 35mm: They are for people who just can't make up their minds about what they might want to see in the frame. 

A true Leicaphile's response would be that I should just buy a Q2 with its 47.5 megapixel sensor and use it in various (available) crop modes to get the 35mm and 50mm. Even at the 50mm crop the higher res sensor delivers a 20+ megapixel file. But I'm stubborn and I'd rather have full resolution of a less densely populated sensor at the long end, not the short end. I know it's largely theoretical but that's how my brain works. 

When I watch the video I noticed that Evan uses the camera nearly always at arm's length and by viewing on the back screen into of using the (very, very good) EVF. When I remember that I have an "aha!" moment and I grab my newly customized Sigma fp with a 40mm Sigma lens and head out the door to practice my own style of "dirty baby diaper" hold and realize I already have a small and perfectly made camera for Q style shooting and it's arguably as good or better at making photographs. 

I'll tell you how I modified the camera, with the help of a VSL platinum reader, in the next post.

Day notes: It's been a busy day here. I chose to sign up for the 9 a.m. Sunday swim practice so I slept in till 8. I had a piece of that scrumptious, Whole Foods apple pie and a cup of coffee for breakfast and left the house in great spirits. 

The workout wasn't crowded and coach, Dale, was on the deck. He wrote a workout with a long warm-up and then introduced us to a nice "ladder" set. We went up and down a ladder of distances with a 50 meter kick between each distance. It went something like this: kick a 50, swim a 100, kick a 50, swim a 150, kick a 50, swim a 200, kick a 50, swim a 250, kick a 50, swim a 500, kick a 50, swim a 250, kick a 50, swim a 200 and so on. A nice way to lard a bunch of different distances into the meat of a work out.

We were diligent and had time at the end so we did a set of never ending 75 yard swims until we ran out the clock.

After a long and leisurely breakfast back home I started on my pre-shoot chores. I have two different physicians coming over at different times tomorrow for portraits. They are the safe kind. They are radiologist who are working remotely. We'll still follow all the safety rules...

But I've cleaned and mopped the bathroom, scrubbed the sink and toilet and outfitted the area with hand sanitizer, paper towels and extra surgical masks. I was feeling energetic so I also oiled the big, butcher block dining room table and the big butcher block prep table in the kitchen. I cleaned the Saharan Dust off all the air conditioner heat syncs and re-insulated the A/C piping in the house. After I finish this post I'm heading out to trim back some sage bushes and one annoying Japanese maple branch so my guests can find their way to the studio door. 

Then I'll reset the lights to the style we've been doing for the client over the past three or four years. Heady stuff, right? Beats sitting in front of the computer and searching to see if Leica has come out with a "P" version of the Q2... 

Better put that Sigma fp around my neck and carry it around as a reminder that I've already got this part of the gear party covered. Can't wait till it's safe to go everywhere to photograph. Happy enough now but really looking forward to 2021. All new, all the time.