The Leica Q doesn’t come cheap, but it’s still got people talking. Find out why in our Leica Q (Typ 116) review.
Leica Q (Typ 116) Review
Leica Q (Typ 116) Review – Image Quality
As mentioned previously, the compact with a sensor most similar to the Leica Q is the Sony RX1. However, Sony has stated that the sensor itself isn’t one of theirs, and is instead a bespoke Leica version.
The Leica Q’s metering set-up generally performs well, delivering even exposures with only a slight tendency towards retaining highlight detail through underexposure. It’s also worth nothing that the camera boasts a large dynamic range, and as such detail can be easily rescued from any areas of shadow.
Colour
The Q is also capable of capturing a wide range of colours and delivering pleasing colour tone. That being said, perhaps the most impressive of the colour modes is one which operates through its absence – the monochrome mode delivers excellent tone and, with a bit of extra contrast boost, is capable of excellent results.
Resolution
In terms of resolution, the Leica Q operates to the level you might expect for a full-frame 24MP sensor. A large amount of data is captured and it would certainly be enough to deliver clean large-scale prints at a wide range of ISO settings.
Noise
Much as with the camera’s resolution performance, the Leica Q delivers results in terms of ISO noise that you might expect for such a camera. Up to ISO 800 there’s very little in terms of noise in the images, even in the shadow areas. In fact, it’s not until around ISO 6,400 that noise becomes an issue, although above this setting images do fall off slightly.