Leica has announced the availability of the first firmware upgrade for the outstandingly successful full-frame, fixed 28mm lens Q. But the list of changes is pretty underwhelming. I’m disappointed because I had been hoping for a fix to provide button access to the screen/viewfinder mode. At the moment, the Q shares the Sony A7’s foible in requiring you to enter the menu to toggle the three modes: Screen only, viewfinder only, auto eye sensor.
I prefer to work with the viewfinder activated rather than using the eye sensor. But, as with the Sony, the big downside to this arrangement is that the only way to get back to using the screen is by squinting at the menu through the viewfinder. Most other manufacturers’ cameras (stand up Fuji, applause) and other models in the Leica lineup (M, SL, D Lux for instance) have a convenient external button for viewfinder mode setting.
The latest update is pretty limited as firmware updates go and there is certainly nothing to set the pulse racing. There is just one improvement, to the image quality at lower ISO settings, plus a couple of big fixes as you can see from the image below. Perhaps the paucity of change reflects the fact that the Q started life as a very well-sorted camera.
