There’s no doubt that the Leica Q has been an enormous success story for Wetzlar. I doubt anyone at the factory could have predicted how it would take over the world. Even our Australian correspondent, John Shingleton, a confirmed X1 fan, has just bent the knee and ordered his Q. It is one of the best Leicas I have ever used, having spent nearly a year carrying it around after the launch in mid 2015. 

Now the Q has a sibling with a shiny new grey coat. The “Titanium gray” (sic) arrives on the shelves next month complete with a misspell, at least to British eyes and to those of most people who don’t speak American. Pity they couldn’t have chosen a name that was not open to quibble by pedants of this parish. Perhaps “Battleship Q” would have been a better choice. 

Anyway, we won’t hold this against the Titanium gray or grey because it appears to be a very pretty camera, designed to widen the appeal of the Q even further. It boasts new red lens markings and comes with a swishy new neck strap made out of climbing rope, just like TieHerUp’s Komboloi wrist strap. Let’s allow Leica’s press office to gush further:

Leica full press release

Leica Q ‘Titanium gray’.

A perfect fusion of technology, design and style

Leica Camera has revealed the Leica Q ‘Titanium gray’, bringing a brand new, alternative design to its successful, high-performance compact camera, the Leica Q, which features a fixed fast prime lens and full-frame sensor.

In contrast to the discreet black of the body, lens and leather-style trim of the original Leica Q, this stunning new model offers a titanium grey paint finish on the top and base plate and back of the camera, combining the premium look of precious metal with classic black elements. 

Elegant, yet extremely durable, the Leica Q ‘Titanium gray’ includes a series of striking design features not found on the standard model. For example, the distance scale in feet and the focal length on the lens are highlighted in red. Furthermore, the colour-coordinated carrying strap supplied with the camera has been manufactured from strong, robust material most commonly used to make climbing ropes.

Offering the same impressive performance and technical specifications of the black Leica Q model, the Leica Q ‘Titanium gray’ features intuitive handling and an exceptionally fast lens. The perfect camera for street, architectural and landscape photography, its Leica Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens makes the Leica Q ideal for available light shooting and has an angle of view that reproduces scenes with natural perspectives and proportions.

With a 24 MP, full-frame CMOS sensor precisely matched to its lens, the Leica Q ‘Titanium gray’ delivers richly detailed exposures with low noise at optimum quality, at ISO sensitivities of up to 50,000.  This outstanding camera allows the greatest possible creative freedom for even the most demanding photographic ambitions, enabling the photographer to switch effortlessly between macro, automatic and manual focusing.

Ensuring the decisive moment is never missed, the Leica Q full-frame compact camera has the fastest autofocus in its class and offers precision focusing almost in real-time. Furthermore, its Leica ultra-fast Maestro II image processor enables continuous shooting at up to ten frames per second at full resolution. Allowing reliable control of subject composition at this speed, the Leica Q also features an integrated viewfinder with a resolution of 3.68 MP – displaying even the finest details without any perceptible lag, as soon as the camera is brought up to the user’s eye.

All functions of the camera are clearly laid out and logically placed, making it exceptionally ergonomic to use. The clear and logical menu provides rapid access to all essential functions and also enables photographers to programme their own personalised settings.

In addition, the Leica Q delivers movie recording in full-HD quality. Depending on the scene and subject, users can choose between 30 and 60 full frames per second for video recording in MP4 format. The camera also features an integrated Wi-Fi module for wireless transmission of still pictures and video to other devices, and remote control by WLAN from a smartphone or tablet.

The Leica Q app enabling these features can be downloaded free of charge from the Leica web site. As well as providing a remote release function and display of the viewfinder image, the app also allows the setting of parameters such as aperture and shutter speed from the device employed.

Full product specifications can be found at: uk.leica-camera.com.

Pricing and availability

The Leica Q ‘Titanium gray’ is scheduled to be available from mid-November 2016, at a suggested retail price of £3,800 including VAT.

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