Leica Q2 Comprehensive Menu & Setup Guide (FW 5.0)

(LINKS BELOW): Here is my comprehensive guide to setting up and using the ‪@LeicaCameraUSA‬ Q2. I'll run through the controls, menus, and describe how to use the function buttons, favorites menu and profiles to dial this camera in for your way of shooting. Yeah, I know the Q3 is launching this week, but there are plenty of Q2 shooters out there and some of them have been bugging me to do this. I'm going to have one of the first Q3s and I'll do a comparison video as well as a full setup video for that camera too when it arrives.
LINKED TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00 Intro to this setup guide
01:50 Why I love my Q2 & will order a Q3
02:20 Controlling the camera modes and it’s EVF & display
03:05 Quick menu settings
05:14 How to choose ⅓ stop shutters speeds & focus manually
06:30 Introduction to profiles (more advanced later)
07:15 Metering, White Balance & Image quality`
09:08 An introduction to the Favorites menu + my list
09:40 Menu page 1
10:16 The Focusing submenu
16:07 Auto ISO settings
17:10 Menu page 2
20:04 Menu page 3
20:19 User Profile submenu & backing up profiles
25:00 Menu page 4 + Customize buttons & favorites
27:31 Gray Card is a killer white balance tool
33:15 Menu page 5
34:17 Illustrative overview of my profile settings
39:30 Interval Shooting and Bracketing settings
41:22 I will cover the Q3 as it launches
My Downloadable Custom Q2 User Profiles: bit.ly/HHPQ2Profiles
Leica Q2: bhpho.to/3MQi7Hg
RRS Q2 L-bracket: bhpho.to/3MSufri
Rubber aftermarket lens cap: bhpho.to/41XqhSA
Spare battery: bhpho.to/43ruOOt
Travel charger: bhpho.to/3BUcNwc
Color Checker Passport Grey Card: bhpho.to/3WxzuQD
Luma Labs QD Strap: bit.ly/HHPLUMAQD (discount: “HUDSON10”)
Our selection of NYA-EVO packs & RCIs: bit.ly/HHP_NYA
My custom tripods & support parts: bit.ly/HHPTripds
Our selection of Kase filters: bit.ly/HHKase
Updated links to all the gear I use and recommend: bit.ly/HudsonsLinks
Using my links helps support this video series. Thank you!
I invite all of you to join Rick, Woody, David, Darren and me for our next free live Office Hours session. Submit a question when you sign up.
Office Hour signup site: bit.ly/2UgDaX4
Thanks to everyone for the great questions you are sending in. Keep them coming either in the comments below or by emailing me directly. I hope to see you in the next Office Hours session.
Stay safe and healthy.

[@c4dbbigbend594]

Most professional KZbin video on photography yet. This fellow is very good, Leica tech doc writers should take note!

[@JaimeLacayoPTY]

You just made me fall even in more love with my new Q2. Thanks for making this video man.

[@christianwoldsgaard9505]

Coming from Nikon and joining the Leica family. Ordered my Q3 today and it should arrive next week. The most productive way of waiting would of course be watching great photographers explaining what they did about the menu, profiles etc. Thank you Hudson, this was a great introduction 📷

[@larsmunck9347]

Oooiiiiiiooopp fy

[@vwindman]

Really great video… after 25 years of teaching special ed you nailed my idiosyncrasies- visual, speaking slowly and giving the viewer(student) a chance to implement the direction- 👏🏻

[@CShivery]

Thanks for the video. I just bought one 12 days before a trip to Europe. I'm trying to travel light, so my Z7 and lenses are staying home. First time in over 10 years that I've traveled without a DSLR or mirrorless Nikon. I'm jumping headlong into this Q2.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Enjoy! You'll love it! Have a great trip.

[@GastonShutters]

love your dedication putting together this video. Have the Q2 and Ordered the Q3. Can't wait.

[@hlash99]

What an awesome tutorial. I have the Q3 on order…looking fwd to your vid for that!

[@patporter9873]

Thanks Hudson, this was a great video. I have had a Q2 Monochrome for two years and have been using it in an "old school" manner. I did not realize what I was missing by way of customization until I watched your video. Thank you! Bravo!

[@victorcarmelo8606]

Thank you. Have saved this video to compare it to my settings and see if I can improve them. Thanks again.

[@cjgetreal]

Thanks Hudson, you are just fabulous on these camera setups. Yesterday the Z8 and Q2 today. -- I think I need a break!!

[@ChrevorWiggins]

Just got a Q2 and this was such a massive help in customizing my set up. Thank you!

[@portonhorton]

Great video. I have had my Q2 for a few months. I found this really helpful.

[@JonLloyd65]

Awesome instructional video Hudson! I just got my Q2 and this helped no end. Thanks very much.

[@stefanpauly8676]

Love this video, clear and comprehensive. I have my Q2 since almost 2 years and I love my Q2, especially your profile desciptions are vey helpful

[@DLMA1961]

This is the video I've been looking for since grabbing the Q2 Reporter last month! Not sure why it took me this long to find it; guess I need to work on my search skills. Very helpful, thank you!

[@kiwi2xs]

brilliant video, so helpful and well presented. i just picked up a Q2 and this has been a great starting point.

[@chrismcr]

Thank you for this excellent video. So useful for a new Leica Q shooter.

[@ProfessionalHobbyist]

Just picked up a Q2 and this was extremely helpful! I'm coming from a sony a7r3 and feel like I just got that menu system down and while leicas menu system is easier to understand this video has definitely sped up the learning curve!

[@Exercises10]

Excellent video, and thanks for sharing your user profiles. I recently reset my profiles when updating the firmware to 5.1.0. Silly me. So, I had to search for help on KZbin and found your great video. I am searching for a video on how to set up for long exposure and how to set the camera to take longer than 2-minute exposures. I heard it is possible just can't find instructions on how to do it. Anyway, have a great year!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

1+ on the shutter dial. Dial the thumb wheel all the say past 120 to T. Now when you press the shutter it opens. Time the exposure and press again to close it. Past 120 seconds the slight movement of pressing the shutter will have zero effect on the image. It's such a tiny percentage of the light gathered during the capture. You also won't see if someone walks briskly through your scene at more than 120s. An unseen ghost. Similarly, the camera shake from touching it twice is of no concern on a rock solid tripod.

[@Exercises10]

Thanks, Hudson, for the help! @@HudsonHenryPhoto

[@derekthelion]

So incredibly impressed by this. You've earned a new subscriber!

[@teofilobenitez]

Love this the most of all Q2 videos have watched so far. Very practical and informative plus easy to understand and follow. Can’t wait to watch your next video. Began my Leica journey with a DLUX 5 and just got my Q2 at the Leica Raffles store in Singapore last week as live in Manila. Anyway, keep it up 👊

[@teegee217]

Thankyou, this has really been a help in setting up my Q2. Really well explained and easy for me to follow.. thanks again

[@Getorti]

Thank you for that great video! can't wait to see the one you'll make on Lieca Q3 which I got last Friday!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Ooooo, I'm jealous. I slept in to late that morning. Have fun!

[@terrencemcmanus]

Great vid. Waiting to find something that was conprehensive.

[@lancesaunders2996]

Thank you for such an informative and easy to understand set up guide. Like you I downloaded the new 5.0 firmware and lost all of my preferred settings, so I watched this to get quickly back on track. Of course if I watched your guide before uploading the firmware I would have learnt how to protect them. :-]

[@sourcefollower]

This is so good! The instruction manual is a bit of a dry read - much easier to digest from your video. Thank you!

[@kieulannguyen1193]

Thank you so much for your informative video. I learned a lot from this tutorial. ❤❤❤

[@tonyklein6499]

Thanks - best overview ever!

[@findermanimages]

Fantastic. Very helpful indeed!

[@rsa008]

Amazing video!

[@user-dw9tv5ug2m]

Thank you, very helpful!

[@JimMoore]

Your Leica Q2 video was so awesome! But, I own a Q3 and await your next tutorial. It was better than any other video I viewed on KZbin. But the new features need a new tutorial! PLEASE! Do the Q3 soon. Thanks! JIM

[@vinaythakur3967]

Very informative. Was extremely helpful.

[@benfidar]

Superb. I am taking the leap.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Oh you'll be pleased!!! :-)

[@lpark8]

Super helpful thank you 🙏😎

[@billinga]

Journey to Leica Q3 I was a fairly early adopter of the Fuji X100 series (2013) as my EDC. Also, former Minolta film(X7, XGM), longtime Nikon digital shooter (D100, D300, D700, Z6II, Z9, and now Z8) as the workhorse/duty camera yet my everyday camera was the X100S then X100F then X100V until moving to Nikon mirrorless 2021. Tried several EDC options with Nikon Z6II to make it the EDC, short primes, pancake lens, small telescopes but no option worked as well as the X100V for my style of shooting. Bear in mind, the X100V had some annoying limitations, which is why I moved to mirrorless to address (auto focus and manual controls were chief among these). Since 2019, I have watched both the Leica M and Q series reviews and experiences. The reason that I have followed Leica is a dear friend and fellow professional photographer is a life long Leica shooter(mainly film) and has encouraged me to join team Leica for decades. So after the Q3 was announced, I pre-ordered and am awaiting the experience. The 60MP allows good flexibility to crop/compose even with the wide 28MM lens (which, by all accounts, is excellent). The ergonomics are not as preferred (the wireless hand grip will help) but the manual controls allow fast changes and feel great. I am hopeful the Q3 tradeoffs and workflow will fit my desired use case. Thanks for the great review of the Q2 and tacit encouragement. Keep pressing forward. Cheers!!

[@garyscaife429]

Thanks Hudson

[@danbennett88]

Thanks!

[@eduardoreategui]

such a good video!

[@dieseldavey]

Thank you 👍🏻

[@seifpembe5600]

Tenk you 🙏

[@derekthelion]

Wondered if its possible for you to make your Custom Profiles downloadable?

[@jeffseltzer8109]

Thanks, super helpful for someone coming from Fuji to Leica. QUESTION: how do you adjust the size of the field focus box via the EVF? I have the back LCD off during shooting. Is there a way?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I don't know that you can change except on the back touchscreen.

[@johnscherrer8323]

Just what I needed. Thank you! What is the cover you are using on the lens hood?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It's linked with the camera and other essential accessories here: www.hudsonhenry.com/atslinks

[@2nightgdub]

Just found you because I ordered a Leica Q3. Really liked your initial Q3 introduction and decided to watch your Full Q2 setup video. QUESTION: What is that tiny tripod the Q2 is sitting on? I love it!

[@DarrenLloydPDX]

That looks like a Leofoto LS-223C.

[@2nightgdub]

@@DarrenLloydPDX Thank you!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Yep. I can get you a link if you like, but the head is an acratech panorama head off my ultralight custom tripod... Www.hudsonhenry.com/tripods

[@johnb8538]

Wow- that was wonderful- Hudson- been following you over the years- off and on- but not lately- and saw this on the Q2- I am so excited you found the Q2…. I am deeply down both rabbit holes- Nikon.. forever- and Leica the past 3 or so years- Q2 and Q2 mono - reporter…. Love love them- and more … and of course my Nikons… DSLR and Z series….. but I do tend to use my Q2 and M11 much more than the Nikon- hmmmm- anyway- this video was excellent- I knew a lot about the Q- just never set up the settings- but having set up my Nikon based on earlier videos you provided- especially the Z6ii and Z50 - I knew when I saw this - that I was in for a treat- and you delivered again- thank you….. cannot wait to set up the custom settings…. Cheers from San Francisco…..

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Awwwww, Thanks John! makes my weekend to read that. I hear you on the joyfulness of the Leica experience. It's just so rewarding.

[@johnb8538]

Quick update- I set up the camera as recommended- std, landscape and BW… went out to Half Moon Bay yesterday and walked the coast trail - Poplar Beach…. And went through an area where the Monterey Cypress trees were mangled and fallen…. And quickly and easily went to BW without a blink- so grateful…. Easy….. then back to color- then more trees down and tangled roots- bw…. Thank you again- just saw you dropped the Z8 setup….. waiting for my Z8…… got the 24-120 with it- very excited….. cheers

[@Fr8Dog]

Hudson, I have a Q2 /ON1 Photo Raw 24 question. When I exposure bracket using your settings in camera, when I import the DNG's into Raw 24 they don't carry lens correction into the HDR processor. If I go and add ONLY the lens correction to the photos it says that I don't have enough photos. I don't know how to get HDR w/o the edges looking funny because I can't add lens correction..

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

On1 is having an issue with Leica lens correction in general. I have it too. Be sure and reach out to report it. I know they're working on it, but more encouragement never hurts.

[@Fr8Dog]

Thanks, I let Stevie know.@@HudsonHenryPhoto

[@davidw2454]

Why in the function menu do I keep getting the message “active items cannon be deleted” it’s not allowing me to change any of them

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

When that function is active for that button, you can't delete it as an option for that button. Make the button do what you want by default (long press and choose from the list), before attempting to delete (uncheck) options that happen to be active by default. It won't let you deactivate the current actively set option from the list of potential functions.

[@burneshollyman2621]

I upgraded to 5.0 and my screen went black with a few images in live view and then died. Nobody has any answers on why. I have another Q2 I upgraded flawlessly.

[@changez77654]

Please do one for the Q3!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I will for sure

[@agrnbrg]

Are you doing a setup guide for the Q3?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I will when I get mine! You bet. :)

[@agrnbrg]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto I just ordered mine today. I'm excited to have an EDC camera to go along with the Z9.