u/nonfading

My adopted beauty is 4 today!

One of the original T's went for a profit, and G1 did the same. I accidentally scouted a T3 for the price that some people ask for a T2, so I bought it. You could easily pass it for brand new, apart from some minor wear on the battery cover. It has a single-tooth gear, is insanely clean both outside and inside, and came with the original leather case. I will load it with film tomorrow for a test.

My first ever exotic phone from Japan! I was always curious about what these things were and what made them so special, and boy, I am not disappointed. This really feels like it was from the future compared to what Europe was being offered at the time. It has a resistive touchscreen that feels almost capacitive and even supports pinch-to-zoom, continuous autofocus, image stabilization, a step counter, a TV tuner, a barcode and card reader, and face registration so the camera can recognize specific subjects in the crowd. It even has LED lighting around the edge, and probably a lot more interesting features. It truly is mesmerizing.

Likely no one will remember that I bought a "cheap" Q-P not long ago. The camera functioned perfectly, but it had a slightly wobbly lens. Mostly it would move from side to side, but sometimes I could feel it move up and down. Also, sometimes I could hear a loose screw rattling inside. I put some gaffer tape on the lens mount, which honestly suited this beaten Q-P, but at some point, I gathered up the courage and decided to disassemble it completely to tighten the lens.

I bought a sensor cleaning kit, but surprisingly—considering how beaten this camera is—the sensor actually had no dust spots to begin with. However, my room is full of dust, so some settled on it while it was open, and I also accidentally touched the IR filter (the blue/cyan glass in the photos). Fortunately, I successfully cleaned it off using just a dry swab, and I don't see any spots in my test photos now.

The teardown itself is actually pretty straightforward, but there are two parts that will absolutely test your patience and accuracy: sensor and ribbon cables.

Despite reading about other users' experiences beforehand, I somehow forgot that those spring-loaded sensor screws are factory-calibrated to micron accuracy to ensure the image is evenly sharp across the frame. Silly me didn't note their original positions, and when I put it all back together, I got some nasty blur on the left side of the frame at infinity focus. Keeping in mind that the projected image is reversed, I had to tighten the right side of the sensor a bit. How much? Who knows—we're talking laser precision here, so I just nudged it a tiny bit and tested it again. I got a 98% perfect result, except the lower part of the frame still had a slight blur, so I tightened the left screw a bit too. That is easily the trickiest part. I still feel like there is a tiny bit of smudge in the bottom-left corner at f/1.7 at infinity, but I'm calling it a day anyway. Otherwise, it is sharp everywhere, and by stopping down to f/2.8 or so, it's sharp across the whole frame.

The ribbon cables: Sliding these back into their tiny connectors isn't a total nightmare, but it definitely requires a steady hand and some precision to get them lined up and properly seated.

My biggest tip if you try this: just lay a sheet of paper down, place all the screws physically on it with proper space between them, and write down next to each set where they belong. Keeping them physically organized like this is the only way you'll get it back together in one piece. Do not move the paper at any cost, some screws are super tiny.

I’m usually absolutely awful at doing delicate work like this, but I’m actually pretty proud of myself for managing to get it all back together in one piece—and the lens isn't moving anymore!

Hi everyone,

recently I ran into some unpleasant issues. I drove in super heavy rain, like truly one of the worst ever (and I live in a generally rainy country). I hit a big puddle at some point, had to brake, and then proceeded to drive. After an hour or so, I got a pop-up on the screen with light-related messages. Turns out, the DRL stopped lighting up at all. At first, that was it, because the main beam and blinker would work; however, after a day or so, the front blinker stopped working too. I see no condensation or water intrusion in the headlights. Is it like the infamous DRL controller gone that is placed under the headlight? I also read that the blinker has a separate module? Mirror and rear blinker works fine.

The first one she had was a Nokia 1610, but this one was small and light. I think it came in a full D2-branded package.

During a short trip to Italy, my film was CT-scanned twice at the airport, resulting in heavy red shifts in the 400T shots.

UPDATE: Leica Wetzlar confirmed it is a Q-P!

I recently took a massive gamble on eBay and snagged what was advertised as a beaten-up Leica Q with a Q-P top. The seller noted that someone had supposedly slapped a Q-P top plate onto a regular, original Q body that looked like it had survived a literal war zone. To me, that didn't make sense; the main giveaway was the lens barrel, which had the distinct Q-P red engravings. It sounded highly unlikely that someone would do such a massive overhaul, swapping almost every single external part onto a standard Q body. After a brief chat, it turned out the seller didn't even know the Q had a touchscreen. I offered 1,500€, and the deal was sealed.

When it arrived, I immediately checked the internal EXIF data to find the motherboard's real serial number and crack the case. To my absolute surprise, the internal serial number matched the bottom plate perfectly. The lens barrel does have a slight physical wobble where it meets the chassis, complete with some sketchy, visible traces of glue. However, after comparing regular Q and Q-P bottom plates from other eBay listings, I am somewhat convinced it is a genuine Q-P (there is a slight difference in how the text blocks and regulatory info are positioned between the original Q and the Q-P lifecycle).

Surprisingly, I see no major dust spots. The AF works, the EVF works, the touchscreen works, and the shutter is smooth. I'm genuinely curious about how much this thing was abused to reach this level of wear, but hey, it found a new home. I'll probably just put some gaffer tape where the body meets the lens and call it a day

Still don't have an orange sim card but it's lovely piece to open and close repeatedly

I bought a GRIII with a lens error to repair it (apparently, a flex cable replacement didn't solve the issue, so the repair bill will likely increase). Meanwhile, I picked up this well-preserved GR I for way less than they usually go for nowadays. Man, the Positive Film simulation is truly something else on this camera.