Nikon Z f vs Leica Q-P

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z f and the Leica Q-P, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon Z f was introduced in September 2023 and Leica Q-P was introduced in November 2018. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z f over Leica Q-P.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Leica Q-P over Nikon Z f.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon Z f has a 3.2" Fully Articulated screen with 2,089k dots resolution and Leica Q-P has a 3.0" Fixed screen with 1,040k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Nikon Z f selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Nikon Z f has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,686k dots resolution and Leica Q-P has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 3,680k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Nikon Z f features a 24.4 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 64,000 and expands to 50 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Leica Q-P features a 24.2 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36 x 24 mm and a total area of 576 mm². Its native ISO range is [].

Nikon Z f has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Nikon Z f is equipped with Expeed 7 processor and can take pictures up to 6048 x 4032 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4528 x 3024, 3984 x 2656, 3024 x 2016, 2976 x 1992, 1984 x 1328 with 1:1, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Leica Q-P is equipped with Maestro II processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon Z f

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon Z f. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization (8 stops of compensation in Nikon Z f). On Nikon Z f it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac/b/g/n 2.4/5 GHz on Nikon Z f) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Nikon Z f

Nikon Z f has a built-in Bluetooth (version 5.0) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC on Leica Q-P

Leica Q-P has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Nikon Z f has a Micro Type D HDMI and Leica Q-P has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z f comes with EN-EL15c battery pack with battery life of 380 shots and Leica Q-P comes with BP-DC12 battery pack.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z f has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for microSD/microSDHC/microSDXC (UHS-I). Leica Q-P has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z f has Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal-plane mechanical shutter and Electronic front-curtain shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Z f, and up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/2000 sec with mechanical shutter on Leica Q-P. Nikon Z f can shoot continuously up to 15.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 14.0 fps with mechanical shutter. Leica Q-P can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z f has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 273 focusing points and Leica Q-P has 49 focusing points. Nikon Z f has detection range from -10 to +19 EV. The ability to focus at as low as -10 EV is a feature exclusive to top-tier professional cameras.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z f ranges from -4 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z f and ±2 range on Leica Q-P. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z f and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Leica Q-P.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Shoe Mount or Wireless connection to Nikon Z f and via Shoe Mount to Leica Q-P. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon Z f.

Nikon Z f body has dimensions of 144 x 103 x 49 mm (5.67 x 4.06 x 1.93") and Leica Q-P body has dimensions of 130 x 80 x 93 mm (5.12 x 3.15 x 3.66"). Nikon Z f weighs 710 g (1.57 lb / 25.04 oz) and Leica Q-P weighs 640 g (1.41 lb / 22.58 oz).

Nikon Z f

Leica Q-P

144 mm

103 mm

130 mm

80 mm

103 mm

80 mm

49 mm

93 mm