B&W sensor only?-- Merged--

[sblitz]

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FWIW -- Rumor: the next Leica M camera will have a black and white sensor | Leica News & Rumors

[Leicanier]

Rumor: the next Leica M camera will have a black and white sensor | Leica News & Rumors

[Keith (M)]

Black & White? As the 'sensor' is not a Kodak one, clearly it must be an Ilford one!

[viramati]

like let's get back to reality!!

[pico]

Well, that's a little crazy. No Bayer filter. Sharper? Greater resolution (4x18?)

I wonder if it has an IR sensor cover. Will one use conventional B&W contrast filters with it?

Or is it just another WAG rumor.

[Vlad]

I think it's feasible.

[Royal_Corona]

And to develop the pictures one has to shake the camera in given intervals depending on ISO

Mike

[dave_d]

Without the RGB color Bayer filters over the sensor I imagine the camera would have a higher usuable ISO. Any thoughts?

[Sp12]

XD Let's get rid of every advantage of digital capture while simultaneously avoiding the fact that the M9's LCD is subpar.

[adan]

Me, I'm a color guy. Especially with digital. I do some B&W conversion, but I'm not about to work with a B&W-only camera.

But a monochrome sensor does offer the advantage of no color filters (which do reduce the available light, as dave_d mentions, by close to two stops). And for Leica, it does away with the headache of "red edge" and "cyan drift" and such. Uncoded or especially troublesome wide-angles like the 21mm Super-Angulons or some of the C/V wides would gain a new lease on life, for those who do only do B&W. It would indeed also require less IR filtering (but not zero - see LL review below), but would still need some kind of protective glass cover over the silicon.

Kodak made monochrome versions of a couple of their SLRs over the past two decades, including their very first DCS-100.

Kodak DCS 100
Kodak 760m Review

They were niche products and still didn't sell very well.

But Leica's "niche" is niches. A "special edition" by which they can suck an extra $5000 out of buyers is right up their alley.

[IkarusJohn]

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It will be right up there with the Foveon sensor SD-1

[Jim-St]

Originally Posted by adan

Me, I'm a color guy. Especially with digital. I do some B&W conversion, but I'm not about to work with a B&W-only camera.

But a monochrome sensor does offer the advantage of no color filters (which do reduce the available light, as dave_d mentions, by close to two stops). And for Leica, it does away with the headache of "red edge" and "cyan drift" and such. Uncoded or especially troublesome wide-angles like the 21mm Super-Angulons or some of the C/V wides would gain a new lease on life, for those who do only do B&W. It would indeed also require less IR filtering (but not zero - see LL review below), but would still need some kind of protective glass cover over the silicon.

Kodak made monochrome versions of a couple of their SLRs over the past two decades, including their very first DCS-100.

Kodak DCS 100
Kodak 760m Review

They were niche products and still didn't sell very well.

But Leica's "niche" is niches. A "special edition" by which they can suck an extra $5000 out of buyers is right up their alley.

I can see all that. Plus getting rid of that pesky protruding LCD that needs sapphire armouring would make some sense. And probably more Leica-shots end up b&w than Canonikons and such. So maybe. There's a niche there, esp as a second camera for M9-owners

Maybe not my niche, but if I think about it long enough, maybe, just maybe... oh heck. Hard not to want it. Maybe best it doesn't happen...

Jim

[algrove]

This is what Leica Rumors has just put up on their site. Apparently May 12th is the date according to this Rumor site. Why would you want an expensive camera that cannot take color photographs? Let's hear it.

[jdlaing]

Originally Posted by algrove

This is what Leica Rumors has just put up on their site. Apparently May 12th is the date according to this Rumor site. Why would you want an expensive camera that cannot take color photographs? Let's hear it.

I wouldn't.

[maurometallo]

Yes. Most definetely.

[davidbaddley]

I did. In fact, I bought two, the M6 and MP. I like the M9 best for color, but I still prefer film for black & white.

[Ib M]

It sounds really interesting and I would just be interested in such a version of M10, but is included in the div. threads to see if it is a real bid for an upgrade, or it is a good "1 april joke"


Ib M - Ipad

[La Morte]

If they weren't as expensive as the M9, yes. But if the price is the same, NO! With the price as it is I still want the best with the most futures possible.

Streamlight Photography

[jaques]

if this rumor is true- I would expect it will be a limited edition camera and stupidly expensive. I wouldn't buy it..

[menos | M6]

Originally Posted by maurometallo

Yes. Most definetely.

+1

… without thinking twice … or long, that is

My M8.2 is currently a B&W only M.
My M9 is probably a 99% B&W M,

While my film M cameras are all B&W only.


In fact, the little film, I find myself buying in color languishes in the fridge, reaching expiration, while I can't re stock on B&W as fast, as I shoot.

A B&W only digital M, that meters and shoots to ISO6400, as the film M's before it used to do is a no brainer and instant buy for me.