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Monochrom M246 Reviews


Petster

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Nice camera - I think it may pull in some new customers; B&W seems to be riding a wave right now. Whether an upgrade from the Monochrom 1 is justified is another question. For me the balance is that I'ii stick with my current one - my photography does not merit  more.

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I've just read through two reviews and neither give a resounding message to upgrade besides wanting the features of the M240 platform or higher ISO. In fact both reviews identify what now seems a clear difference between the rendering of the CCD or CMOS sensors such that a preference for the look of the image may simply be the deciding factor. Yes indeed, the MM has now been confirmed in it's 'classic' never to be repeated status.

 

Steve

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I've just read through two reviews and neither give a resounding message to upgrade besides wanting the features of the M240 platform or higher ISO. In fact both reviews identify what now seems a clear difference between the rendering of the CCD or CMOS sensors such that a preference for the look of the image may simply be the deciding factor. Yes indeed, the MM has now been confirmed in it's 'classic' never to be repeated status.

 

Steve

HI Steve

I thought the difference between the M9(ccd) and M240(cmos) was in the colour . . . .. do you think there's a difference in rendering based on the CCD/CMOS distinction without colour as well? By the way, I don't, nor does Sean Read, and I'm pretty sure GrEGORy doesn't either. 

 

FWIW I've done a writeup as well: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-news/author/jono/

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I would like to know the performance with difficult wide angle lenses. 

 

I do see differences in the rendering of the blacks between the MM and the 246. The 246 blacks seem more washed.

 

I seem to like also the high iso drawing of the MM (eventhough it has more noice)

 

I work with wa and the live view would really help me frame the picture.

Edited by manolo
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I've published a full review of the M Monochrom (typ 246) with tons of samples: 

 

http://www.reddotforum.com/content/2015/04/leica-m-monochrom-typ-246-review/

 

I am also currently working on a comparison of the MM246 vs the M9M and M240, which I will have up in the next several days.

 

Happy to answer any question or offer my thoughts.

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David, I see that you used the 18 elmar alot and I am glad as I think it is my favorit lens. I wonder about the performance diference 

in vignetting and detail in the perimeter of the image in a lens like the 16 hollogon.

 

 

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I find it odd that there are already so called "reviews" of this camera out when the camera it self has not been out.

 

One might consider the fact that true reviews of equipment like this can only be 100% relevant when someone has put thousands of frames through this equipment over the course of 3-6 months, preferably in a full time professional setting. 

 

I'll give an example of the value of "reviews" right out of the gate: 

 

I read about a half a dozen reviews of the Fuji X100T before buying mine in November of last year. Not one of those so called "reviews" mentioned the utter insanity that is the viewing of the menu or menu like items in that you either have to keep your eye glued to the VF to see them making it really interesting in making sure you press the right button for adjustments or essentially put the camera in live view to see them on the rear LCD from which 4 more button pushes are needed to bring the camera back to VF mode.

 

After the last firmware update did not fix it, I sold the damn camera...

 

Beware of the "Internet Gear Review Hero" is all I am saying....

Edited by KM-25
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David, I see that you used the 18 elmar alot and I am glad as I think it is my favorit lens. I wonder about the performance diference 

in vignetting and detail in the perimeter of the image in a lens like the 16 hollogon.

 

I shot the 18mm Elmar quite a lot in NYC, but not at all in New Orleans. I find that the lens works amazingly well in very specific circumstances. For most use cases, though, the 24 Elmar is my go-to wide angle lens. 

 

I can't speak to the 16mm Hollogon as I have never shot it, but from what I've seen, the 18mm Leica is in a completely different class. The 18, 21 and 24 Elmar lenses are the best wide angle lenses I've ever used.

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Having read the reviews and though the better high ISO performance is attractive I think that if I had an MM I'd probably not bother upgrading. That being said, having made the decision to buy the Monochrom a few months ago, I'm glad I waited for the new model.

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I find it odd that there are already so called "reviews" of this camera out when the camera it self has not been out.

 

One might consider the fact that true reviews of equipment like this can only be 100% relevant when someone has put thousands of frames through this equipment, preferably in a full time professional setting. 

 

I'll give an example of the value of "reviews" right out of the gate: 

 

I read about a half a dozen reviews of the Fuji X100T before buying mine in November of last year. Not one of those so called "reviews" mentioned the utter insanity that is the viewing of the menu or menu like items in that you either have to keep your eye glued to the VF to see them or essentially put the camera in live view to see them on the rear LCD. After the last firmware update did not fix it, I sold the damn camera...

 

Beware of the "Internet Gear Review Hero" is all I am saying....

 

I can't speak for others, but Jono and I were both beta testers for the M246, not just casual reviewers. I've had the camera for almost a month and have shot about 3000 frames so far in a wide variety of conditions. I'm sure that Jono has had his longer. And we both have years of experience with both the M9M and the M240. We're not exactly tech bloggers doing a drive-by write-up on a system we know nothing about. 

 

Just sayin'

 

Of course, few things bother me more than reviewers who are clearly unqualified or uneducated in the product they are reviewing, so we totally agree there.

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Well Beta testing is what it is and if one can throw some of their style and visual panache in there, all the better. If not, these early in write-ups will serve a purpose for someone I guess.

 

One big, big thing I noticed in your samples is that in a good percentage of the images, the tonal structures looked way off...I could not figure out if they were flat off or toned wrong in post off. I shoot a lot of black and white film in my M3 & M6 and if I am doing my job right as a visual translator of the light and just being a good photographer over all, I can get a nice range of tones and that signature Leica 3-D pop on a grade 2-3 paper with no adjustments in local contrast. 

 

In the samples you have shown, I see a distinct over domination of some tones and total lack of others....they just don't have the visual relationships I am used to seeing on those subjects and I have been to both places. Also, when I run my cursor over the image I am looking at, the in-line displayed image goes even flatter in some display of web-centric techno-wizardy.....that cute little effect is not doing the pop of your images any favors yo...

 

Just something I noticed and thought to point out.

Edited by KM-25
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I read about a half a dozen reviews of the Fuji X100T before buying mine in November of last year. Not one of those so called "reviews" mentioned the utter insanity that is the viewing of the menu or menu like items in that you either have to keep your eye glued to the VF to see them making it really interesting in making sure you press the right button for adjustments or essentially put the camera in live view to see them on the rear LCD from which 4 more button pushes are needed to bring the camera back to VF mode.

 

That resonates with me too.  None of the reviews of the Fuji X-T1 mentioned some details that mattered to me — annoyances that caused me to part with it.  I'm not doubting the qualities M246 — which looks fantastic — but talking about reviews generally, whether of hardware or software.  

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my photography does not merit  more.

To me, putting creature comforts aside, the incremental merit of this new camera comes down to whether it can capture more highlight information and not clip as easily as the original MM.  If the answer is no, i see no benefit to upgrading from the original MM, which, other than what i view as this one material shortfall, has more capability than the vast majority of people wanting a B&W digital exprience can utilize   

 

This would be the very first point of discussion and deep analysis in any formal review that i would make.  Pixel peeping of midtones and discussion of ergonomics is kind of not getting the joke, imho.

Edited by A miller
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To me, putting creature comforts aside, the incremental merit of this new camera comes down to whether it can capture more highlight information and not clip as easily as the original MM.  If the answer is no, i see no benefit to upgrading from the original MM, which, other than what i view as this one material shortfall, has more capability than the vast majority of people wanting a B&W digital exprience can utilize   

 

This would be the very first point of discussion and deep analysis in any formal review that i would make.  Pixel peeping of midtones and discussion of ergonomics is kind of not getting the joke, imho.

Given the high ISO capability the opening up of shadows and thus the ability to preserve highlights should be improved by about 1.5 stop compared to the MM1

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