Is M Monochrome really worth if still own M240

[cirke]

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Luke Miller we all know it ... but what matters is the file at the end, the gray scale is not infinite and does not cover 14 bits, a sensor color has enough informations to get the gray scale that you get  in mono sensor ... bayer or not

Edited April 16, 2017 by siangue

[russell]

In images from the M-246 more light reaches the sensor and each pixel in the sensor maps directly to a pixel in the image. The result is improved dynamic range

 

But is it?  I get blown highlights where I wouldn't expect them.

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[Luke_Miller]

But is it?  I get blown highlights where I wouldn't expect them.

 I do also if I am not careful.  If outdoors in full sun I maintain -.7 EV exposure compensation.  That preserves the highlighhs on my body..  The Leica metering is pretty basic, so the Monochrom user needs to be more careful.  I don't think that says anything about dynamic range.

[Jeff S]

Dynamic range is different than exposure latitude.

 

Jeff

[bozu_shutterbugger]

Given the ISO-capabilities of the M10, I think the Monochrom makes less sense today. I own both the M240 and M246, and the 246-files are superior in terms of IQ and high ISO capability. If I had an M10 and a M246, I’m not so sure the difference at high ISO would be so big any more. With my M246 I can easily shoot clean files at 8000ISO.

As others have stated already, if you are skilled, and have the time, in Photoshop/Another Good Photo Editing Program, you have a lot more options with a color DNG and you can get a very similar result IQ wise. What I do like with the M246 is how little I actually need to adjust in post. I shoot a lot indoor at high ISO and I usually only have to add some clarity, a little bit of black, maybe some contrast, crop If necessary and then I’m done. Whereas with my M240 you need to tweak a lot more to get a good result, especially indoor with mixed lighting. My other usage for the M246 is when the weather is bad, and where I live (in the south of Sweden, close to the sea) we have a lot of bad weather, basically from end of October until beginning of April/May the weather is usually all grey, humid and a bit wet mixed with some occasional snow. Under those conditions (indoor and grey weather) B/W-photo in general shines to me, and there, the M246 really shines! During the summer here (where it gets dark at 23:00 and sun gets up at 2.30), I mostly shot with my M240 instead. Others may of course have different experiences/opinions

 

This one is 3200ISO indoor in mixed lighting (nothing special, just an example ):

really like your inputs and the way of thinking. I am thinking similar. I feel that I dull weather you need to find a catchy subject and eithe over expose the sky or may be long expose it... unless you have the mm + polarizer and get it right from the camera

 

 

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[bozu_shutterbugger]

It is totally, 100% and definitively the same, but if you are free to believe the contrary

prove your hypothesis

 

 

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[cirke]

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prove your hypothesis

 

 

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it is not an hypothesis

 

 

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[Csacwp]

Guys, stop feeding the troll.

 

I used to shoot an M240 but traded it for an M246 and never looked back. Superior resolution and high ISO performance. I can shoot in the streets at night with a summicron and get good results. More subtle tonality and shadow detail as well, and it renders beautifully with vintage lenses. I now use an SL for the rare times I shoot in color.

[fotografr]

Guys, stop feeding the troll.

 

I used to shoot an M240 but traded it for an M246 and never looked back.

I went from MM1 to the M240 and was never able to get b&w conversions that satisfied me. I got rid of it and went back to the MM1 and could not be happier--particularly now that I have the new sensor in it.

[Kwesi]

Hi All.. you might think why and i am sure there are many reason for what i am about to ask to go yes or no.

So.... i have M240 and very happy with it. I love my lenses and images. But.. but the black and white started appealing me and now comes the big question:

Is it worth investing in Leica M Monochrome even if i have M240? Is this colorless filter which Leica says they have in M246 make that much of a difference that MM will be totally different then the M240.

I have non knowledge but if i convert the M240 images to black and white on computer or shoot B&W with my M240 will there be a huge difference? Difference worth paying for another camera?

At the beginning when it was launched I never felt the need of getting the black and white only camera and not having the choice of color images, but after reading all the difference between M and the MM is there anyone who can explain if it really matter to get M or shall i wait till the M10 Monochrome comes out we see what that has to offer.

Thank you

The answer to your question is "yes", unreservedly yes! Especially if you already have an M240 or other color digital M.

We get so bogged down on technical differences in BW quality between 240/246 that we overlook the real advantage of the 246 and M9M- the total absence of color during the creative process. It's power is not to be underestimated and is truly rewarding.

[Big_g]

Whether or not there is a technical difference is pretty unimportant to me if I am honest. The main difference when I am using my 246 is that I am thinking differently and I enjoy what I am doing more. I take the 246 when I want to do something interesting whereas the 240 will go to anywhere that I just want to capture an image.

 

Occasionally the 240 is more useful if I am going to some gardens or similar where the colour is quite important but when I just want to go and take photographs the 246 is better.

 

Having both is good as I have both options covered. To be honest if I could only have 1body then it would be the 240 as it covers all the bases very very well but the 246 is a nice indulgence if you can justify having it in your bag.  

[henning]

We get so bogged down on technical differences in BW quality between 240/246 that we overlook the real advantage of the 246 and M9M- the total absence of color during the creative process. It's power is not to be underestimated and is truly rewarding.

 

 

It is indeed that.

 

After the first time I shot with an M9M I felt that this is what I wanted. I'd had M8's, 9's and have an M240, but the Monochrom lets me shoot the way I want and never lets colour interfere with that. Since I got the Monochrom I shoot 80% with that, and for general shooting mostly take it over the M240. Having shot with an M10 I will probably not get that camera, but will definitely get the M10M. For many years I shot B&W with Leica's, and am used to shooting that way. The Monochrom lets me shoot the same way. I'm not interested in converting colour to B&W, although I have done it with files from many different cameras. I want the process to be B&W. When I get an M10M, I will probably put a GY filter over the lens, as I like that rendition for most things, and when I go out shooting I will know what I will get. The camera will fade in my hands and I will enjoy shooting with it as I enjoy the M9M experience (minus the buffer problems and the other disadvantages re the M10 features.

 

I don't shoot for money anymore. I shoot for myself and the joy of photography. B&W photography is the pinnacle of that for me. That's all, and that's everything.

[Jeff S]

Just took delivery today on a mint original M Monochrom, with low actuations, new sensor and recent Leica service, at a very reasonable price from a reputable Leica dealer.  While I have the M10, I've been tempted for some time to again have an all b/w workflow option, having giving up film and darkroom in 2009.  

 

The inferior VF, noisier operation, etc is apparent against the M10, but I'm looking forward to going a bit old school...albeit in a digital mode.  I decided against the M246 based on cost, simplicity and the allure of CCD (still like my M8.2 backup body).  The M10 will still be great for more flexible shooting, and if weather demands.  

 

Time to pull out my color filters.  And maybe pick a cheap 50+ year old lens.

 

Jeff

Edited October 25, 2017 by Jeff S

[IkarusJohn]

Hi Hamad,

 

I hope your decision to go for the M10-M is good for you.

 

When version 1 of the Monochrom was released back in 2012, I was using my M9-P and was unconvinced.  Actually, I was scornful - a B&W only camera?  Daft (read all the posts above)!  But then I played with Jono Slack's Monochrom DNG files from his China trip, and I was blown away - unbelievable resolution, detail, tonal quality and noice at high ISO like grain.  Beautiful!

 

So, I contacted Leica and asked them if they would do a silver chrome, M9-P version of the Monochrom.  For a reasonable premium (by Leica standards), they said sure!  I then had a few hiccups with the order (with a short man from Leica thinking he could cancel it), which resulted in the local importer lending me a Monochrom while I waited for mine to arrive.  It was fantastic.  I have an image processed by WhiteWall above my dining table of a landscape taken in the Southern Alps with a 75 Summilux - it is a metre along the long side, and the detail is extraordinary.  Hard to believe it isn't taken with a medium format camera, rather than an 18MP full frame camera.

 

As many comment above, you don't get to play with the colour sliders in SilverEfex Pro that you do with a colour conversion, which means that you need to consider using colour filters, but that is hardly a chore.  My Monochrom got the sensor corrosion, so it now sports the new sensor - it is the last Leica I will sell.

 

As for Pico, he has forgotten the fun we had posting different processed images of Jono's DNG files.  That thread might be worth searching out.

 

Cheers

John

Edited October 26, 2017 by IkarusJohn

[Cyril Jayant]

My experience was the exact opposite when I got my first M Monochrom. I could never shoot another color image in my life and it wouldn't bother me in the least. For me, good b&w images arouse a photographic passion that I never feel with color. I once walked alongside National Geographic photographer Sam Abel as he judged a large photo competition. His main criteria was to imagine the color images as b&w then look at how they were constructed, foreground to background. He immediately dismissed any photos that relied mainly on color for their impact. I agree with that bias and am never overly impressed with images like pretty sunsets (even though I've shot my share) in which the color itself is the primary point of interest.

 

I have seen this same mindset of a photographer and I wondered how this work. I never knew some photographers initially visualized their vision in B&W in the normal realistic colorful world based on that they got the selective B&W as the end image.   Although my whole experience of about 20 more years doing photography had bigger B&W influence.In my M6 for about 15years was not run more than 10 Colour films. I was never bothered in any color distractions in my vision, but I always had my photo to say  I got it in good B&W. I hardly used any filters but I have very exceptional Monochrome images in my Photo archives. 

Edited November 13, 2017 by Cyril Jayant

[spikemozeley]

Yes it is.