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BUY THE MONOCHROME


Paulu

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Advise me. I am hovering about buying the Monochrom. I shoot on an M9 and have a good collection of Leica glass. I can afford to buy the Monochrom but am hesitating.

 

Why?

 

1. I shoot on the M9 and tend to process into monochrome anyway. Do I really want a monochrome only camera? Is the qualative difference that worthwhile?

 

2. I am concerned with the M coming that I will end up with two cameras while actually needing the M.

 

3. Do other people hate having too many cameras in their bag? It seems to make the choices always harder. I love Leica because of its purity and don't want to clutter that.

 

Why would I buy it?

 

1. Love the shots I have seen.

 

2. carpe diem.

 

Your advice would be helpful.

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No doubt the monochrome is better resolution. Will you see it in the normal print sizes? We will need people who have both and know how to properly sharpen to know and a computer image will not show up what you need unless that is your chosen medium.

 

A color image will allow you selectively apply filtration to the image with masking and channels in photoshop. With the monochrome, you will need to use filter in front of the lens just like with film.

 

Carrying multiple cameras is a pain. The whole point of Leica is being to move around effortlessly and respond to situations. Otherwise just buy a Pro Nikon, a few zoom lens and a generously sized backpack.

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When my wife wants family pictures, I take both my M9 & Monochrom. I fit both with four lenses in my Hadley pro and have instant access to both. Otherwise I just carry my Monochrom in a Hadley Digital, with either a 35 or a 50, depending on my mood or venue.

 

I don't think it's an issue at all as the bodies and lenses are small.

 

Filters are optional as you can accomplish almost the same in post.

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When my wife wants family pictures, I take both my M9 & Monochrom. I fit both with four lenses in my Hadley pro and have instant access to both. Otherwise I just carry my Monochrom in a Hadley Digital, with either a 35 or a 50, depending on my mood or venue.

 

I don't think it's an issue at all as the bodies and lenses are small.

 

Filters are optional as you can accomplish almost the same in post.

 

If you are going to use the Monochrom outside in sunny places you might want to think about Neutral Density filters...

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Friends

 

Advise me. I am hovering about buying the Monochrom. I shoot on an M9 and have a good collection of Leica glass. I can afford to buy the Monochrom but am hesitating.

 

Why?

 

1. I shoot on the M9 and tend to process into monochrome anyway. Do I really want a monochrome only camera? Is the qualative difference that worthwhile?

 

2. I am concerned with the M coming that I will end up with two cameras while actually needing the M.

 

3. Do other people hate having too many cameras in their bag? It seems to make the choices always harder. I love Leica because of its purity and don't want to clutter that.

 

Why would I buy it?

 

1. Love the shots I have seen.

 

2. carpe diem.

 

Your advice would be helpful.

I do not think one thing will convince you one way or the other. I have both an M9 and MM. I could not be happier. The new M does not interest me. When I have the MM I think in B&W so to speak. Sure I can convert my M9 shots to B&W but I would rather have a RAW file from the MM to work with.

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If you are going to use the Monochrom outside in sunny places you might want to think about Neutral Density filters...

 

That is true to some extent, depending on the style of shooting, and climate. Polo filters also help in that same respect. Not everybody wants to shoot in the desert at f/.95... ;). Where I live, it's one of the few places that gets less sun than London, but I do have some ND and Polo filters for both my M9 and Monochrom for travel. Since we are only talking 1 f-stop difference between the two.

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Guest WPalank

Buy the MM. If you are not already on a M list it will be months or years until you get one (people seem to forget the past [M8, M9]).

Also, if you are lucky enough to have two cameras, one will serve as a back-up.

There is a current thread running with a bloke that has the MM as his only camera who sustained severe damage. How long until he gets the camera and lens functioning and back in his hands from Solms?

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No doubt the monochrome is better resolution. Will you see it in the normal print sizes? We will need people who have both and know how to properly sharpen to know and a computer image will not show up what you need unless that is your chosen medium.

The Monochrom has NOT got better resolution. It is18 MP just like the M9. It has better acuity. That means the number of details shown is the same, but they are (much) better rendered.

Sharpening MM files is a subtle art and can lead to disastrous results quite easily. M9 files are much more forgiving.

The jump in MP of the M from 18 to 24 is not as decisive as the numbers suggest, as the linear increase is quite modest.

@ the OP. I fear the question is not as simply answered as put. The Monochrom is a camera that should only be purchased with a clear idea about the usage in mind. If so, it is addictive.

I do not regard it as a camera that is meant to be used on its own. Imo one will always want an M9 or M in the bag as well. Having said that, I find I tend to grab the MM first.

Edited by jaapv
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As I always say in response to threads like this, if you have to ask the question, you clearly don't have any need for the camera.

 

Buy it if you want to. Whatever advice anyone here gives you is frankly meaningless where GAS is concerned.

 

If you like photography, rather than cameras, then use the money to make pictures with your current gear.

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I too have an M9 & Monochrom.

 

Over the years I have almost exclusively shot and printed B&W with film and the M9.

Colour is the exception and I tend to know when I will want colour (but not always :o).

 

I therefore pick the best tool for the job so it's obvious which one I grab first :).

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I got my mono in November and haven't taken the M9 out since. But that's just me.

 

I think if I had a small messenger type bag I could easily fit both in, and I felt inclined, then I might take both out more often. But that sort of goes against the grain of why I take the Leica out in the first place, instead of the DSLR. One small body and a couple of lenses in a very small bag with less choice.

 

I've possibly missed having colour once or twice, (in my mind only - probably not in reality), and the mono really does makes you 'look' differently, after scenes that will make good B&W as is, seeing as you can't filter based on rgb channels after.

 

Without any filtering on camera - you soon learn that red and green in the same light are pretty much the same shade of grey, as are many other colours that look very contrasty in a scene. Variations in luminance - now that's another story.... perfect for B&W photography.

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