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Is there really an advantage of the MM over the M240


BerndReini

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I tested an MM for a week last summer and I just got to play with an M240 again. I was really taken with the MM and got some pretty amazing files out of it. Now, I just converted a new M240 file to black and white using Silver FX. I was able to pull out a very nice conversion.

 

I saw one direct comparison on this forum and I much preferred the MM file in that thread, but my question is geared in particular to people who have owned or used both the MM and the M240.

 

In all honesty, would you say that with careful processing you could get the same tonality out of an M240 that you get out of an MM or do you think that this is absolutely impossible?

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I'll hold my hands up and say I have only download M240 files and played with them, so I haven't used the camera they way I would use it, so not even side-by-side. But in comparison with my MM files I'd say it was pretty close for the average low ISO picture, with the nod going to the MM for tonality and resolution, although that is again close.

 

Where the MM runs ahead is the rest of the time, contrasty situations where the subtle tonal transitions between light and dark from MM files appear to far exceed the M240. The recoverable shadow detail is greater with far less noise or banding, and as many people have observed the entire file is malleable, not breaking down into posterization at the edge of different tonal areas like M240 files can when stretched. Then there is the ISO. Even at 5000 ISO you get a rich tonal file with fantastic resolution, there is no colour noise just a pleasant grain, miles ahead of the M240 even with ultra careful post processing. At 8000 ISO it starts to break down, but ultimately it looks like pushed Tri-X but with finer grain.

 

Steve

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Pretty much right, Steve. Owning both cameras I must say that - with careful postprocessing one can get a pretty good B&W image out of the M240 - although for general tonality the M8 is still the better camera. With the Monochrom, however, it is far simpler to get better results and it forges ahead at higher ISO.

The real differences get visible when printing. There is no way that the richness of the Monochrom file can be matched. For display on a screen, it is probably overkill to use both these cameras. Better reserve an M8 for B&W.

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As above ...... with the MM you can basically forget ISO ...... every image will be terrific.

 

The main difference is that the MM MAKES YOU THINK B&W !!!

 

Rather than just snap away and convert a few to B&W, with the MM you find yourself selectively looking for B&W shots and viewing the world in terms of light, shadow and tonality....

 

Thats the BIGGEST difference ..... and why my MM images are consistently better than the M shots ...... because with the M I just wouldn't have seen them in the first place .... :rolleyes:

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As a certain reviewer noted on You Tube, the difference is that with an M you get software to make B&W pictures as it shoots them in colour. With the MM it shoots in B&W so you have to use software to turn the pictures into colour ones.

 

Both cameras are professional & make nice pictures :)

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Steve, thank you for your thoughtful answer. It really explains without hyperbole what I was expecting.

 

The M file I converted was indeed a "good" file at base ISO without any clipped blacks or highlights. When I shot the MM, I had some files with pretty aggressive lighting and contrast, which is what I usually seek out in a black and white photo.

 

I currently shoot film for black and white, but I have certainly been lusting after a Monochrom. I understand the aspect of " it only shoots black and white and this limitation opens up your creativity," but sometimes we try to justify things we want with unscientific data. So thanks for your honest responses.

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M, Monochrom, and Film - all three are nice in a different way, I guess.

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