Monochrom - do its files survive extreme enlargement better than M240?

[jaapv]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

The second image has a certain transparency that the first one lacks. I think the midtones are better. A lot better.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[jaapv]

Btw, and not meant nastily as it is minimal, but I think there is slight tilt to the right.

[A miller]

Btw, and not meant nastily as it is minimal, but I think there is slight tilt to the right.

 

Correct! Forgot to hit that "Level" button in LR; but have now done so and appreciate the comment...

[dant]

I've been lurking as a reader on this forum for some time. I adore Leica M rangefinders. M4P in the mid-90s, then sold it for an M7 that I will be keeping. Also long time user of Mamiya 7. Both colour and B&W films, but it's B&W that is my main interest.

 

For digital work, I've used a non-FF DSLR and a digital compact for years, but I can't stand their handling and feel myself wanting this digital world in a rangefinder form!

 

I will need the ability to occasionally print very big (to 60"x40" at times). At that size, I'd only print B&W images. I've tried both the Monochrom and desaturated M240 (RAW files), resized sample files to a whopping 60"x40", and printed test strips on a Lambda printer.

 

My question!! Do files off the Monochrom sensor really respond very differently compared to the M240 (when enlarged massively to create a 60"x40" image??) ...... It seemed to me that images off the Monochrom can be enlarged massively, whilst maintaining a natural / smooth look. I'm not talking about resolution here -- rather, I'm referring to how files out of the Monochrom seemed to me to respond to extreme enlargement a bit like the way film responds to a huge drum scan (i.e., it still has "photographic integrity" and looks natural, no matter how huge you enlarge the image). In contrast, the M240 image started to look more and more like a less natural digital image ("increasingly fake", for want of a better expression) the larger it got towards that 60"x40" size.

 

Have I not properly processed the M240 files, or is my observation correct that Monochrom images can look much more natural than the M240 at huge 60"x40" enlargements?

 

Here, you can compare M240 and MM crops...as well as M6.

 

Camera Comparisons

 

(First section is SFW. Second section has some NSFW images.)