New Monochrome to be Announced Next Week (End of April)

[Guest]

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As for the sensor, Leica says they'll repair or replace and that they will eventually have a solution.  That's good enough for me. ( quote)

Leica have just announced the solution. If or when your sensor has the corrosion problem they will offer an upgrade at a special price.

BrianP

[Guest]

I've been "reliably" informed from sources outside the UK that it will be tomorrow. Order placed sight unseen.

Thank you very much. I was close to buying the old Monochrom and your post made me change my mind plus I would have had to get a later train back to Manchester from Euston.

BrianP

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

[ivohula]

I would like to say a big THANK YOU to my source at Leica for trusting me and letting me know of this release 10 days ahead of the event. THANK YOU; THANK YOU.
 
On a personal Note: This whole event began when I took my M9, M (Type240), 8 Leica lenses and a whole bunch of Canon gear to the Yucatan for a 2 week vacation in early February. I was shooting Mayan ruins at Coba, Tulum, Chichen Itza, plus a couple in Guatemala. After several days of high heat and humidity but no rain, the M9 developed several sensor glass issues, including the usual etching of the glass we now see so often. The Type 240, all Leica lenses and all Canon gear survived the rain forest perfectly. 
 
The M9 went to Leica on March 2 for evaluation. The message I got was it needed a sensor replacement; there are no sensors now, will need to wait. After 6 weeks, I decided I did not want to be a part of this repair que, now or in the future. While this was my first sensor problem, the M9 had rangefinder calibration issues before (another weak spot for M9) and this was going to be an ongoing concern in the future - I like a tropical vacation in the middle of winter; it's damn cold in the Canadian Rockies in the winter time. I went for the Type 240 upgrade and Am still waiting to receive my replacement camera 9 weeks later.
 
While we are all grateful for free sensor replacement ad infinitum, two factors must be considered. Repair time for sensor replacement is very long, however the repair onslaught for Leica is very difficult. Second, the cost of sensor replacement is huge for the company. As the company is private, we may never know the real cost, but it is millions of Euros and counting. Those M9 owners who are banking on sensor replacement many times over are bankrupting the company with their devotion. This leads to some permanent sensor solution, the expense of replacing all sensors again and the fact that possible fix could alter the rendition of the CCD sensor and more contentious arguing.

 

It will be interesting how this chapter in Leica history turns out.

[Chuck Albertson]

The Monochrom II is cheaper than the old Monochrom. That was confirmed to me as I placed my order an hour ago. Relatively quick delivery time too, hopefully by end of next week.

If you haven't shot with a Monochrom before, I think you'll be amazed by the quality of the files you'll get. But note Jono Slack's warning about problems with Mac platforms: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-news/2015/04/test-review-leica-monochrom-246/.

 

The bigger buffer is a nice addition. Waiting for the red LED on the back to stop blinking has been one of the few exasperating features of the original MM.

[Guest]

Where did you find that price tag?

 

Leica Mayfair is offering the "old" Monochrom

for GBP 6200 if I am not desinformed.

 

Best regards

Thomas

With the issues they have with the sensor only Leica would put up the price of the old Monochrom. It will not be long before the dealers will offer very low money if you wanted to trade one in PX .

BrianP

[Edward Louis Marit]

Will they be offering a monochrom upgrade program due to sensor issues I wonder?

[fussgangerfoto]

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I put my name on the list as soon as it was announced. I love my original Monochrom passionately for the images, but the usability, not so much. The M240 wins there - quiet shutter, hi-res LCD and God-forbid, LV/EVF. If I only shot low-ISO, I'd go with the M240 and forget the MM, but in high-ISO situations, the new M246 appears phenomenal (check out grEGORy's review).

[wattsy]

check out grEGORy's review.

Call me an old curmudgeon (or worse) but what is this "grEGORy" crap I keep seeing and why do people insist on perpetuating such a ludicrously pretentious moniker (something I've done now by quoting the name in all its mixed-caps glory  )? 

[BerndReini]

 

 

Call me an old curmudgeon (or worse) but what is this "grEGORy" crap I keep seeing and why do people insist on perpetuating such a ludicrously pretentious moniker (something I've done now by quoting the name in all its mixed-caps glory   )? 

People choose their screen name and avatar at a certain point pretty randomly, maybe because it helps them remember one of the many log ins etc. Either way "grEGORy" wrote one of the best user experience articles on the old Monochrom for the Leica blog. I think it was called "the Stormtroopers are coming." A very worthy candidate to review the new MM.