MM, M240, MM246 comparison images

[wilfredo]

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Latest comparisons from David Farkas….

 

http://www.reddotforum.com/content/2015/06/bw-iso-showdown-leica-m-monochrom-typ-246-vs-m-monochrom-m9-vs-m-typ-240/

 

Jeff

Why no test shots on human subjects?  Show us some skin!

[thighslapper]

Beat me to it. 

 

Looking forward to feedback on my test. Let me know if you guys have any questions.

 

Reassuringly consistent results 

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[AlanJW]

I think the tests run by David and Thighslapper are very consistent.  Both should be thanked for thoughtful comparisons.  

The new MM has some natural advantages over the M240 and MM9 but nonetheless they are not dramatic until the ISOs climb pretty high.  I've got an order in for a M246 even though I have a M240.  Not because the M246 is "better".   Because I am more comfortable with the feature set of the M240, and more importantly, I want to try a monochrome only body to see if I can return to my black and white roots and look forward to the discipline imposed by monochrome only.

[jaapv]

Someone help me here. A 246 shot by a good photographer, but what is happening to the midtones? There is highlight detail, but at the expense of the darker areas looking like blotches of soot.

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/direction-one-inc/18616977485/

[wattsy]

Someone help me here. A 246 shot by a good photographer, but what is happening to the midtones? There is highlight detail, but at the expense of the darker areas looking like blotches of soot.

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/direction-one-inc/18616977485/

 

Probably just the overuse of the structure settings (or one of the more lary presets) in Silver efex.

[adan]

Is it just me? In the ISO 12500/10000 detail crops (post 41 and 42), the MM(CCD) seems to be noticably sharper than the M(CMOS).

 

I'm looking particularly at the:

 

- beads around the waist of the flower pot

- highlights in the triangle embossed in the center of the altar cross.

- fringe on the altar cloth

 

It seems as though the noise from the CCD seems more "sandy," while the noise from the CMOS is more "pebbly" and diffused, softening the edges of fine details.

 

And I ask because I noticed something similar comparing my M9s to an M240 (2500 vs. 3200) - the 240 seemed to "clump" its noise, making the noise less obvious, but also softening edges. Almost as though Leica were processing the noise to make it look more "film-grain" like, but losing just a bit of edge clarity along the way.

[otto.f]

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It is not just you Andy. Could well be the noise that gives a sharper impression. Reminds me of the painter Lucian Freud who adds 'grain' to his paintings to add to the sharpness impression in some parts of the image. Grain here in the form of thick lumps of paint. 

Edited June 12, 2015 by otto.f