M246 Monochrom impressions after 1 month

[russell]

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The M246 has been out for almost two years but I just got mine around a month ago as prices came down due to the release of the M10.  I've used a M-P for a little over a year before it was stolen so that and the M9 are my comparisons.  The bits below are the impressions I've had that, even if written up in reviews, really stand out once you use the camera in practice.

 

Good:

- The high speed makes all the difference to get the shot

- Outstanding resolution, i.e. you can crop dramatically before quality reduces.  This let's you shoot with wider lenses and hence feels like you have even more speed and chance to nail focus.

- I can use my 21mm Super Angulon f4 again!  Wow, I never knew it had that kind of resolution - it might be the best resolving lens I have.

- I've started to crop to 1:1 more often with older lenses which "cures" the softer corners and gives the benefits of the better centre when compared to modern lens

 

Bad:

- Blown highlights even in situations where you'd never think they'd blow

- Blown highlights and the Heliopan yellow 5 digital filter doesn't help

- Blown highlights and -0.7 exposure compensation doesn't help

- I get out of focus (or are they blurred?) shots with the live view.  Is the live view focusing causing the blur as the shutter slams shut (yes, at least partially)

- Live view red sparkles are not prominent enough

- The extra resolution and high speed (shooting stopped down) means you really notice focus shift on older lenses hence the desire to use live view focusing

- I cannot see the rear monitor in live view or otherwise in strong daylight even with the brightness turned up.

 

In short, it's a great camera and I get shots I could not on the M-P.

 

But *wow* blown highlights means you really lose quite a few shots until you come up with a new exposure technique that works for this camera.  Leica would do well to add more dynamic range and/or a highlight friendly exposure mode in a future model.

 

Any tips?

[Soden]

I virtually never shoot with a yellow filter, but almost always with orange or red in daylight. At night I use no filter.

 

Yes, exposure is critical. I under expose quite a lot. Luckily the sensor has excellent ability to handle shadow detail. So no worries.

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[AlanT]

I've had my M246 about a year now and honestly, I have not found blown highlights to be a particularly nasty problem. Perhaps I just avoid high contrast lighting but I do watch the histogram very closely and make sure I don't have the curve falling off the highlight edge.

[russell]

How can you 'watch' the histogram?  It's tiny on the screen and white on top of you image that may already be white or at least grey.  And the bit you're trying to look for is the right side, so it's an even smaller portion of the screen.  Surely the red blinkies are better to 'watch'.  Having said that, there is almost always red blinkies on my shots, telling me I've blown highlights. Dialling down 0.7 exposure hasn't helped as much as I'd hoped.  If I rely on the advanced/multi-field or classic, I still get blown highlights regardless of lens and even in what I took to be low contrast lighting.

 

So, I'm still coming to terms with how to expose, but I haven't had to invest this much in exposure with any other camera either film or digital to get it right.

[LocalHero1953]

It sounds like you are using liveview on the rear screen.

You will find some of your problems disappear if you get the add-on EVF. It will be easier to check focus and see the histogram. And for lenses in the 28-90 range you may find RF focusing more accurate.

 

What metering mode are you using? Anything that uses averaging metering (multifield, centre weighted, classic etc) is vulnerable to blown highlights if they are particularly strong because such metering doesn't deal with the extremes of the spectrum. The histogram is the safest way to check highlights and shadows.

 

I don't have either MM, so I can't give Monochrom-specific advice.

[Tmx]

@russel: I can confirm your experience with the M246. That was also the reason I sold the monochrom and got the M-P instead. In my opinion this is a "bad weather conditions camera" and was as such too pricey for me..

[russell]

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I had the EVF on the M-P and it's only mildly better than the rear screen, but yes, it might help.  I use the live view on occasion as the 21mm SA focuses closer than the rangefinder works.  Also I've used it with other lenses to deal with the focus shift on pre-asph lenses when stopping down.  I might play and learn into the focus shift to compensate but that'll still be a bit of a crap shoot.

 

The blown highlights come with all metering modes, so both classic and multi-field.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm still very positive on the M246.  The focus issues I had on the M-P as well.  Just more often on the M246 because I take advantage of stopping down and using the SA which I couldn't do/use as much on the M-P.   Really, I suppose, the only real 'bad' point is the blown highlights.  I'm only 1 month into it.  Perhaps, I learn to better cope with it as I go, or at least anticipate.  The live view, I'll probably restrict now to the SA close focus or more static (non-people) shots.

[Mr Fjeld]

I've had my camera for almost a year but very rarely have problems with the highlights. I do make sure to always expose for the highlights though and then pull out the details from the shadows. I also only use classic metering. Works for me although very bright days can be challenging. It helps to live in a town with an average of 250 days a year with rain.

 

Please don't give up on your camera as it is simply a stunningly good camera once you learn its quirks.

Edited April 15, 2017 by Mr Fjeld

[Mark Pope]

Shooting with a filter won't really affect the subject brightness range, only the tonal relationships.  I've had my MM246 for just under three months now.  I must admit to not having too may problems with blown highlights.  Maybe it's down to our individual metering techniques.

 

If you're metering without live-view or the EVF, then you'll be using 'classic' centre-weighted metering.  The other metering methods only come into play of you use live-view.

 

You may be getting blurred pictures with live view because you're holding the camera at arm's length and it seems to me that camera shake is more prevalent with the camera held this way.  Personally, I doubt that it has got anything to do with the shutter 'slamming shut'   If you think about it, once the shutter has closed, any camera movement isn't going to be recorded on the sensor. 

 

It's important to expose for the highlights and let the shadows look after themselves.  To date, I have tended to use an orange filter, or occasionally a red filter.

 

If you find that -0.7 stops isn't enough exposure compensation for you, then dial in -1 or -1.3 stops and see how that works.

You can also recover quite a bit of highlight information in Lightroom, but it's best to get the exposure right in-camera, even if it looks dark on the rear screen.

 

I do make a lot of use of the histogram and adjust exposure to compensate for any highlight problems.  I don't usually use any exposure compensation.  However, if I know that the subject is going to blow the highlights in the sky, then I'll either make sure that the meter reading includes a fair amount of sky and then lock the exposure with half pressure on the shutter release.  Alternatively, I'll switch to manual, meter off the sky then decrease exposure by 2-3 stops.

The EVF is worth having, though if you can get the Olympus version, it will save you a fair bit of money.  FYI, it's the Olympus VF-2 - any other variant won't work.  Unfortunately, they are now only available secondhand.  I've just bought a second one to act as a spare.

 

When the original Monochrom came out I though that it was a pointless camera.  Now I have the MM246 and I think it's a 'cold dead hands' camera.

Edited April 15, 2017 by Mark Pope

[Jager]

Indeed, the M246 insists upon correct exposure.  Unlike conventional Bayer Array color digital cameras, its single channel has no fall-back at all.  Clip that one channel and you're not getting it back.

 

That said, I'm not sure what to say about your highlight problem.  After several tens of thousands of images with both the original Monochrom as well as the M246, I find the cameras very straightforward in terms of their exposure behavior.  I use center-weighted metering, but otherwise find the conventions of exposure I learned back in the day with slide film carry over very well to the digital realm... including the single-channel Monochroms.

 

I will say there are many images where I knowingly and deliberately let some small parts of the image go hot.  Typically these are specular highlights, but might also involve other lighting scenarios, like backlighting.  It just comes down to understanding how light is going to affect the sensor... and in my experience the M246 sensor is very predictable.

 

You might ignore the internal meter in your camera for awhile and work with a good manual, light meter.  I think using an incident meter teaches an awful lot about light.

 

Congrats on the M246.  It's an amazing camera!

[Albert2]

The Answer is simple: chop it in for the original M Monochrome! I've had no highlight issues so far. I can only think you are not exposing for the scene correctly?

[Jeff S]

The camera isn't responsible for blown highlights; that's a user issue. I also suggest simultaneously using an incident meter until camera metering behavior can be put to best use.

For blurred shots, conduct proper tripod tests, comparing RF and LV. I'm betting that's also attributable to user technique.

Jeff

Edited April 15, 2017 by Jeff S

[pico]

The camera isn't responsible for blown highlights; that's a user issue.

 

Thanks for that. Blooming is a perennial issue since the first days of photography, not so evident in the years before sharpness was even a notion.

 

In my earlier career I shot digital video where blooming was a huge problem. Our cameras had a  'zebra stripe' option to display where the range was terribly blown out. I don't think that feature has progressed to still cameras.

 

A take-away for us still users are the Tiffen Contrast filters. I kid you not, they work. Non-intuitive. I use them with medium format  film in horrible high-noon clear sky lighting to tame shadows without blowing highlights. *sigh* digital mavens have control using shadow/highlights options but it is not the same. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Edited April 16, 2017 by pico

[Jeff S]

Thanks for that. Blooming is a perennial issue since the first days of photography, not so evident in the years before sharpness was even a notion.

 

In my earlier career I had to shoot digital video where blooming was a huge problem. Our cameras had a 'zebra stripe' option to display where the range was terribly blown out. I don't think that feature has progressed to still cameras.

 

A take-away for us still users are the Tiffen Contrast filters. I kid you not, they work. Non-intuitive. I use them with medium format in horrible high-noon clear sky lighting to tame shadows without blowing highlights. *sigh* digital mavens have control using shadow/highlights options but it is not the same. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Yep, it's up to the user to figure these things out and act as required to achieve best possible outcomes.

 

Jeff

[pico]

Yep, it's up to the user to figure these things out and act as required to achieve best possible outcomes.

 

Jeff

 

Do you think Leica should introduce something like Tiffen's contrast filters? I know of nobody but myself who uses them. Obsolete, too obscure, or do they require too much thinking to use?

.

[Jeff S]

Do you think Leica should introduce something like Tiffen's contrast filters? I know of nobody but myself who uses them. Obsolete, too obscure, or do they require too much thinking to use?

.

Maybe a marketing opportunity for you....

 

Jeff

[russell]

I struggle with the "insists on correct exposure" bit as correct exposure for me means zone VI (or V) for skin tones. If I expose with that goal it leads to the blown highlights.  If I use the classic or advanced metering it can easily blow out.  A hand held incident meter I used for years with my M3 so I know about the benefit of that style of metering. hHowever the way I've been using the classic or advanced metering gives the same as the hand held would in most cases.  Said another way, over a sizeable number of exposures I'm still getting constantly blown highlights.

 

I do get the bit that it's a "user issue".  With this camera you cannot expose as candidly as with the M-P or M9 or even the M3 for that matter.  It requires quite of bit of user interaction and tweaking to only let the bits blow out that you want to blow out, e.g. specular highlights.  It's just that it shouldn't be this much of a user issue -- sorry, but I'm not a masochist -- if I'm in that mood then I'd go back to my Rolleiflex and scan the film myself.

 

Yes, I'm still positive on the camera as it's giving me pictures I couldn't otherwise get.  I'll try to I learn past the "user issue" issue.  Thanks, for letting me know I am the problem -- at least I can work on that and stop pointing the finger at Leica's sensor design.  Is there anything else in my list where I'm the problem?  Let me know.

 

Last night I re-read Thorsten's web page on the M246 and it seems he's having the same experience as I've had.  But he's explained it better.  Seems it's not just blown highlights but anything zone VIII++.  Just not satisfied with the highlights.

[convexferret]

Hi all

You'll find that for any digital sensor the channels will clip at 3 stops over mid grey. This is an artifact of how sensor ISO is measured. The multiple color channels of a sensor with a Bayer array mean that not all channels clip at the same time and that software like Lightroom can use the remaining 1 or 2 channels of information to reconstruct the highlights. The monochrome cameras have only one channel and once it clips you have no information that would allow highlight reconstruction. The result of this is that the momochroms have a hard limit of 3 stops over mid grey and color cameras have a zone from 3-4 stops over mid grey where good reconstruction can be done.

When I bought my monochrome I was well aware of this but it's taken me several months to get a handle on how best to expose. We have one advantage over most cameras in that the Monochrom histogram and clipping indicators are accurate representations of the RAW file. Most cameras show histograms based on the Jpeg produced. You have to treat your Monochrom as you would have when shooting slide film. You cannot afford to clip anything that must hold detail. However, the Monochrom 246 sensors hold a good amount of detail in the shadows and so you can pull back multiple-stops in processing without much penalty. I have images that I've underexposed by 3 stops that are absolutely fine.

I think that it's very much a change of mindset. for some it will seem a little restrictive. For me it's just been an adjustment to working with a tool having very defined limits that gives extraordinary results.

[Jeff S]

Exactly.... our film cameras didn't suddenly break when we inserted slide film.... a good learning tool.

 

Jeff

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[Jeff S]

Thanks, for letting me know I am the problem -- at least I can work on that and stop pointing the finger at Leica's sensor design. Is there anything else in my list where I'm the problem? Let me know.

 

Last night I re-read Thorsten's web page on the M246 and it seems he's having the same experience as I've had. But he's explained it better. Seems it's not just blown highlights but anything zone VIII++. Just not satisfied with the highlights.

'Blurred' pics...likely user issue,... conduct careful tripod tests comparing LV and RF.

 

Again, Thorsten prefers not to use full LR capabilities to achieve desired results, preferring a much simplified PP workflow. That's not the camera's fault; it's a style that contributes to his assessments. He fits the gear to his workflow. Others might not mind changing that workflow to achieve desired results..... sometimes that's just not possible, but often there's a way to get there, if one doesn't mind the effort. We each have choices.

 

Jeff