M240 to M246

[RexGig0]

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On 10/9/2019 at 11:50 PM, Nshah said:

Hi,

Apologies in advance if this question has been asked before and answered.

I am not a professional photographer, more of an advanced amateur, started my photography 35 years ago. I am using M240 for 3 years now . I find that I convert 90 percent of my images to black and white.

Is it them worth selling M240 and buying a monochrom M246 ? Or there is not much difference between the two ( converted/ original monochrom image).

I thought the simplicity of monochrom may give me that peace of mind  from the stress of too much gear and too many options . 😊
 

Your thoughts will help me to take a decision!

N. Shah

Greetings!

I have never owned a Type 240, as I started Leica M shooting with an M10, so, I cannot directly answer your first question. I would not have wanted to sell my M10, in order to own a Monochrom 246, but, I did add a pre-owned Monochrom 246, after I dropped my M10, and feared that the damage report might have been “totaled,” or “beyond economic repair.” Having retained my SLR equipment, I could have shot color images with SLRs, and monochrome with the 246.

The final result of my experiment was that I now know that I could be happy, shooting only monochrome, with an M system camera, but am very glad that my M10 was repairable, as I love the color palette of the M10.

There seems to have evolved a division labor, with my Monochrom 246 being used mostly with 21mm and 28mm lenses, and my M10 being used with 35mm, 50mm, and 90mm lenses.

Perhaps something I have typed may be useful, conceptually, if not directly. 

Edited October 14, 2019 by RexGig0

[Nshah]

Thank you very much for your detailed responses. 

[dzaneh]

Sold all my canon gear & bought the M-246 plus 50mm & 35mm summicrons, I've used the 50mm a couple times & now the 35mm lives on it. I like you converted nearly all my photos to B&W so it was almost a no brainer. The files from this camera & lens are something special, better than any of my previous "conversions". Once I got it I loved the all manual aspect as well. I don't shoot nearly as many photos as I use to, but I come out with about as many I think are worth keeping.

Edited October 14, 2019 by dzaneh

[Mr Fjeld]

Buy the 246! Most of your photography is black and white anyway, and you can use an iPhone for the odd colour family photo.

I would never buy a used m9 Monochrom. The corrosion issues is bad enough but buying "someone else's" camera just isn't particularly tempting.

Apart from the speculations about added pixels the eventual m10m will most likely be fairly similar to the 246, albeit in a more ergonomic form. The shape is already familiar to you so the 246 is a natural choice.

Looking forward to see what you decide upon😀

[mmx_2]

Wait until the M10M is released and get yourself a very good deal on a M246. Keep the M240. You can use same case, grip, battery, evf etc and you will definitely get a better deal (new or used) once the M10M is released. In the mean time save up money so you can keep both cameras without trading in your M240 to buy the 246 ;).

Edited November 1, 2019 by mmx_2

[otto.f]

Btw, I really doubt whether Leica can convince me, as Monochrome1 owner, with a monochrome M10 which is supposed to come out with 41Mp. One should also be prepared to upgrade one’s computer for that amount of pixels to get a reasonable quick workflow. And I fear oversharpened unnatural images. Did the arrival of the M246 pull the prices of the MM1 down?

Edited November 1, 2019 by otto.f

[mmx_2]

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1 hour ago, otto.f said:

Btw, I really doubt whether Leica can convince me, as Monochrome1 owner, with a monochrome M10 which is supposed to come out with 41Mp. One should also be prepared to upgrade one’s computer for that amount of pixels to get a reasonable quick workflow. And I fear oversharpened unnatural images. Did the arrival of the M246 pull the prices of the MM1 down?

Fair point, even though I never had this issue with file size from D800 (36MP) and S006 (37.5MP). Regarding prices, initally after release of M246 the prices of Mono1 got down and I would say that it just the last year they have started to raise again.

[mmradman]

1 hour ago, mmx_2 said:

Wait until the M10M is released and get yourself a very good deal on a M246. Keep the M240. You can use same case, grip, battery, evf etc and you will definitely get a better deal (new or used) once the M10M is released. In the mean time save up money so you can keep both cameras without trading in your M240 to buy the 246 ;).

M10M is just a rumour today. Even if it materialise sometime in the near future it will not be straightforward to get one.  As of today there are good deals on new M246 if one is prepared to shop around.  In UK new M246 sell from £4500 to £6000, S/h are even cheaper.

[mmradman]

3 hours ago, mmx_2 said:

Fair point, even though I never had this issue with file size from D800 (36MP) and S006 (37.5MP). Regarding prices, initally after release of M246 the prices of Mono1 got down and I would say that it just the last year they have started to raise again.

To best of my recollection M240/246 were last Leicas which offered compressed lossless RAW.  It seems Leica is being lazy. My M246 files are 20Mb and Z7 about 40Mb same as SL601. Of course Z7 is 45Mp and SL is 24Mp.