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M10 Monochrom Reviews {merged}


HughBrownstone

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Sean Reid

https://www.reidreviews.com/article-content.asp?ArticleID=513&PageNum=1&newwin=1

Jono Slack

http://www.slack.co.uk/leica-m10-monochrom.html

 

As I mentioned on the M10M Image thread, I was quite pleasantly surprised when I was granted the opportunity to beta test the M10 Monochrom camera.  I tested it against the MM1 and M10 and have put some images on the M10M Images thread.

I am very happy with my MM1, “Henri,” and initially did not think I would want to get the M10 version.  However, I really like and prefer the form factor and user interface of the M10 platform.  To me, it is the perfect camera.  And during my brief time with the monochrome version, it fit right in.  I am partially color blind (red deficient), so black and white has always made more sense to me, which is a large part of my affinity toward the camera.

There are no surprises with this camera.  You already know what it is without holding one.  It’s a monochrome version of the M10 with a larger sensor and better ISO performance.  Jono's review is excellent as usual, but look out for noise and resolution comparisons by Sean Reid if that is important to you.  I would have liked the M10D faux film advance lever and I know some hate it, but it makes a nifty little built-in “thumbs up” stabilizer, leaving the hot shoe free.  

One thing I learned from the comparison tests is that the MM1 still is a damn good camera, albeit with several quirks.  I think for handheld work the motivation for upgrade to M10M would be the platform and user interface.  For tripod work, like landscapes, the M10M will offer better resolution in very large prints, as well as an improvement in shadow detail.  It’s kind of like a M6 with Tri-X vs. a 500CM with Panatomic-X.  The M10M files are much more plastic than MM1.  I don’t mean more plastic looking, but more depth with which to work. 

I’ve been sending used camera gear to my dealer for the past two years in anticipation of this camera and I think I’m in striking distance of getting one, depending on availability.  

The M10 Monochrom is not a camera for everyone, obviously, but it is a camera for those to whom it speaks.

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What a welcome! You realize that he is a person, right? A person who worked hard to make a video to tell us about a camera that people here are mostly interested in hearing about? Do you think you would walk up to him in person and just insult him like that? Seriously? If you are not interested, just move on. 

Thank you for the work Hugh. I am looking forward to watching the video.

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The M10 Monochrom is an extension to Your eyes

In film days I was mainly a black & white photographer. This changed more and more with the M9. One reason was for sure my photographic themes - for many of them color was more adequate. But another reason was the camera itself. I knew there was a color sensor in it and so I saw mainly photographic subjects for color-pictures. 

I became aware of this soon after getting the chance to test the M10 Monochrom (M10-M). I recognized motifs that I did not recognize before. They were for black & white not for color. This is the same like I see with the angle of a lens as soon as I put it on the camera. 

So for me the M10-M is an extension to my eyes. The tool has a big impact on the way I see. I see in black & white holding the M10-M in my hands. I think this will be alike to many others. I did not expect this. I ever thought, a Monochrom is nice, but with a color sensor I can do the same and I have both worlds in one camera. I was wrong.

To me this is the true reason to buy an M10-M. But apart from this, it is a great camera:

Basis of the M10-M in technology and design is the M10-P. Especially the fantastic silent shutter is the same. The big difference is the sensor. It is not only a black & white version of the 24 MP sensor of the M10, it is a new 41 MP black & white sensor. Despite of the bigger data volume, camera operation is very smooth, no noticeable difference to the M10. Only the buffer gets full a bit earlier when shooting in continuous mode.

41 MP are real 41 MP because the sensor needs no Bayer pattern for color interpretation; for this reason a color sensor needs to have nearly twice the number of pixels to have the same resolution. Therefore I was a bit surprised, that there is no big advantage in visable resolution in comparison to the M10 sensor btw. it is so little that it is not eye catching to me (tripod mounted cameras, Apo-Summicron 2,0/50mm). But to be frank: We discussed this in the group of beta-testers. One was with me, two of us saw more obvious differences.

But this is not very decisive, it only shows that higher pixel number are overrated - a fact, that Andreas Kaufmann stated in a late interview with LSHA too.

An advantage of the Monochrom sensor is the smoothness of the tonal value. In comparison the M10 sensor is a bit harsh. It is subtle but it is there. Perhaps this has its reason in the higher resolution. And You can do nearly everything with the M10-M DNG. You can torture them anywhere - to my feeling much more than the DNG of the M10, but I have not tested this, it was an observation at the image processing.

Exposure latitude of both sensors seems equal. I could recover the same amount of overexposure. ISO 50.000 on the M10-M is very usable. Very nice grain in comparison to the M10 sensor. JPG out of the camera is similar to the DNG conversion in Lightroom. The JPG has a bit more contrast than the DNG. The DNG of the M10 have a bit more contrast than those of the M10-M.

The M10-M sensor seems to have a little orange/red filter, anyway You have to decrease the values of red and orange in the pictures of the M10 to get the same (a bit darker) skintone as in the pictures of the M10-M.

One last word to focus accuracy: 

There is a long lasting (beginning with the M8) discussion, if the mechanical system of the rangefinder is precise enough to handle the requirements of the digital age. Leica had great problems in the M8/M9 days with calibration, but since the M240 it is much better. With the M10 Leica improved the tolerances and the magnification of the viewfinder once again - I think very sufficient. The first thing I did after getting the M10-M was testing the focus accuracy. It was perfectly calibrated with my Apo-Summicron 2,0/50 mm. I had no problems focussing in practice too. And I never noticed anything negative due to the higher resolution of the sensor: Not more blur, no need for higher shutter speed to avoid blur, no problems with sharpness. I shot nearly all photos at f 2,0.

All photos are from Berlin.

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Edited by elmars
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Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

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Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

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Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

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Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

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Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

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2 hours ago, HughBrownstone said:

Had a chance to go hands on with an M10 Monochrom in New York for a couple of hours with the Summicron-M 28 ASPH, APO-Summicron-M 50 and Summilux-M 90. Thought you might find this interesting: 

 

Excellent video as always Hugh, thanks for sharing. A beautiful piece of gear indeed.

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