M9M or M246

[ramarren]

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2 hours ago, Dazzajl said:

That’s a great question and any answer can’t be right, just a personal perspective. 

Take a look at this shot, posted here today. 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/422086-hurried-exit/#comment-5816620

 By just about any qualitative measure, it’s a disaster but I love it. It’s a very extreme example of liking a lower quality and I’m not even saying I don’t love crisp and detailed images too but there is definitely something in this looks that speaks to me  

It's a lovely photo ... and I don't see anything in it that cannot be achieved with any of the cameras I've owned/used. It's "the product of an exposure and rendering choice" is what I'm saying. 

The value of a camera that captures more data, more resolution, etc, isn't necessarily that you must—"have to"—make sharper, clearer, more detailed images with it. It's that having more data at your disposal allows you greater freedoms in rendering the final image that you visualized when you made the exposure.

This is why I capture only raw data and rely upon my choice in image processing tools to render and finish my photographs ... just like I used to do with film cameras, I use the camera to capture the image data and then use the darkroom or image processing tools to render what I captured to my intent. In other words, I don't rely upon the defaults of the in-camera rendering algorithms to establish what my camera can deliver as a final image. That is up to me, not the camera, to produce from the image data that I've captured. 

G

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[sometimesmaybe]

6 hours ago, ramarren said:

Why would 'more dynamic range, more bit depth, more pixels, and more filters (?)" necessarily "dull the images less etc" (? whatever that means)?

i think it's because as the sensors improve with each generation, the DNG files are getting more linear (aka flat) to reflect the technical improvements. a flat file is what one wants for editing (assuming one is inclined and have the know how to take advantage of the added flexibility), but they make for dull images if used unedited.

personally i see nothing special in the m9m files that cant be easily replicated in the m246, but again doing so requires additional effort and knowledge. 

[espelt]

I have the M 246. I really like the camera. And above all, I'm very happy with the pictures. I got the camera at a really reasonable price. The question of whether or not to buy it wasn't even an issue. I've been wanting a mono camera for a long time. So I seized this opportunity. I never use JPG either. It's good for a quick review. It gives a suggestion of what you can do with the data. But nothing more. It's always fascinating what you can get out of DNGs. I always expose for the highlights. And slightly underexpose. That works for me. I do the editing in Photoshop. Usually, it's some tonal correction, a gradation curve for contrast control, a little unsharp masking for the screen versions of the images, and occasionally a slight tint depending on the subject. Above all, the tonal correction and the gradation curve are important. The data from the camera often seems a bit "flat." I always compare it to high-resolution, ultra-fine grain film. The abundance of tonal values comes at the expense of contrast. How much is right in each individual case is in the eye of the beholder. And of course, it also depends heavily on the subject. The camera's strengths are definitely all situations with poor light: cloudy, rainy days, at dusk or at night, indoors. And when it starts to get a little noisy – sometimes that's just right and can make it look very analog. I think I'll be enjoying the camera for quite some time. I haven't yet exploited its full potential, and there's a lot to discover. So if you can get a good one at a good price – you can't go wrong with it.

M246, Summicron 35, Editing in PS: Tonal value correction, gradation curve, vignetting, creating as a duplex with black and various Pantone gray tones.

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I did comparatively little here. Grading curve set to linear contrast, slightly unsharp masked, and a slight tint. ISO back to auto. Summicron 35.

[ramarren]

On 6/13/2025 at 1:44 AM, espelt said:

I have the M 246. I really like the camera. And above all, I'm very happy with the pictures. I got the camera at a really reasonable price. The question of whether or not to buy it wasn't even an issue. I've been wanting a mono camera for a long time. So I seized this opportunity. I never use JPG either. It's good for a quick review. It gives a suggestion of what you can do with the data. But nothing more. It's always fascinating what you can get out of DNGs. I always expose for the highlights. And slightly underexpose. That works for me. I do the editing in Photoshop. Usually, it's some tonal correction, a gradation curve for contrast control, a little unsharp masking for the screen versions of the images, and occasionally a slight tint depending on the subject. Above all, the tonal correction and the gradation curve are important. The data from the camera often seems a bit "flat." I always compare it to high-resolution, ultra-fine grain film. The abundance of tonal values comes at the expense of contrast. How much is right in each individual case is in the eye of the beholder. And of course, it also depends heavily on the subject. The camera's strengths are definitely all situations with poor light: cloudy, rainy days, at dusk or at night, indoors. And when it starts to get a little noisy – sometimes that's just right and can make it look very analog. I think I'll be enjoying the camera for quite some time. I haven't yet exploited its full potential, and there's a lot to discover. So if you can get a good one at a good price – you can't go wrong with it.

M246, Summicron 35, Editing in PS: Tonal value correction, gradation curve, vignetting, creating as a duplex with black and various Pantone gray tones.

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I did comparatively little here. Grading curve set to linear contrast, slightly unsharp masked, and a slight tint. ISO back to auto. Summicron 35.

Lovely photos! That is the important part.

Regards the slightly flat look out-of-camera with the DNG files: Try using a medium green filter and see how that might work for you. I experiment with a range of filters on the M10-M and found that a medium green filter just did the number right; many of my posted exposures with that require little to no processing past the M10-M raw conversion defaults in LR Classic. 

G

[espelt]

I also really enjoy experimenting with filters. Green has become popular for daylight and landscapes. I use it less often for people. Red is always good for a bit of drama. In the evening, I usually use no filter. I always try to create the best raw files possible. I can then tweak them in post-production to suit my needs. But I enjoy doing it. Many people find post-production on the computer annoying. Fortunately, I like it.

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[ph0toni]

I would have liked an M9M because it has good IR imaging.
BUT... it doesn't have live view... I got an M246M.
I'm comforted by the fact that it produces excellent files at ISO 12,800; it looks like a good TriX film.

.

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[ph0toni]

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Mantova City - M246 + Voigtlander 35 f 1,5 + red filter 590 nm

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