RF’sDelight Posted June 21 Share #61 Posted June 21 Advertisement (gone after registration) Really? For years Leica pushes me towards digital M photography, especially with the Monochrom Ms and now they are releasing an analog BW film? Are you kidding me? BTW Agfa Scala will always be my pinnacle analog BW experience. Period. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 21 Posted June 21 Hi RF’sDelight, Take a look here New: MONOPAN 50 – the new black-and-white 35 mm film from Leica. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
thebarnman Posted June 22 Share #62 Posted June 22 On 6/20/2025 at 4:48 AM, TomB_tx said: My father also always used Kodachrome through the 1950s & 60s in his Stereo Realist with f3.5 lenses, and didn't go to K64 when it came out - too contrasty he said. Also he didn't use a light meter, so didn't want to try anything new. He gave me a Realist before I left for college, and I also used KII at 25 ASA - even doing some nighttime shots of events and indoor stuff. After moving to "regular" cameras (including an M4) my preferred film was still Panatomic-X as grain was considered an enemy. By then I had my fastest lenses: f2.0! (I did shoot some ice-hocky with 2475 recording film at high EV with a 135 f3.5, which gave new meaning to grain!) My Morgan & Morgan Leica handbook from the early 1950s covers high-speed films of 125 or so... I still like to use ISO 100 film in my III series Leicas as a reminder of what was possible back then. I too used to shoot Kodachrome ASA 25 with my Stereo Realist. It was simple in broad daylight, basically f8 at 1/100 of a second. Just keep the camera still while shooting. The aperture setting would simply be increase as the sun moved down. Most of my shots would turn out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebarnman Posted June 22 Share #63 Posted June 22 (edited) Is this film OK to use for people shots? It mainly stated it was good for everything but portraiture. Actually, I found this... Go to 6m 19s. Looks like some whites are blown out (Yikes, she's wearing white!) and the resulting images are soft. Maybe not so bad for people pictures. Edited June 22 by thebarnman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted June 22 Share #64 Posted June 22 9 hours ago, thebarnman said: Is this film OK to use for people shots? It mainly stated it was good for everything but portraiture. Actually, I found this... Go to 6m 19s. Looks like some whites are blown out (Yikes, she's wearing white!) and the resulting images are soft. Maybe not so bad for people pictures. I think those are artistic choices, plus the inevitable loss of detail and tonality in a YouTube video. One thing that jumps-out is the extended red sensitivity, which masks most skin blemishes. It's almost too much, although many subjects will like it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbt Posted June 22 Share #65 Posted June 22 On 6/19/2025 at 1:26 AM, pedaes said: Can you buy a collectors set with the four different boxes?🤔 leica-store.co.nz says: Please note: each film comes in one of four exclusive vintage designs — randomly selected and are not subject to customer selection. Requests for exchanges or refunds based on packaging or film preferences will not be honored. Given the US spelling I would say this applies everywhere, but perhaps a kind seller will do so if you purchase 4 rolls? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted June 23 Share #66 Posted June 23 On 6/21/2025 at 10:04 PM, RF’sDelight said: Really? For years Leica pushes me towards digital M photography, especially with the Monochrom Ms and now they are releasing an analog BW film? Are you kidding me? BTW Agfa Scala will always be my pinnacle analog BW experience. Period. I think this will keep the new M6 buyers excited. Honestly, unless I have a particular look I'm after, and unless I can get the film processed locally, I won't be lured. Back in the day I never thought digital photography would ever compete with film but I was proven wrong. Digital has surpassed film technology on so many levels. Yes, I do feel some nostalgia for the days when I would spend endless hours in the darkroom, but so thankful now for my IMAC and printer. For those for whom film is a new experience I absolutely encourage its use. Slowing down and paying careful attention to how you shoot your photo has its value. Even in the digital era I prefer a slower pace. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikep996 Posted June 26 Share #67 Posted June 26 Advertisement (gone after registration) Leica does not produce film. Paying more money to have film (from an actual film-maker) delivered in a Leica Box seems absurd to me. Now, if Leica actually made film, it would be different! In that case...well, I would still buy Ilford/Kodak/Adox, etc... 🤣 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted June 26 Share #68 Posted June 26 3 hours ago, Mikep996 said: Leica does not produce film. Paying more money to have film (from an actual film-maker) delivered in a Leica Box seems absurd to me. Now, if Leica actually made film, it would be different! In that case...well, I would still buy Ilford/Kodak/Adox, etc... 🤣 The problem with buying the "original" Adox film, which might actually be made by Agfa, is that you can't. It was only available from a few online retailers, mostly in Europe, but it's been sold-out since the announcement. I'm sure it won't be as cheap when it comes back. I understand your desire to only buy film from the company that manufactured the film (or Adox who do not), but you'll miss-out on very good films, for instance films made by Agfa. That's fine it it's a personal choice, but the film world really needs more choice, not less. Besides, this Leica-branded film isn't necessarily more expensive than Ilford or Kodak, depending where you live. I know I've paid nearly 20 Euros for T-Max in Europe, and that's not much more than the list price in Canada... If Leica can sell this stock worldwide at around 12 Euro that would be great. If all they do is to encourage people to buy and process some film, that's a win too. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bliz Posted June 26 Share #69 Posted June 26 8 hours ago, BernardC said: It was only available from a few online retailers, mostly in Europe, but it's been sold-out since the announcement. https://www.fotoimpex.com/films/adox-hr-50-13536-with-speed-boost.html?cache=1750971231 hr50 is readily available from fotoimpex, the official adox store. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted June 27 Share #70 Posted June 27 On 6/21/2025 at 10:04 PM, RF’sDelight said: Really? For years Leica pushes me towards digital M photography, especially with the Monochrom Ms and now they are releasing an analog BW film? Are you kidding me? BTW Agfa Scala will always be my pinnacle analog BW experience. Period. That is what HR-50 is, Scala 50 in a different box. For processing either Adox FX-39 is an ideal developer for full toned negatives and the Adox Reversal kit if you want slides. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
espelt Posted June 27 Share #71 Posted June 27 In principle, I'm happy about any "new" film. I really like to experiment a bit. For example, I felt sorry for Ferrania the whole time. And I kept ordering films. And I still hope they make it. If not, I can console myself with the 19 rolls still in the freezer. While I was initially disappointed with the results of P30 (I simply developed it incorrectly), I now love the film. Maybe it will be similar with the "new" one? And who knows who the real manufacturer is. We'll see. I'll definitely try it out. And if the photos don't turn out well, there's always the beautiful packaging. Perhaps it will one day be worth more than the contents are today? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted June 27 Share #72 Posted June 27 14 hours ago, Bliz said: hr50 is readily available from fotoimpex, the official adox store. That's great, if buying from Fotoimpex is convenient for you. Most of the stores I checked, both in Europe and in North America (where I live) are sold-out. Let's hope that Leica can use their distribution network to make this film stock available everywhere. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWColor Posted July 21 Share #73 Posted July 21 (edited) The portraits above reminds me of my travel photography with the M11 Monochrom sporting a red filter. I typically use a yellow filter for my people images, but sometimes the activities of the moment don’t allow for a change of filters. This brings up a prime reason for my interest in this thread. I’m curious as to what these slow films have to offer over just using my Monochrom. Possibly greater resolution if the negative is copied in medium format with pixel binning, but I don’t really have use for images that exceed the resolution of the M11M. So far, it seems like more expense, time/effort to develop and copy at home as well as ISO limitations. Previous to this I’ve been looking at medium format film vs Hasselblad/Sony digital. Edited July 21 by BWColor Remove M11M image.. realized it was at ISO 12500 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebarnman Posted July 25 Share #74 Posted July 25 (edited) On 7/21/2025 at 6:45 AM, BWColor said: The portraits above reminds me of my travel photography with the M11 Monochrom sporting a red filter. I typically use a yellow filter for my people images, but sometimes the activities of the moment don’t allow for a change of filters. This brings up a prime reason for my interest in this thread. I’m curious as to what these slow films have to offer over just using my Monochrom. Possibly greater resolution if the negative is copied in medium format with pixel binning, but I don’t really have use for images that exceed the resolution of the M11M. So far, it seems like more expense, time/effort to develop and copy at home as well as ISO limitations. Previous to this I’ve been looking at medium format film vs Hasselblad/Sony digital. Besides super high resolution; it offers a film look that's hard to replicate with digital. And, because it's film, the format itself forces the shooter to slow down and really thing about what's being photographed and how. Edited July 25 by thebarnman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWColor Posted July 27 Share #75 Posted July 27 On 7/25/2025 at 12:19 AM, thebarnman said: Besides super high resolution; it offers a film look that's hard to replicate with digital. And, because it's film, the format itself forces the shooter to slow down and really thing about what's being photographed and how. Good points. I was planning to digitize B&W with the M11 Monochrom/Novaflex C/Y Adapter/Zeiss 100mm Macro Planar/Extension Tube. If that actually works, it will be interesting to shoot the Monochrom side by side with a film ‘M’. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 27 Share #76 Posted July 27 (edited) On 7/25/2025 at 6:19 AM, thebarnman said: Besides super high resolution; it offers a film look that's hard to replicate with digital. And, because it's film, the format itself forces the shooter to slow down and really thing about what's being photographed and how. I'm not sure about the default idea that film encourages you to slow down. With chimping a digital camera you can see when to stop, not so a film camera when 'one for the pot' has always been a good idea to fully interrogate the subject. When Garry Winogrand died he had over 4000 rolls of film to be processed, and from his contact sheets you can see he often spends half a roll on one thing until he gets the composition and reaction that makes the photograph. And I know film was much cheaper in the 1970's but when I was at college but shooting ten rolls of Tri-X in a day was encouraged, or how else do you learn? Whether digital or film one or maybe two good photo's per 36 frames is good going, so don't waste an opportunity just because it's film, if the subject excites don't count the frames if it's going to stop you getting just one great photograph per roll. Edited July 27 by 250swb 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted July 27 Share #77 Posted July 27 Because my right thumb is often on strike, I have motor drives on a considerable number of my film cameras, IIIa, M4P, M7, R8, R9 and Contax RX. I find I often take a few of extras maybe at different apertures, maybe adding a filter or slightly different compositions, just in case. As I don't process my own, being very allergic to Hydroquinone and having had disappointing results from HQ free developers (Rodinal etc), using film is a pretty expensive business these days, especially 120 film where I only get 8 shots at 6 x 9 from my Mamiya Super 23 Press on a 120 roll. As I now have medium format digital, I find I am using film less and less. My most used film camera is a Minox 35ML because it can sit in my pocket. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebarnman Posted July 28 Share #78 Posted July 28 Kodak Portra 400 for a five pack is $84.95 before tax. I know there are cheaper films out there but if I want to shoot Portra, I'm not going to be shooting from the hip. Then there's processing and proofs. A five pack of Kodak Ektachrome E100 is $134.99 before tax also not including development. Another benefit of using film (which not too many people take advantage of at least that I know of) is using transparencies projected onto the big screen with my Leica Pradovit RT-m. Yes, the same thing can be done with digital files and digital projector, but there is a distant quality difference between the two. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWColor Posted September 5 Share #79 Posted September 5 I understood that this film would be available on August 21st in the U.S. Well, that was two weeks ago. Anyone have an updated distribution date? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedaes Posted September 5 Share #80 Posted September 5 2 minutes ago, BWColor said: I understood that this film would be available on August 21st in the U.S. Well, that was two weeks ago. Anyone have an updated distribution date? I have seen that date revised to 'Approximately 3rd October' in UK 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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