Anyone Like Their Monochrom, but Sold It?

[BWColor]

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I purchased the M11M and after two vacations in Asia, it became my favorite camera. First was the ability to shoot without regard to ISO, and then there is the incredible resolution and tonal range. I traveled with the M11M and two lenses, as well as the X2D and 38v/25v lenses. The Hasselblad was used when it rained, and it rained a good bit. So, the M11M became my favorite camera, and I have many great lenses, but I only travel with two, or possibly three lenses. I’ve used other cameras, including the X2D when not vacationing.

Now, with the introduction of the X2Dii, the Hasselblad’s image stabilization has improved and the new Zooms make a two lens travel kit possible.  In fact this camera and two lenses are 0.46Kg less than the previous kit.  The high resolution and incredible IBIS competes with the resolution and low light capabilities of the M11M.  Of course, carrying around a zoom feels totally different than carrying the Leica.

Lastly, I’ve been shooting film in a range of rangefinders from 35mm to 6x7 and I’m resurrecting my old Jobo CPE2 Plus.

Anyone else sold their Monochrom and found a happy solution post sale?

 

Anyone else love the Leica Monochroms, but sell them?

 

[pgh]

I have two M10 monos and an X2d. I will sell the X2d first, but the Monos might eventually go when a few projects wrap up (that could be years...).

They're both an amazing cameras. The X2d is so good that I find using it to be a joyless experience. I can't imagine how much better of a camera and worse feeling the X2d2 would be. That's not the camera's fault, I've just just generally found that somewhere along the way cameras have gotten so good that it just doesn't feel like photography anymore. Like you, I am shooting film more than I have in 10 years and thanks to camera scanning, find it a viable workflow again. My M10m's might eventually be sold, but with my M10D they are the most favorite digitals. They're still digitals, though. 

I also don't print larger than a2 hardly ever anymore, most pictures benefit no more from looking like a poster. 

I find lately I have no real use for more than 24 mp native sensor. Occasionally a job might demand more than that, but only rarely. Upgrading anything feels useless, and affects my photography 0%.

[BWColor]

44 minutes ago, pgh said:

I have two M10 monos and an X2d. I will sell the X2d first, but the Monos might eventually go when a few projects wrap up (that could be years...).

They're both an amazing cameras. The X2d is so good that I find using it to be a joyless experience. I can't imagine how much better of a camera and worse feeling the X2d2 would be. That's not the camera's fault, I've just just generally found that somewhere along the way cameras have gotten so good that it just doesn't feel like photography anymore. Like you, I am shooting film more than I have in 10 years and thanks to camera scanning, find it a viable workflow again. My M10m's might eventually be sold, but with my M10D they are the most favorite digitals. They're still digitals, though. 

I also don't print larger than a2 hardly ever anymore, most pictures benefit no more from looking like a poster. 

I find lately I have no real use for more than 24 mp native sensor. Occasionally a job might demand more than that, but only rarely. Upgrading anything feels useless, and affects my photography 0%.

I can relate to everything that you said.  My purpose in keeping one digital system is for overseas vacations.  I just bought two more ‘M’ film cameras to add to my many others.  I also picked up two fixed lens Fuji 645 and two more lenses for my Bronica RF645..just an amazing camera and rather compact.  I spent the last six months refining my copy regime and just bought fresh chemicals and parts for my Jobo CPE-2 Plus.  So, back to mostly film.  I was going to sell the hundreds of frozen rolls of film that have been in the film only freezer for fifteen years..but now I have lots of ‘free’ film.  Actually, the film survived one freezer and is on the second.  What put me over the edge was when I recovered tens of thousands of old film scans that I thought that I had lost.  I found that I really liked the way many of them looked.

[ramarren]

The M10 Monochrom is just about my ideal camera. I bought an M10-R afterwards so as to have a color camera that worked as much the same as possible. And I'm pretty much done right there. 

Sell the M10-M? hah. Not anytime soon.

G

[Serryth]

Reading this although I didnt have a monochrom, but an M-11P. I also have an SL2-S and 907X 100C.

When the X2D-2 was announced, I thought it would be interesting to test it out the stabilization. Once I shot with the camera in hand, I knew my 28mm and the 35-100mm would be my new 2 lens kit. (I will be selling the 55mm.) Three lens kit if you count the Mamiya 645 30mm tele, which I adapted -- but that's not a EDC lens. 

I sold my M11-P last month (in exchange for the X2D-2. Liked it a lot, but it is gathering dust, and I thought it'd better to sell it while it can still fetch a reasonable price. Not wanting to risk waiting till M12 will be announced.

(Having said that, I may pick up a monochrom should the opportunity arise.)

Edited 8 hours ago by Serryth

[Bliz]

I don’t have a m10m but a m10r and I feel pretty much the same way. I got it to have a digital M system but I end up shooting film 95% of the time, either on in Ms, my Mamiya 645 or a Fuji GS645S I got lately to have a compact medium format rangefinder. If I was sure I could travel with film always getting it hand checked, I would swap the m10r for a new MP tbh.
I have a sony A7 something I end up using only for camera scanning because, as good as it objectively is, it’s a joyless experience like pgh said for the Hasselblad.

Edited 3 hours ago by Bliz

[Eoin]

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A life long love of photography was passed on from father to son under the soft red safe light as the image magically appeared in the developer. Come the millennium I abandoned all film and my darkroom for a digital work flow. 
I largely ignored the introduction of “monochrom” up until last year when I began a personal project. I decided timeless black & white was called for and a valid excuse to try a M11M, then add a Q2M.

Sold… to be honest never say never, but these digital monochromes with filters bring back a joy and satisfaction of shooting in a monochromatic mindset.
Sure RGB  can be converted in post processing, but neither it or film hold any meaningful value as I gaze upon the resolution and plasticity of the file on screen.

In my digital world, my monochromes are its backbone.

[otto.f]

I bought the Monochrome1 (M9M) the minute it came out, because my Leica dealer knows me well and he wouldn't disturb me with Leica gear I'm not interest in. I love this camera and made stunning images with it over a broad range; street, landscape, portrait, abstract, etc. It often gives that extra which makes the image more interesting than a conversed color camera. And I swore to never sell it. Still, I did it and I must say (sorry...) that I hardly miss it. The reason was that I stepped over to film when it comes to B&W, mostly because a lot of 'new' films came out, often reissues of traditional films. Especially the films from ADOX made me curious and made it possible to make images with a special character. Of course you can attain a lot with postprocessing digital monochrome shots, but film has a wider scope and I prefer wet prints above inkjet printing.

Edited 1 hour ago by otto.f

[pklein]

I've always loved B&W. back in the 1970s I was developing and printing Plus-X and Tri-X. So when a friend who likes to have "the latest" decided sell his Monochrom, I happily bought it. It's the original M9 Monochrom, aka MM. It just hits the sweet spot for me. It's not so perfect that it can shoot noiseless pictures at ISO 32,000. But that is actually an advantage. It like 2 cameras in one. It can give the feel of medium format film at low ISOs. And it's like Tri-X at ISO 5,000, except that it's 3.5 stops faster. The malleable files let me do everything I did in the darkroom and more, but I no longer have to say, "I love the smell of fixer in the morning."

I plan keep my MM as long as it works.  I shoot color too, with an M10-P. It's everything a digital M should be. But it's more like a beautiful machine. The MM almost feels like it has a soul. I'm glad they dubbed it "Henri." It fits.