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Out of curiosity / BW backs

drevil

drevil

Well-known member
Staff member
Sometime ago i got interested in aquiring an achromatic+ back, since i loved the BW converted images of my p45+ already.

i contacted bear images, who told me that the back costs around 43k new :eek:
of course second hand came into my mind, and i started to search....to find....nothing!!!
i didnt find any trace of people trying to sell their achromatics and only a few posts where people showed the results.

therefore, is there any info how many achromatic+ backs were build and especially interesting for me, how many where built for the c645 mount?

this would be also a good general question, maybe to doug, how many backs in % are being build in each mount available.

anyway it really seems that people(companies) bought the achromatic+ to use it until it falls apart for the special field it was designed for.

cheers
 
V

Vivek

Guest
drevil said:
Sometime ago i got interested in aquiring an achromatic+ back, since i loved the BW converted images of my p45+ already.

i contacted bear images, who told me that the back costs around 43k new :eek:
of course second hand came into my mind, and i started to search....to find....nothing!!!
i didnt find any trace of people trying to sell their achromatics and only a few posts where people showed the results.

therefore, is there any info how many achromatic+ backs were build and especially interesting for me, how many where built for the c645 mount?

this would be also a good general question, maybe to doug, how many backs in % are being build in each mount available.

anyway it really seems that people(companies) bought the achromatic+ to use it until it falls apart for the special field it was designed for.

cheers
Click to expand...

I think they only made a few and they were carted around for demos. :ROTFL:

Buy a Leica MM. The cheapest monochrome camera out there! :shocked:
 
D

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
I don't have exact production numbers, but to be sure both Achromatics are niche-within-a-niche products. I've had the pleasure of using both Achromatic backs and a variety of IR digital backs (see my brief write up here) and can report a few things:
- they are modestly sharper at the pixel level, though that gap has decreased significantly since the release of Capture One v7 which introduced class-leading demosaicing algorithms for color backs which were developed, in large part, by comparing pairs of raw files from an Achromatic+ and P45+. With the current algorithms I'd rate the improvement over a similar resolution color back to be around 10-15%. In other words a 60mp IQ260 Achromatic back eekes a bit more detail out of a scene than a 60mp IQ260 and a bit less than a color IQ280.
- the (optional) lack of any IR filter and any bayer filter makes this THE IR system out there
- the lack of live view on the IQ260 Achromatic means your focus evaluation will be entirely by focus mask and 100% review

As for mounts the history goes that the most popular mount at the start was the Hassy-V mount, then later the Hassy-H mount (during the H1/H2 days), and is now the M/Phase mount. For a while now we've sold more M mount backs than the rest combined; when promos like the current Credo 40 DF+ Kit are running the M ratio can be quite high.

Contax continues to defy gravity; it is the least common back we sell today (other than Hy6 mount which we sell so infrequently I wouldn't include it on the list), but remains strong enough that we have at least one Contax back in our demo inventory at all times.

Note that there is significant variation regionally, so my experience may not match up with experience in other countries.
 
J

jagsiva

Active member
One thing to point out regarding the Leica is that it does have an IR filter. The Phase backs are full-spectrum backs, i.e. no filter. Positive is that you can filter for anything you like - full spectrum, visible, IR, UV, etc. Negative is that unless you want full-spectrum, you'll have to use a filter.

In the link to my previous post above, the first picture of my son is in full-spectrum. It does have a really cool look for some subjects.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Well, in that case i can have my back up camera. :)

PM or email me if you have one for that price.
 
drevil

drevil

Well-known member
Staff member
algrove said:
You are not going to have to wait long.
Click to expand...
we will see, i hope within a year. none the less they are electronic products and lose their value quickly, the only investment worth doing in leica are the analog cameras and lenses
 
T

tcdeveau

Well-known member
The achromatic backs look really interesting, I'm hoping maybe to see some on the second hand market some day as well. I'm looking to at least rent one someday.

There have been rumors over at Leica Rumors of a new M Monochrom coming out sometime this year (CMOS maybe?). I'm willing to bet used prices on the current Monochrom will start coming down once those start shipping.
 
G

gerald.d

Well-known member
I spent quite a while hunting down an Achromatic+.

Got mine a year ago, and don't think I've seen another one for sale since.

Kind regards,

Gerald.
 
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