The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Fun with the Leica M Monochrom

Jeff S

New member
Jeff
I've anguished so long over this - i had a Monochrom fo 6 months, I loved it and it taught me a lot, nowadays I shoot much more B&W. But but but . . . I also like to shoot colour.
Personally I found it really tricky to swap between a colour body and a monochrome body - the lens was always on the wrong camera, and I ended up worrying about what I was shooting with rather than what I was shooting.

For me (and of course it's personal) I like to shoot with two M bodies, one with a wide, one with a standard or medium telephoto . . . and I like the option to take colour photos.

I think the crux of the matter (and of course it's personal) is that if you're going to shoot exclusively black and white, then the monochrom is a complete no-brainer, but if you aren't . . . . . then it isn't!

FWIW the M makes lovely black and white photos - perhaps not to 10,000 ISO, but certainly to 6400. They convert well and are really flexible. Of course, you don't quite get the magnificent detail of the MM . . . but you get a nicer shutter noise!
Jono, you practically stole my thoughts; before my discussion with Kurt on this thread, I was waiting to try the M for the exact reasons you articulated. In fact, I probably have some posts on LUF with most of your rationale.

I'm not an early adopter, so I planned to wait to test the M by renting one in 6 months or so and making some prints. The question now is whether I should rent an MM in advance so that I have a basis for comparison later. That's probably the wise choice, but may complicate the decision process, too.

In film days, I was happy to just carry Tri-X (to process and print in my darkroom), and only load color if I had a special need. But digital opened a new world of color, with the now obvious flexibility to change modes as desired. In the end, if the M is close enough in IQ to the MM for b/w, and meets or exceeds the M9 color output, then that's likely the way I'll go. I really would like weather sealing, quiet shutter, long battery life, etc, but not at the expense of IQ (I don't care much about high ISO; ASA 400 was fine for decades). We'll see; in the meantime I'm happily shooting away with my two M8.2s (sometimes with a different lens on each, much like you describe, and sometimes just one at a time to shoot b/w or color as I see fit).

Thanks for your observations, and for your continuing to post lots of useful pics and info here and elsewhere.

Jeff
 

Jeff S

New member
The grain, oh, I simply have to push the camera at as high an ISO as possible just to get them in a frame!
That's actually a concern for me. I like a bit of grain (ages using Tri-X), and don't shoot super high ISO (which would reduce the dynamic range of the MM). If I rent the MM for testing, I'll experiment with the grain control in LR 4, to see what effect that has.

Or, maybe I'll just embrace a different look. That's the beauty of trying something new.

Jeff
 
Last edited:
V

Vivek

Guest
That's actually a concern for me. I like a bit of grain (ages using Tri-X), and don't shoot super high ISO (which would reduce the dynamic range of the MM). If I rent the MM for testing, I'll experiment with the grain control in LR 4, to see what effect that has.

Or, maybe I'll just embrace a different look. That's the beauty of trying something new.

Jeff
Jeff, Not Tri-X but more like Delta 3200 grain. Really fine and without the loss of details (equates to DR) like most digital cams.
 

jstaben

Member
Shooting my 24mm Summilux at near-dusk, even ISO 1250 had plenty of light shot wide open. With a fast lens the MM really can see in the dark.

 

mmbma

Active member
Got inspired by Ashwin's portraits with the Nikkor S.C. 50mm 1.4. So I took mine out for a spin in Soho. Minimal post, just some contrast and and vignette






Love that glow
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
More snow. MM + 18mm Super Elmar + Orange filter. Two frames stitched in PS. The MM's resolution is a real plus in extreme stitches: I had to use an extreme perspective correction in post - effectively stretching the top of the stitched image - there are enough pixels that the image didn't break up.

 
Top