Discussion Forum Leica M System M Monochrom Any Monochrom deliveries yet?
  • #2871
    rgk

    Just curious if anybody received their Monochrom yet…

  • #2872
    Josh Lehrer

    Our first delivery arrives tomorrow (Tuesday)! I’ll be posting a few photos on Red Dot so stay tuned.

  • #2880
    John Buckley

    Here are some thoughts on the Monochrom you might enjoy:

    http://tulipfrenzy.com/2012/08/29/24-hours-with-the-leica-m-monochrom/

  • #2914
    Brian

    Any additional pictures and updates on the M Monochrom deliveries?

    I am very happy that this camera is such a hit. Spent some years on the various forums as a proponent of Monochrome Digital cameras. My original DSLR is monochrome, 20 years old now. There was never any doubt in my mind about the advantages of a monochrome sensor for black and white work.

  • #2935
    marcerwin

    rgk;3005 wrote: Just curious if anybody received their Monochrom yet…

    Got mine on 8/28. It’s amazing! 😉

  • #2943
    Brian

    How do you like it???

    Well, the new “M” is out. Cost less than the Monochrom, More megapixels, video, and liveview.

    Anyone going to cancel their M Monochrom pre-order? I am not. I think the new camera will appeal to a different group of photographers than those that want the Monochrom. If anything- I suspect more people will order the Monochrom now that the announcements are done.

  • #2951
    Bob Moore

    Brian;3102 wrote: If anything- I suspect more people will order the Monochrom now that the announcements are done.

    I concur.

    Bob

  • #2996
    stephan

    I will get mine tomorrow. I will not cancel my order for the new M, as from the specifications it should be better than the M (without the color option, of course)

  • #3004
    Brian

    I posted this on the Leica forum- again, it is my personal speculation on the CCD used for the M Monochrom.

    Low-noise, higher well-capacity (number of photons that can hit a pixel before it saturates), and better uniformity are all required for a better monochrome image. The M Monochrom goes to ISO 10,000 – meaning the noise floor was improved over the M9, as the color filter is responsible for 1-Fstop of loss. The well capacity is 1/2 higher than the Cmosis sensor used in the M.

    I think Truesense is “cherry picking” the best of the best of the detectors for the M Monochrom. Maybe the center of the wafers, again speculation. Compared with the M-E, the M Monochrom is $2500 higher in price. A more expensive detector because of lower yield would account for a lot of the cost.

    I think it will be a while before you see an “M” monochrome. I’ve had my current Monochrome Digital for 20 years. I’ve waited long enough for a new one.

  • #3135
    riko

    Hello everyone,

    I am new here. I just started joining various forums for Leica and RF recently. Got my M9-P, Nov last year – I did not know that Leica was going to launch M Monochrom – otherwise I would have waited. Bummer. As a long time user of M6 with B&W films (missed using agfa 25, ilford 50 & tmax 3200), I probably would have waited and not to purchased M9-P. Now I am thinking of getting M Monochrom and sell M9-P.

    I am just curious if anyone has received M Monochrom. If so, what is the wait time and from which dealer?

    Riko

  • #3139
    Jack MacD

    Easy to trade in your M9 with Dale if you are in the USA.
    I see Amazon is saying they have M in stock, but I would always prefer to deal with a very reliable person, Josh or David at Dale Photo.

    Jack

  • #3141
    David K

    I’ll second Jack’s recommendation about dealing with David and Josh. Aside from good customer service they have an extremely close relationship with Leica…which never hurts in those iffy situations about whether it’s a warranty or non-warranty repair. Been dealing with them for years and they have come thru for me on more than one occasion.

  • #3168
    riko

    Thank you Jack MacD and David K for the suggestion. I may try to keep m9-P for color and daytime work and use m monochrom for low light, night, personal projects. Not sure how wise it is to spend that kind of money. I barely explore the possibility of making great b&w rendition by way of conversion from m9-p which I think there are some potential disregards the high ISO and better resolution in m monochrom,
    Though I need color for client works.
    I may need both.

  • #3176
    Kurt Kamka

    Are Monochrom’s still trickling in? It certainly seems like an agonizingly slow introduction. I sent a request to my favorite Leica dealer in May before the announcement and I still haven’t seen a glimpse of the light of day.

  • #3177
    Brian

    My personal opinion: the CCD’s for the M Monochrom are the “best of the best” as uniformity is even more important in a Monochrome image. I suspect this slows production. I’d rather have the “best of the best” rather than anything less.

    My original “Store-Bought” digital camera is 20 years old this year, a Kodak KAF-1600 Monochrome/Infrared CCD, was a zero-defect 1.6MPixel sensor. It has 3 “hot pixels” now. Not bad for 20 years. It cost $12,400.

  • #3178
    Bob Moore

    Kurt,

    My local dealer finally received one…it is everything you imagine and then some.

    I may well sell off 90 percent of my stuff and concentrate on the mono and the new M.

    It really is that good.

    Bob

  • #3179
    Josh Lehrer

    Monochrom’s are coming in, just very slowly. Demand is still extremely high which is great, but it will probably be a number of months before us dealers are caught up on our lists. Everyone I know that’s received one absolutely loves it, and having some brief time to test it myself recently, I can confirm that there is no other camera like it that I’ve ever used.

  • #3187
    Brian

    The oldest lens that I have lined up to try with the Monochrom is almost 80 years.

    I guess it can wait a few months longer.

  • #3203
    jgt

    any mono users experiencing long delays after several exsposures? im waiting up to 3 minutes before i can shoot ? using a 32g card so that might be it?

  • #3326
    Brian

    Mine will be arriving this week- will test that. With the M9: shooting DNG+JPEG will slow things down dramatically. The M-Monochrom uses much of the same hardware/firmware. Try shooting DNG only, if you have JPEG enabled.

  • #3345
    Brian

    Mine came in yesterday, did a quick RF calibration test with a 1950 Jupiter-3 that is rebuilt to the Leica standard for focal length and in new focus mount modified for 0.8m close-focus.

    First picture with the new camera today


    L1000008 by putahexanonyou, on Flickr

    Jupiter-3, wide-open, R25 filter, +1 exposure compensation. Straight export to Jpeg using LR3.

    At F4:


    L1000011 by putahexanonyou, on Flickr

    The required brick wall test.


    L1000019 by putahexanonyou, on Flickr

  • #3363
    Pete Walentin

    Brian that is a cool Christmas present. I am pretty sure Henry will make you very happy.

    Enjoy.

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