Member David Farkas

Fora 75mm, I'd either go for the 75 APO-Summicron if you want small size, or for the 57 Noctilux if you want ultimate performance. Personally, I'd stay away from the 75 Summilux. It's just not in the same league and I don't think would be ideal for the high megapixel M10M or SL2…. unless you want the vintage lens for its not-so-sharp glowy-ness.…[Read more]

Good observations and summary!

You're still getting better quality at ISO 3200 and 6400 with the Monochrom. And less noise does result in smoother, more detailed tonal gradations. Download the full image sequences and look at the gradient background. Also, I had to work to get the color images to match the Monochrom ones, and still couldn't get 100% there.

Great points, David!

While I didn't test in the dark, I did need to make sure that the single light source was low enough to get a proper exposure at ISO 100000, but not so dark that I ended up needing dark frame subtraction (LENR) at base ISO of 50 on the SL2. Quite the exposure puzzle. And as I pointed out in the article, I did use a studio LED light with a CRI of…[Read more]

Perfect. So glad it was helpful. If you need help deciding, let us know.

Jim,

Don't be shy of venturing up into the higher ISOs of the M10 Monochrom. As someone who rarely shot anything faster than ISO 200 in my film days, it took me quite a while to get comfortable with the idea of a totally usable ISO 32000. But now I can't go back. 🙂

My pleasure.

The M246 is still awesome in 2020. No doubt.

I'd point you to the SL2 comparisons. The SL2 and Q2 share a very similar sensor architecture and the same resolution. I think you'll find they respond quite similarly.

Indeed it was. But worth it.

Haha. Next time I'll try to shoot something other than Italian food.

I wasn't really testing for banding, as this is often a function of pushing the shadows. Very often banding can be mitigated by pulling the blacks down.

I'd encourage you to download the full images and take a look in the shadow areas of the dark background.

Have you tried out SilverFX? You can select different classic film types and it applies a look, including grain profile.

Glad you found it useful. The M10 put up a really impressive performance here. If you don't want the extra resolution, or need to shoot over ISO 10000, the M10 is certainly capable even in B&W. Lenses are never a bad investment, affording you added visual flexibility in your toolbox. And the Q2 is just fun, providing that extra resolution if…[Read more]

Thanks for the feedback.

Just for fun, I did shoot a sequence with the SL2 and 50mm APO-Summicron-SL which testing. Ultimately, I didn't feel it fair to include for a couple reasons. First, the effective focal length of the M and SL lenses aren't the same. And second, the SL lens was visibly sharper. Yes, than the 50 APO-M. Using the same lens…[Read more]

While ISO 6400 is the optimal balance of sensitivity and noise on the SL2, I feel that ISO 12500 is also perfectly usable when necessary. Remember, the SL2 still offers more detail resolution and access to native SL glass, which are superior to M lenses across the board. Even the incredible 50mm APO-Summicron-M I used for this test was outresolved…[Read more]

I explained this in the methodology section on resolution. Basically, in order to show the most apples-to-apples comparison between the three M cameras for a given output size, I downrezzed the M10M from 41 to 24MP. For the direct two-way match-up against the M246, I did use the native 41MP. This allows an for an evaluation both output-limited and…[Read more]

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't create these presets to be completely uniform across all cameras. Rather, just what seems to work well for most of my images shot with those cameras. Indeed, they are subjective. You can always use the Q2 profile as a starting point for the SL2 if you prefer the result.