I have a love/hate relationship with B&W. What I love is the texture and feeling and emotion a b&w picture can express. How it reveals the structure of the composition and a depth of the meaning of the picture. What I hate is there’s no color.
I bought an M10M in 2021 and shot just BnW for 9 months with it. I've always been a fan of the monochrom cameras and wanted one since when the M246 came out. I waited 5 years to pull that trigger! The things I noticed were that I could shoot up to 40,000 ISO and the results looked like Tri-X, the detail and shadow recovery is exceptional. It's best to shoot around -.07 EV (unless you shoot a night, then I would go -2.0 EV).The rear LCD is useless when you darken the EV value though! Where the highlights blow out, the roll off is more filmic and subtle in its character. For me, the main difference is in the tonal transitions, especially in the blacks. After 9 months of only shooting BnW I totally forgot about colour when out shooting!
you are right/ the LCD is useless! why did they not do a Leica M10 mono in a D version so without the screen. The images shown in the video have been edited, no way in such contrasty situation the M10 is getting such bright B&W...😉😁
I had an M10M for just under a year and it was the first camera that inspired me to print several of the images I captured. Yes, the mechanical shutter speed limitation was frustrating for shooting fast lenses at wider apertures, and I found myself underexposing by 2-3 stops to protect my highlights, which rendered using the LCD for playback pretty useless. But when I fell into a rhythm of stopping down and being patient, it delivered remarkable results. I have to imagine that the hybrid shutter and increased DR on the M11M resolves many of the quirks of this older model, but as someone pointed out below, I found the 40 mp resolution to be more than sufficient, and since we are talking about a niche tool within an already niche segment, I much prefer the tactile response of the M10's shutter to the M11 line.
Goughie...Liverpool Kev here.....I really enjoy and appreciate your videos...a big thank you...I am so pleased you are a happy with your new camera...I have a number of cameras M/43..and Fuji...I recently went on a lunch on a steam train and took the tiny and camera-wise ancient Panasonic GM1 and the kit lens...One of the advantages of digital photos is the advanced software available at minimal effort....I was so pleased with my photos...Really (after 50 years experience)...I am genuinely happy you love your new camera.....maybe feel software has blurred what may be achieved 'Post'...would be interested to hear what you say.....Though already know what you feel and say.... a fabulous camera in the hand trumps ...haha.....Thanks Goughie ...Take care....Liverpool Kev
Here's a couple Monochrom tips: Set the EV to -0.7 or -1.0 to help protect the highlights and run with a yellow or orange filter outdoors for better cloud definition and skin tones.
@@goodbokeh for sure! I feel like it’s a pain with digital in general isn’t it! Saving the highlights vs taking the photo how you want it to look in camera! I guess it was the same with film just reversed! If in doubt over expose
I had a Q2M and it was a steep learning curve when it comes to the highlights. I got to the point where I would intentionally under expose everything I shot outdoors because it was so easy to blow out the highlights. The image quality, on the other hand, was amazing. Especially when you printed large. I ended up selling mine to finance an M-11, that I love, but I absolutely miss my monochrome. If I ever get the chance I will own another monochrome camera. They are really that good.
The M10M is a game changing camera. I've got an M11M but my beloved M10M isn't going anywhere. If you do go for a 28mm try the Elmarit (pre-a)spherical, it's just gorgeous.
Congratulations and welcome to the monochrome world. I switched from a M240 to M10M because I shoot a lot of B&W with my M240 already but the amazing ISO performance of the M10M really shocks me. Trust me that you can set the auto ISO limited up to ISO 50,000 and it is totally fine. I use the dark yellow filter for cloudy day, orange filter for sunny outdoor shooting. I have my red filter blue sky with cloud, the texture of cloud will be amazing. - EV 0.7 is like my standard set up (like shooting positive film) (Opposite to the way you shoot color with M11). Also if you can find some good condition ( I mean the lens, not the outlook) leica elmar 35mm and 50mm F3.5, I strongly recommend these two pieces, not expensive but lovely for B&W photo. Enjoy and happy shooting.
@@StephenPodrasky what’s the main reason you find yourself picking up the M10M instead? I did a bit of research before buying and you aren’t alone with this!
@@Goughie I find that a majority of my older lenses just render better. I also find in monochrom the 40meg sensor just has the perfect resolution for my prints. Plus I have a better hit rate if the shutter speed is below 1/250th. The extra resolution without stabilization on the M11M appears to enhance even the slightest of movements.
@@AIP404 They probably would, however I have had the M10M since release and am so familiar with it. Maybe when I am as familiar with the M11M I will just use it. As of now I mainly use theM11m with the Noctilux, no ND needed.
I'm using a M9M and I love it. I typically use the 35mm Summicron ASPH. Have you used any physical filters (red, orange, yellow, green, blue) yet? Filters are definitely a part of the b&w experience.
I love b&w, approx. 70% of my images are processed as b&w. I've tried the M10m, but I preferred the look of converted results from my M10, despite the higher resolution of the Mm. I never had the 'discipline' issue, since most of my photography is b&w. For me, there has to be a reason for color in the scene. If there isn't any (like a certain color palette, evening light etc.) I prefer b&w. Have fun the the M10m, I am looking forward to learn about your experiences...
I love black and white photography so I’ll be interested to see how you feel at the end of the month. My main camera is the Fuji X-H2 but I also have a Sony RX100 V which I leave set to B&W and it is really good. Have you thought about filters. If I use Acros or Mono on the X-H2 I always set the red filter option.
@@billwinward9324 yes! I’d like to try some within the month, all of my lenses have different filter thread sizes which is a bit of a pain! Lots of adapters!
Once there was all B&W then colour went and spoilt it to an extent. Enjoy it I recently got a M10 and just loving it takes me back to my early days of Nikon ftn and manual focus FP3 before FP4 and HP5 ah those were the days.
Great video! The M10M is fun! I usually have exposure compensation at minus 2/3 or even minus 1 and I am NEVER concerned by the shadows... you should try shiny objects, metallic structures and gradients, that's where I really enjoy the monochrome!
You need to apply an orange ( sometimes red) or at least yellow filter. What is mandatory with B&W film is necessary with monochrom cameras as well. Take this advice from a M10 M + Q2M owner ( besides my M10 R + Q2} . You will be glad you did. Especially clouds and blue sky look amazing with just an orange or red filter. Go on with your videos; enjoyed them all. Wolfgang from Germany
I recently picked up the M9M and love it. My M11 has been feeling a bit abandoned since the M9M entered the house. Great video and love your Monochrom Month idea. Look forward to seeing how it transpires.
@@Goughie I know, right! I live by that motto, too. I don't own a single filter and I don't think I have used one since getting my first DSLR back in 2005-6 timeframe.
Do you feel better now you have told us what cameras you have. I have four Leica, one Hasselblad, two Fuji’s and two Ricohs. I use the Fuji and Ricoh camera’s everyday. I have the Fuji xf 18,23,33 f1.4 and 90 f2 ,50f2. I am thinking of getting another Fuji camera, I’m looking at the xs20, what do you think.
Just bought a Leica M10M, after using a Leica Q2 Monochrome (28mm1.4) for one year. Love the way the M10M renders the B&W images and specially that you can change M lenses.. Doubting about selling my Leica Q2 Monochrome, thoughts?
good job on your video. I’ve had an M10 monochrome since they came out. I love the thing. Yeah it blows highlights the rest of its attributes far away that little fable. Take care.
To me, the key to shooting monochrome is graphical composition. Shape welding and value bunching. Color makes this difficult because hue variation breaks up the simplified intentional value organization. B&W does the opposite. Easiest way to study it is through paintings, since artists typically plan value first (reality, obviously, does not). The second easiest way to study it is by setting a digital camera to b&w then using the EVF and exposure comp to weld in real time- not exactly happening with the OVF ha. Anyway, good luck on your journey!
Get yourself a Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue filter and experiment. Those skies you are talking about look even more insane with a dark red filter!!!
Great review as always. Have you thought about using colour filters to make the most of clouds in the sky, for example? I find a red filter ads some nice contrast to an overcast day.
How do you eat through batteries like that? My M10 battery needs a charge maybe once a month. I never, ever, use the screen but otherwise shoot away happily.
I have been shooting with the Q2M since its release. I no longer enjoy shooting on a colour camera and converting to black/white. Once you see it, you can never go back. A blessing and a curse perhaps? I disagree with you about how black and white can make a bad photo better. In my view, it is actually more difficult to take a good shot in black and white. All distractions are removed in colour and it ends up mostly being about the composition. Lighting arguably plays an even greater role too. Once you begin to master it, it can truly take your photography to the next level. Just look at Alan Schaller :) But Goughie young man, I am thrilled you have the M10M and I look forward to seeing more content about your experience.
I tried the predecessor to this camera, the M type 246 very briefly but I was quickly reminded that I'm just rangefinder incompatible. xD Also what drove me away from the monochrom sensors was the fact that AI denoising doesn't work. (or at least didn't when I tried it and probably won't ever work well) Those algorithms seem to rely on color information.
The camera is easily the most impressive I have used. For the blown highlight, one trick is to under expose deliberately and the other is to put an red/orange/yellow filter on the lens like you might with B&W film to change the way the skies will look. Also, the Monochrom profile from Adobe isn't the best starting point in my opinion. There are some third party profiles available for this camera that seem to do a much better job.
congratulations to your new camera, but why you didn't try your leica m11 high contrast black and white jpeg and raw settings? I love how leica m11 jpeg in high contrast black and white. i hope you try it. 👍📷
Nice one! Great video. With that highlights clipping... try to expose on the highlights. It works for me. If you will expose on the highlights, you can recover shadows easily. Cheers!
Hello my friend. I have cameras and photography equipment like you and I really want to sell them and buy a Haseeblad X2D camera. Do you recommend a site that offers fair prices and does not underestimate the value of the product? @@Goughie
@@ahmeddaghriri4180 I’ve only ever sold privately! Facebook / eBay Or i did once use a camera shop in Sheffield called Harrison cameras and traded for something they had in stock
I have used the m11 mono for 4 months and sold it I believe paying 10k for a mono camera is a bit crazy from my experience dynamic range better iso performance and post processing Capabilities I didn’t see much difference in my color conversion to b&w on my sl2, if you shoot at night ok I get it but everyday use not worth the $
Great video! Does the M10 Monochrome shoot video? Would be interesting to see a video shot with it. That would be benching your Sony for no good reason, but artiistically would be cool.
Definitely agree that b&w is a great way to make poor images look better. But I still like b&w a lot - probably ‘cause a lot of my photo’s suck😀. Those first shots sure look beautiful, Goughie. Will be following you closely this “mono month”; I’m sure it will be interesting & entertaining!
A monochrome sensor has atleast a two stop advantage in noise over a colour sensor and therefore 2 stops of extra dynamic range as your signal to noise ratio is much higher due to the substantial increase in the amount of light that reaches the sensor ( nothing to do with digital iso ), so, although you will have atleast one to two extra stops in shadow recovery, the highlights do not benefit from the increase in DR simply because the Full Well Depth of the sensor has not improved. In fact as you have noticed it might even get reduced, but on the whole you have much better dynamic range to work with. So treat a monochrome sensor as you would have done transparency, expose for the highlights, let the shadows fall where they fall and recover them in post. You should also learn how and when to use colour contrast filters on your lens to manipulate the tonality of the scene. Enjoy your very expensive new toy.
Wow. So a whole month of monochrome. I just set my X-T5 to Acros (Arcos?) to try and force myself to get better with my composition, so I'm with you. :)
Congrats on your new and first Mono camera :) Reminds me of the year I owned the Q2M - was an awesome experience shooting with it! Reason why I sold it was because people I share my family photos with also want the pictures in colour (my wife does like black and white, but not exclusively). Having a monochrome camera is the true dedication to black and white. And in my opinion it means shooting for yourself - no noise, no comments from your loved once or haters - only you, the camera and following the contrast of light. I tried to make it work as good as possible for me, but always had in mind, I would like to share the image to people to who I know prefer colour. Because of that reason I sold it and b/w convertion is also fine, specially on Leica + Nikon DNGs. But these moments, when I really purely shot only for myself and the pure joy of experience, these are the moments I miss my Leica Q2M, specially the night walks. But the price tag is too high to keep such a camera just for that purpose. That being said, I kinda felt relieved (confirmation bias :D) seeing Matt Day also giving up his M11M and getting back his normal M11 :D Excited to hear about your upcoming experience with your M10M! :)
Always wanted a Leica Monochrom. But the one thing that puts me off is the lack of colour sliders to fine tune the tonality of a photo that has been converted to black and white from colour. Looking forward to more monochrome monthly :)
I have a Monochrom Type 246 and I agree that I miss the power of the sliders but the tonality, lack of noise, and resolution is at a whole other level that makes it unique. Plus you can play with color filters to refine the look like we do when we shoot film.
YES! Perfect timing. I just received my M10M as well. Grew up learning in the darkroom and shooting only B&W film, so excited to be forced back into thinking and only focusing on light & composition rather than color as well. And I agree. The M10M is the best looking M camera in a long while.
I'm going to need to hear your 28 day evaluation because black and white is something that I have simply never enjoyed. Here for the chaos in the comments though.
I believe the "trick" with Leica monochrome cameras is underexpose the highlights by 1/3 to 1/2 stop and then pull up the shadows. The censor works best this way - or so I'm told.
Sorry, but I will _never_ only shoot in b/w… even your excellent video footage looks much more appealing than this b/w result. I am just _not_ depressed enough to live a b/w life after all ;-)
Congratulations! You will really enjoy that awesome camera. As a proud owner of the Q2 monochrom and M11 monochrom I guarantee you will love the images you produce. Really looking forward to seeing what you create with the M10M!
Stopped the video at 2:25, so maybe I didn't get it .... but ... ... get yourself a reasonable old film camera and B&W film for the desired period of time. Probably much cheaper and more exciting?
@Goughie No question that it's exciting for that kind of money. Sorry, I don't want to be mean. Get the gear you want, no blame. I wonder if it's worth it within the next quarter of a year ... please let me know
I don't understand the logic of a monochrome sensor, as the best BW is created with controlled manipulation of RG & B channels in the file. If the channels aren't there, you can't control them. The standard example is any classic large format landscape of the Adams era, which were always shot with some sort of specifically limited color filter (orange, yellow, or red) on the lens to kill the blue & thus compensate for that the eye interprets colors of the same value as markedly different value, whereas film (in the day) would not. The standard example is a blue sky with distinct clouds, which with a yellow filter look natural, but without look washed. This filter business is done digitally in Photoshop with the color channels, if they are not there you will be forced into a lot of sub par BW. Tell me why I'm wrong. PS if you use Adobe Bridge to sort and organize, large sets of images don't take "ages & ages" to cull.
@@Goughie Leica are undoubtedly fantastic cameras, but I'm talking about the look of the body design. For me, the Fuji XT5 or any of its predecessors beat Leica's body design into a cocked hat.
