Real World Shooting with the Leica M10 Monochrom 

It is a beast in real life youtube compression as well not showing its true potential as well when you print the files it is incredible specially with 50 APO

Thanks!

Glad you like them!

You may want to consider picking up a used M246 Monochrom to shoot alongside your M10-P. Would be a cost effective way to add this capability to your kit, and you could always move up to the M10 Monochrom in the future if you found the need.

Have u done huawei p9 camera review like your review I own p9 it is good camera phone for stills

"Settle" isn't the word I'd use. The M246 is an awesome camera. And I agree, the Leica Store Miami team is the best!

Thanks! Appreciate it.

Exactly.

Thank you so much.

I've seen it on every Leica camera I've ever tested. The image quality gains are huge once Adobe support comes out.

Thank you! 😃

Thanks for the feedback. I do list the main technical specs in the video description, but not the light source. I'm using one light for this setup - an Intellytech Light Cannon F-165 Bi-Color with Intellytech F-165 Softbox.

Yes, clearly film and digital aren't the same and don't behave the same. But, I'd challenge you to find any B&W film that can shoot cleanly at ISO 6400, let alone ISO 32,000. Digital opens up entirely new possibilities that I couldn't have even imagined when I was shooting film.

@@RedDotForum I agree that the high ISO performance is one of the benefits of the M10M. I pushed B&W films up to ISO 6400, but grain is much more visible there (it works better with pushed XP2 400 film which is developed with C-41 instead). I rarely shoot at high ISO numbers - in fact more the opposite, my go-to films are ISO 50 and 125 based.

Thanks! I don't generally make DNGs available. For me, the final image is what matters. And that end product is the product of my entire workflow.

@@RedDotForum Then add some JPG's to download . For a high end camera plus high end lens, it is often the details that matter and that can only be seen on a good monitor (e.g. at home) You Tube video compression takes that often away. Never the less great images in the video.

RedDotForum Yes but you are reviewing a camera not your work. However it is your choice to make 👍🏻

@@terrywbreedlove My thoughts too. But in this case I (Monochrome) I was very curious about the difference of a Monochrome image compared to monochrome from color , an edit 16bit JPG will do (even 8 bit or Tiff)

For me, 35 framelines are no problem. I can see 28, but they take up the entire viewfinder. When using the 24 I have to use the EVF for accurate framing. I suppose I didn't comment on this since I've been an M shooter for 20 years and don't think about it too much at this point.

D. G. I actually didn’t have an extra day! I’m currently boarding a plane on my way to lead a landscape photography workshop in Lofoten, Norway. Believe me, I would have loved an extra day or two. Or to have gotten the camera when it was initially scheduled to arrive. I plan on further testing when I get back in a couple weeks.

@@RedDotForum I believe US Customs decided to review the camera too

RedDotForum I’ll look forward to it. Safe travels.

Not necessarily. I shot about 50/50 with and without the EVF. If anything, I found focusing a bit quicker and more precise using the rangefinder. Composition, though, was more accurate with the EVF. Yeah, the 50 APO is made for this camera, just as it really shines on the M246 as well.

RedDotForum o

For a 35mm, either the 35 Cron ASPH or the 35 Summilux ASPH will provide excellent results with the M10 Monochrom. The Summicron is more than capable but is prone to flare when pointed towards bright light sources. The Lux is extremely resistant to flare and is optically slightly better overall. Really, either would work great.

Thanks, Martin.

It's a slider in the right hand set of controls in Lightroom, along with shadows, whites and blacks.

Sure, we've done those in the past. If there's interest, it's something we could look at doing again.

The biggest difference is the 2 stop ISO advantage, in addition to the tonality you get with a pure monochrom sensor with no interpolation. If you want the ability the continue to shoot color, the M10-P might be the right choice. If moving primarily to black and white, the M10 Monochrom is the way to go.

I would image no contest, the sensor on this camera is pure monochrome. SL2 however, the sensor is covered by the Bayer Colour Aray which would require a lot of magic to get any monochrome images close to the images on this camera. But I am only guessing as I only have a Q2.

I'd occasionally use 12,500, but the M10 Monochrom just takes low light performance to a whole new level. It's crazy.

For these test images, I did not use any color filters.

No. The DNG files are single channel.

@@RedDotForum - No, DNG files are not "single channel" unless the original RAW file (or scan) was single channel. DNG format is an Adobe (open source) container for RAW formats of many types, and loses no data that existed in the original. So for instance Canon CR2 converted to DNG are 3 channel RGB files. I inquired because looking at the Leica datasheet the clue that they may be single channel is that the listed file size is no bigger than the megapixel count. RGB files are a the megapixel count for each channel (as TIFF or PSD ect.). I posted this same inquiry to another forum (BH Camera) and the short answer is, yes Leica files from this camera are only single channel. I could go into at length why this fact is at first blush dismaying to a landscape photographer, but sticking to short answers: the best B&W possible is always a derivation of color via the luminance of each color channel. Single channel suggests (I say suggest because it seems ridiculous Leica would do this) for instance that the photographer cannot use the red luminance channel (to use the most obvious example) to precisely darken a blue sky. This is the Photoshop equivalent to the old school film technique traditionally practiced via yellow or red filters in front of the lens. In short the path to best B&W is via proper adjustment of the color channels, impossible if they do not exist. If one cannot attack the luminance values via the color channels, one is left to make tedious and generally inaccurate "selections" to for instance darken a blue sky so that the clouds stand out ala Ansel Adams.

John Smith so the Apochromatic lens is useless- why not use a coloured filter to add that depth - has anyone experimented with this to limit frequencies / wavelengths of light in the visible range? Can the M10M be used for infrared photography using the appropriate filters?

Where are only few who could manage Monochrome files well. My counter window for those hasn't changed after I watched this video.

Ok but can you shoot trix at night at high speeds? I dont think so

@@RivandoGuilherme got a steady hand ;-)

I presume you typed this message on an Underwood, then had it tapped out on the telegraph and hand delivered to the internet by the Pony Express. And your sackcloth tunic does indeed look wonderful 🤣

c l They are certainly not lightweight. But my wallet is now lol

Compared to my SL2 or S007... the M10 Monochrom is a feather.

@@RedDotForum I think that says more about the SL2 than the M10. And M bodies used to be lightweight. Just pick up a film body and compare it to a digital.... you'll notice a difference. But also with the smaller sensor cameras of today, the M is more of a middle weight when compared to just about any Fuji, the Z50, Sony's 6000 series, Micro 4/3rds, even the CL...

If I were to present you with a set of Leica Monochrome images and desaturated color images do you think you would be able to tell the difference?

@@ConnorRoss As I do photography for 40+ years... I think so. A good postprocess can give a very close look, but as you very yourself said - there are 24 mp of same kind of pixels which give a certain smoothness and, probably, some specific shades of grey.

@@ConnorRoss we can try something else: I give you my Canon 70D - can you get same images? ;-)

@@timoteiafanasie4894 Somehow I find you offer to compare it to a 2013 APS-C camera instead of a similar color camera a lack in confidence that you would be able to tell the diffence at all. To be clear im taking using a monochrome color settin within a Leica itself vs a Monochrome sensor Leica.

lol, no ))

@Bobby Brady Were viewing through a screen so it's not 100 percent, seeing some prints would be best. However from the video something about the way the grain structure? Something about the files look too perfect. For example, 6:08 the highlights on the mans face compared to the shadow on the lower left section, it feels uniform in a way that I think film wouldn't. Would love to see some prints/maybe a different lens to see if rendering is changed. This could also be post going a bit too far.

The artistic value may not be great, but have you watched at 4K on a 4K display and looked at that display from close by. No, that phone cannot do that. I have to say the grain looks very filmy. Not exactly Kodak Tri-X with Rolleiflex (2.8 best lens, little pushing and finest development process), and I would prefer this Leica. As the shots were in low light with little contrast, the available dynamic range did not reveal itself. To me in one of the shots with black night sky, the noise in the sky was disappointing. The daytime photos all showed little contrast as well, because of the choice of scenery. I am not in the position to ask for more from a free service based on volunteer work. That said, if the channel wants to further Leica's cause, then that mission did not get fulfilled.

Sorry you didn't like the sample images and thank you for taking the time to offer your opinion. Normally, I have at least a week to shoot test shots, or more preferably a real shoot. This time around, I had one evening after work in a fairly dull neighborhood, a couple hours the next morning taking my daughter to her riding lesson in the suburbs, and that night processing images, then filming and editing this video. Upon finishing up an all-nighter around 6am, I headed home, packed my bag and went straight to the airport to catch my four-leg, 20 hour flight to Norway. See, I was leading a 10-day landscape photography workshop and would be gone for two weeks. I'm primarily a landscape photographer, but wanted to provide a variety of sample images under different lighting conditions in a timely fashion. The sample camera didn't arrive as scheduled, so I had to make the best of what short time I had. Again, sorry the test shots weren't to your liking and the 20-30 hours it took to produce this content weren't appreciated. Look, I'm a photographer first, a RU-vidr not even a distant second. And based on a total ad revenue of $94.95, I'd also say I'm also not doing it to 'make money on RU-vid.' If you want to check some of my real work you can take a look at my Instagram: instagram.com/davidfarkasphotography

@@RedDotForum Man don't get dejected. Sorry I just blurted out something which ended up hurting. I may not personally like these photos but that does not mean I did not not appreciate the camera review. I think deep down you also know that you were not in your elements when you took these images. Also before I made the first comment, I actually went to your insta page to check out your photos. I personally found photos to be well composed, but too saturated, bright and HDR bumped to a level where actually nothing felt 'naturelike'. Again, my preference, there are obviously some who appreciate your work. Sorry again for hurting your emotion. Anyway peace.

@@RedDotForum thank you for your content. ignore this guy. thank you for getting your content out in public and sharing. It easy for the faceless to criticise other people's work. For the rest of us we appreciate the content and the hard work. You have most certainly helped get into the digital M world. Thank you.