Leica unveils it first black-and-white digital camera - the Leica M Monochrom [update]
The Leica M Monochrom doesn’t separate the light into colours, offering ‘true’ black-and-white images.
Leica has introduced what it claims to be the world's first digital camera fitted with a full-frame black-and-white sensor. Olivier Laurent reports from Leica's launch event in Berlin.
Author: Olivier Laurent
10 May 2012 Tags: LeicaLeica m monochrom
The new Leica M Monochrom uses a newly-designed 18-megapixel CCD sensor, which has been stripped of the conventional Bayer Pattern filter. "This means that the sensor never separates the light into colours, and subsequently there is no need for complicated colour algorithms," says Leica.
As the camera does not "see" colours, says Leica, "every pixel records true luminance values to deliver ‘true' black-and-white images that are significantly sharper than comparable exposures from a camera with a colour-sensitive sensor."
The camera has a sensitivity range of ISO 320 to ISO 10,000, and features a new raw data histogram display that offers "original, unprocessed and unmodified raw data allowing for precise correction or optimisation of exposures."
Encased in a body similar to Leica's M9-P, the M Monochrom has been designed for discreet handling - it features a matt black chrome top plate with just the name of the product engraved on the accessory shoe - and can use most of Leica M lenses built from 1954 onwards.
"Black and white photography has become more popular than ever before, with photographers continuing to be fascinated by it as an expressive medium," says Jesko von Oeynhausen, product manager for the M-System at Leica. "This is confirmed by the numerous monochrome images presented to us by members of the Leica M community, with whom we are in constant contact. With the Leica M Monochrom, we are offering photographers the opportunity to explore black and white photography with a product that is unique in the digital world, producing consistent and authentic results. The camera's exclusively black and white sensor brings an enormous technical benefit that is reflected in the outstanding image quality it delivers."
While Leica says that it's the world's first full-frame digital black-and-white camera, both Kodak and Phase One previously released black-and-white only models in the early 2000s.
The Leica M Monochrom will be available from July at a retail price of £6120.
Leica has also announced the release of a new APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH lens, which has been designed to "fully exploit the opportunities offered by high-resolution camera systems."
The lens is said to have "achieved the best test results ever seen in the Leica M-Lens programme," says Leica. "This means that all images captured in any situation show extreme sharpness and resolution of details from corner to corner."
The lens incorporates a floating element, which changes position in relation to the front group during focusing to achieve greater image quality throughout the lens' focusing range. In total, the lens uses eight elements in five groups.
The Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH will be retail at £5400 from July.
Visit www.leica-camera.co.uk for more details.
Comments
It depends on your definition of 'Camera' but Phase One have had the dedicated B&W Achromatic+ back in the market for several years.
This has to be the dumbest idea I have ever seen and surely Leica themselves are laughing in the boardroom about taking their loyal customers to the cleaners. Not to mention it's £6120. One thing I love about digital photography is the choice. I can shoot B&W and also shoot colour. Can we not just get over film, once and for all? I know who they are going after with this rig but seriously, if I was a shareholder, I would be concerned about this.
"can we not just get over film, once and for all?" what a ridiculous statement to make. Not that I am anti-digital. Commercially, I shoot and love digital but come on now.
It also raises an issue with the ridiculous price tag. Why not just buy and older M3 for example and....da da daaaaaa buy some beautiful B&W neg. Just think how many rolls you could develop with 6k in the bank.
I don't think the idea is dumb, just the price. Pulling out more dynamic range and higher ISO out of the amazing kodak CCD sensor is a result (particularly the high iso, that you cannot duplicate with film), charging more than an M9-P leaves me scratching my head. I can understand why they left live view well alone (I don't think its necessary in a rangefinder, buyers and users aren't looking for it) but I do think it would be sensible to install a LCD with plus 500k dots. The one on the M9 is a joke already and I cannot believe the same one is fitted to the X2. Who do Leica think will buy the X2?
Interesting to see all the negative comments! I'm not a Leica user or fan boy, but I think this is a brave move. Only time will tell if it is a commercial success. I don't think we should pan it until we've seen what it can produce. If it can produce cleaner B&W images at ISO 10,000 than say the D4 at ISO 6400, then maybe the views will change? Still, it was always going to be a niche product...
Hopefully the idea can be developed to have a true monochrome and a true colour machine in one body, but is a start.
When I want color, I load color film into the camera. When I want Black & White, I load Black & White film into the camera. Hello?
digital black and white looks bad
If you want black and white photographs, get black and white film. For £6000 you could get your 10 years or more worth of film and development.
Veblen products, £6000 odd for the body + £5000 odd for the 50mm lens, I checked my calendar to make sure it was not 1st April. Even though I have been a Leica user (and fan) for 40 + years I am clearly no longer part of the target market. Oh, and where is the promised digital "solution" for Leica R lens users?
The pricing for this product is insane.
We are in the middle of a recession, affecting our industry as much if not more than most. we need our manufacturers to help us and provide solutions to our problems, not produce white elephants, that will be too costly to prove financial viable.
Or are they simply after all those 5% tax cuts that the very wealthy have just scored?
B&W from colour is more versatile
Surely shooting colour and converting to B&W is more versatile and controllable. I've often found the ability to adjust the darkness of grass or blue skies, or lighten skins selectively rather handy. You would lose this with a B&W only sensor and have to go back to adding colour lens filters which are global.
It seems to me it's a great camera, for those who love it. Why bother about the price. I wouldn't complain about the price of a Rolls Royce or the Umaid Bahwan palace in Jodphur either. Afford it or not.
Just make good photo's.
An interesting though not unexpected range of reactions to the Leica MM; some intelligent, sadly several the usual fanboy and troll rants. The marketing 'experts' amuse me most
Michael Reichman's review is interesting. Try it at www.luminous-landscape.com
History (sometimes) repeats itself!
As a long-time Leica M user and fan (I have 6 Ms ) I am au fait with all the M models and variants since 54. A few times during the M run Leica have 'boobed'! When they brought the M3 out, no wide-angle frame in the viewfinder, the M5 was a disaster, the CL was regarded as a joke and so on.
Methinks this one might just follow in that notorious line. Having never used a digital camera, I am not able to imagine the difference between a sensor that just records mono and making a colour conversion which is what I understand you guys do.
However, as a mono enthusiast, it will be interesting to see if this idea catches on. As for the price 'ah.'
Maybe this is the start of something new? Slide, colour negative, and B&W negative all have different technologies. There's a reason why you would shoot slide instead of colour-neg and vice versa. If you are after a black and white image, you are better off shooting B&W film rather than shooting colour and desaturating it - i won't go into it now, but its like buying a 4x4 all terrain land rover to drive on motorways.
Perhaps digital is starting to realise it needs to specialise instead of being a 'one size fits all' thing.
It would be great to see sensors that are optimised for colour clarity and vividness, similar to slide film.
Same for colour negative. It would be brilliant to see a B&W sensor that has as much tonal range as negative film.
We've already seen some specialising of cameras with the D800 with and without the low-pass filter, a version aimed more at still life. Wouldn't it be brilliant to see leica develop technology for the best B&W film sensor?
I don't think this camera is it yet though. It would have to demonstrate a dynamic range, or lower noise ratio than compared to a colour sensor to be worth it.
I think so people commenting above are slightly missing the point. It is a specialist camera with a specialist price tag. It is certainly not aimed at the mass market and Leica are not really concerned with providing the unclean masses with a cheap Leica solution. That's what they do and if you don't like the product and can't afford it then you're not their target market. There will be plenty of people who will snap these up. Personally I think it sounds like a terrific camera but I'm not considering buying one as my children need to eat. Plus I'm still recovering from dropping the cash on an M9. That was plenty to spend thank you very much. If I did have the spare cash I'd not hesitate.
Brave and interesting.
They're taking an entire hall at Photokina.
They're releasing a purely b&w model.
Yum-yum!
My M6 was even stored in a drawer away from the colour film - it never once saw a roll of colour.
Will be very interesting to see how this removal of a filter effects the images.
Interesting times.
"Maybe this is the start of something new?"
Or a return to something old. Kodak's earliest digital cameras began as monochrome and continued to offer monochrome variants until the full-frame Pro/n/c models came out. As mentioned above, Phase One has found a specialist market for the Achromatic+, and the last Kodak mono camera (DCS 460m) enjoyed a last burst of demand when enthusiasts realised it was going out.
But you only have to look at the output from 21st-Century Leica M enthusiasts to see the number of people who are shooting with a CFA-equipped camera, 'enjoying' the varying tone at capture that in theory at least corrupts smooth gradations, then the interpolation from the demosaic routing, only to discard the lot with a monochrome conversion. Perhaps more than any other camera, the M9 DOES have a real market for a purely monochrome version - and one that reveals the extent of the CFA's influence on the sensor, which in a normal M9 hits the buffers at 2,500 ISO.
10,000 ISO? And probably more usable than 2,500 on an M9 as it's easily controlled/manipulated luminance noise? Yes, please.
The only thing I'd like to know is if there will be models for scientific/specialist areas - particularly opening up the sensor for Ir and UV imaging. The latter is perhaps of a very limited appeal, but given that M8 owners had to use an Ir-cut filter on the lens, I am sure M-MONOCHROM users would not complain if that were the case but they could otherwise open up the system to IR photography.
It would even be theoretically possible to have an indexing switch on the RF mechanism to allow the rangefinder to work, though I'd be happy with a lens index mark or even figuring it out myself.
Correction - I should proof read!
I know there are (immensely rare) mono variants of the Pro 14n - but also, I got mixed up between the 760m (five figures, 2002) and the runout sale of 460m (which was popular with enthusiasts), so it looks like I'm a bit out of date there.
The main point though is that offering variations without CFA or AA filtering was pretty much how the DSLR market started off!
Related Articles
BJP Daily
Most Popular Articles
EyeEm photo-sharing app aims to enable photographers to sell their images
12 photographers selected for 2013 World Press Photo's Joop Swart Masterclass
Hasselblad puts an end to its V line of cameras
Photography contest invites submissions for fine art award
Magnum Photos announces Sydney photography workshop
IdeasTap Photographic Awards winners announced
Updating your subscription status 
About us
British Journal of Photography is the world’s longest running photography magazine, established in 1854, and online since 1997. A high-quality monthly printed edition is available as a subscription or from selected newsagents in the UK and around the world.
Jobs
Key Account Manager
We have a vacancy for a Key Account Manager working on The British Journal of Photography
Head of Photography
Magnet Harlequin, one of the UK's leading Creative Production Agencies is seeking a new Head of Photography.
Photographic technical support officers
We have opportunities for two experienced photographic, audio or video technicians.
Popular Topics
