GEAR TALK - Leica M Monochrom Typ 246

Every weekend I am updating something on PebblePlace.com, except for the 'Gear Talk' section - it just languishes. Looking over the images from the past 13 months (that is how long it has been since that last entry to Gear Talk), there has been 5000 clicks. In terms of what was edited -

• By a wide margin, the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 is my "main" camera. In the past year some very nice equipment has come and gone, but only the M-246 sees continuous use.
• My interest in color images has dropped off a proverbial cliff. I am sure at some point color will come back around again, but for now I enjoy B&W much more.
• While the Leica M platform is probably the worst platform for using lenses longer than 90mm, I still try. Lots of telephoto images.

For the most part, the pictures are just a hodgepodge of everyday snapshots and such. Nothing jumps out as interesting topic for other people to read about. I could evangelize the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 some more, but that topic has been beat to death.

My B&W shooting falls into one of two categories. First up is outdoor landscape - usually daylight with partly sunny conditions and cumulus clouds. Add a red filter and the magic happens. Sometimes a polarizer is stacked on as well for an even more intense effect. The other category is casual snapshots, mostly in low-light conditions. The pictures along the right side are random picks from the last year to illustrate these two categories.

I wish more people bought monochrome cameras. If that happened, we would see more options from other companies. I recently asked a major Leica dealer what percentage of their Leica M sales were Monochrom versions. I started with 10%, nope... Then dropped 5%... and the response was lukewarm. So reading between the lines, Monochrom camera sales are maybe 1 or 2 in every 50 Leica M's sold. Leica has publicly hinted their digital M body sales are ~15,000 units / year, so Monochroms are probably 500-1000 units per year. I suppose a "thank you" is owed to Leica for making such a bespoke camera.

The monochrome segment is much larger than Leica's respective Monochrom slice. People still shoot B&W film. RED sells monochrome versions of the 4k and 8K cameras. There are after-market conversions too (more on this below). Phase One offers their Achromatic digital back. Some of Huawei's phones have a dedicated monochrome sensor too. Kristian's work with the P9 is very impressive. Presumably the file quality would be even better with the recently released P10.

While Leica M's build quality is lust-worthy, I do not care so much about the "M experience". I just like the simplicity of B&W and being able to use color filters to enhance landscape photography. So I have been toiling with the idea of having my Sony A7rIII's color filter array (CFA) removed by Daniel at Monochrome Imaging Services. At this point I am not wholly onboard with ripping apart a perfectly good camera and literally prying off the top glass, IR filter, etc. from the sensor stack. Plus, there are some middleware considerations, like Monochrome2DNG.

While there are unknowns and general FUD on my part, they are upsides in having the A7rIII converted. An EVF based camera allows for very accurate focus. And assuming a monochrome sensor, the effect of using a colored filter can easily be seen. Plus, there are the A7rIII niceties such as the 3.69 MP EVF, sensor stabilization, electronic shutter, more dynamic range (than the M-246), etc. My Leica dealer is saying the M10 Monochrom is 18 months away, so upgrading the M-246 with the next Leica is not a near term option.

For now I am waiting Kolari Vision to source a special variation of the "UT" (stands for "Ultra Thin") top glass filter with the IR filter included. This filter will sit atop the A7rIII sensor after Daniel strips the top-glass and CFA. I am not interested in a full-spectrum monochrome camera (full spectrum is needed for IR photography). I will probably make the go / no-go decision later this summer, so maybe the next time a Gear Talk post rolls around, it might be about a monochrom Sony A7rIII. But do not wait for me - if you are interested in converting your Sony A7rIII, please go first! 😁