Don't hold your breath, I don't see it coming.
That's the problem with supposition, conjecture and rumer........... they all leave you waiting.
Same here
This is a well worn subject and one I've gone back and forth on... a few times. I had a Q2m and sold it to finance something bigger and better only to find out that the grass wasn't much greener on the other side of that fence.
Why not? Seems natural that they would follow on with a Q3m. They have the body. They have the sensor. They have idiots like me, i.e., the market. Seems like a no brainer.
Agree. But the rumor sites tend to be more right than wrong so I got all whipped up. I've had a Q2m in my cart forever. I just don't want to push buy right before the new model comes out. First world problem, I know.
I think what Steve is referring to is there's not many, if any at all, side by side examples showing a real improvement/advantage to the dedicated monochrome sensor. Which is what I was referring to.
I have both M10 Monochrom and M10-R. I've been using them pretty much interchangeably (modulo wanting color vs B&W photographs of course) for over two years now, and have logged about 4000 exposures with the M10 Monochrome vs 2000 photos with the M10-R (I bought the M10-R about a year after the M10 Monochrom). I use the same lenses on both cameras.
Thanks for the reply and insight. It's very appreciated. But what I was referring to above is that there are plenty of people with experience with the monochrome sensors and they almost universally love them. But I would really like to see someone demonstrate it. Actually, show side-by-side examples of both sensors to see what difference there is.
When I shoot monochrome I almost always set the camera for monochrome jpg's + raw. Like you said I like seeing the monochrome image in the Visoflex or reviewing the image on the rear screen. And at least 50% of the time I use the monochrome jpg out of the camera. I rarely take an image that was intentionally shot in color and convert to monochrome.
Thank you for this perspective and detail. Most helpful.I've been rendering digital color exposures, captured in JPEG or raw image formats, to monochrom since about 1995, and have both won recognization in exhibits with them and sold a LOT of B&W photos (probably around 5000, from all different kinds of cameras).
Yes, there is a significant improvement going to the monochrome body IF your goal is the best B&W photographs. The differences are: improved sensitivity; greater dynamic range (and consequent exposure latitude); lower noise at elevated ISO settings; and improved resolving power at the same sensor resolution.
I can get similar dynamic range in color work to the M10 Monochrom by switching to the 50 Mpixel Hasselblad 907x/CFVII 50c.
The downside to working with a monochrome body is that you have to work the camera in much the same way as you work a film camera loaded with B&W film ... That is, you have to understand the spectral sensitivity of the sensor, visualize what kinds of results you want in the transformation from a color scene to a B&W photograph and use the appropriate B&W filtering to achieve your goals. In other words, pre-visualization of your goals and knowing the behavior of your camera and lens intimately is where you will see the benefits, you will likely NOT see a difference in casually snapping photos and just tweaking sliders around to get a monochrome rendering in your favorite image processing app.
You can feel free to disagree ... I don't care, I know what I see with my own eyes in my photos. I have a lot of experience using these cameras as well as others.
If you want to understand how a monochrome camera sees the world differently from a color camera, and how it responds with different filters and different lighting, you must test your equipment and analyze the results. Here is a pair of charts of some of my basic testing with a controlled light source and an Xrite Color Checker with my M10 Monochrom, and the five B&W filters (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue) that I use with it. It should give you a reasonable idea of how the sensor responds.
M10 Monochrom - Graphs
M10 Monochrom - Swatch comparison
Beyond that, you have to do a lot of shooting in different lighting situations with different subject types to fully understand both how to get the most out of a monochrome camera and how to expose properly with it.
If you don't understand these things, and develop the skills and the approach to using it to its limits properly, then using a color camera and developing monochrome images by rendering down that camera's captures will net pretty similar results. And they can be very good results ... but they are simply, clearly not the same.
Good luck!
Bummer. Many of the other rumor sites are pretty good and quite accurate. Maybe it’s a function of Leica as a company; perhaps they are more buttoned down.
I went down the path of monochrome sensor only and it often delighted and also frequently frustrated me. I moved on from it but regretted it almost instantly. This time, I'm going to give it a solid 12 months before I do anything rash. I think it will be good for me to embrace the frustrations, choosing to shoot with my ever capable iPhone when I want color.
I would consider it operations as usual for Leica. Just like Sony and Apple and most companies, they may let some fur fly for a while but there won't be any reveal until they decide it's time to let the cat out of the bag.
