The only "true" monochrome camera that I have is a Sony a7RII(m) that was converted by Daniel at Monochrome Imaging Services back in 2017. Unfortunately, the sensor on that camera has at least ~20 dead pixels. I really do wish Lieca will create and release a Leica SL with a full monochrome sensor! SL-M? SL2-M? (one can dream!)
Alpha_Geist wrote:
The only "true" monochrome camera that I have is a Sony a7RII(m) that was converted by Daniel at Monochrome Imaging Services back in 2017. Unfortunately, the sensor on that camera has at least ~20 dead pixels. I really do wish Lieca will create and release a Leica SL with a full monochrome sensor! SL-M? SL2-M? (one can dream!)
A very nice collection of images. The looking through the bubble shot is mesmerizing.
When I picked up my first ever Leica last year I was thinking about going with a M246 monochrome, but felt it may be very limiting without a color option for some of those life moments and don't regret going with the M240 at all. Would love experiencing a Leica monochrome camera, but the cost of that experience is very high. I had always hoped Fujifilm would release a Mono X-Pro or X100 camera at a much cheaper price point...
I set the camera to shoot in monochrome and save to a DNG + Jpeg fine (to have both) and it helps with previewing shots in B&W while out. I know it's not the same as having a mono only sensor, but I'm happy with it.
Here are a couple of my favorite B & W images using a rangefinder.
The first shot is of an architectural feature of one of the buildings at Ohio State. The architect left a hole in the cement overhang that covers the entrance to the building. The hole has ivy growing down into the hole, but you can typically see the sky through the hole. I made this image B & W partly so it was not clear whether you were looking down or looking up without the blue sky as a cue, which I think gives the image a bit of intrigue and makes you look more closely. Also the cement and the ivy (this was in late Fall so there weren't any leaves on the ivy) lent themselves to interesting contrast, but not interesting color.
The second shot is of a sidewalk near my place in Columbus, OH. I found the brick pattern interesting, but not for it color but for the contrast. By making the shot B & W I thought it drew the eye down the sidewalk rather than away to the sides, which had some pretty ugly colored vegetation. All in all, it seemed to me a much stronger image in B & W than in color
The EXIF is wrong on this shot. It was taken with the Voigtlander 28 f/2 II and the aperture was f/5.6
Mar 15, 2022 at 11:00 AM
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Realizing that this also includes Alt images here are three more.
The first one is with a Canon 5D (the original model) and the Minolta Rokkor 58 f/1.2. This is a self "portrait," and the idea was to focus on the frame of the mirror, but have really shallow depth of field so that the image of myself in the mirror was purposely fuzzy and blurred. I wanted B & W for the mood. The emotion I was trying to convey was that I was feeling disconnected with myself and unsure of who I was (I was going through a divorce at the time) and B & W seemed to really fit that mood.
The second one is with the Sony A7r II and the Zeiss ZM 35 f/1.4. I really liked this sculpture, but I didn't like the colors of the gray and rusted chain much, and it was very bright when I shot it making the sky very light and boring. In that high contrast type of light I often like B & W to create a much more interesting shot. This is an example of that approach.
The third one is one of the first images I shot on digital. It is with a Canon Rebel (350D) and a cheap 28-70 zoom lens, but that lens with an extension tube did close ups pretty nicely. This one is all about the shapes and symmetry. It is actually two eggs and I liked the detail on the shells that slightly breaks the symmetry. In color the the eye is totally draw away from the shapes and patterns that were the intent of the shot.
I just traded my M9 Monochrom for an M5 and 35mm Summicron... While I'm really enjoying the M5 I do find myself missing the M9Mono constantly. Here are some greatest hits of my time with the Mono.
MattMagd wrote:
I just traded my M9 Monochrom for an M5 and 35mm Summicron... While I'm really enjoying the M5 I do find myself missing the M9Mono constantly. Here are some greatest hits of my time with the Mono.
That waterfall!!! What an amazing transition from hard brutalist lines in the top, to impressionist shapes in the bottom.
