Review: Leica M Monochrom Full-frame Black-and-white Camera

Released in 2012, the Leica M Monochrom is a digital camera that can only shoot in black and white. It's an interesting angle. So how does the Leica M Monochrom compare with a Leica MP loaded with black-and-white film? We asked Ian Howorth to test this out with the Leica M Monochrom and a film Leica MP Black, alongside a Leica 50mm f/2 APO-S-M ASPH and an incredibly rare Leica 28mm f/5.6 Summaron-M ASPH. Over to you, Ian.

Some photographers accuse Leica of being pretentious, overpriced and out of touch with the modern photographic landscape. It’s easy to see why. They’ve stuck to a system for a century. Aside from adapting the imaging plane from film to a digital sensor, not much has really changed. They still make the finest lenses around.

Expensive, but worth it?

Sure, they will charge you more for a camera without a rear LCD than for the same model with one. But Leica does seem to care about creating the finest instrument to take photographs they possibly can. With all the talk of mirrorless systems taking over photography, it's easy to forget that Leica practically invented the concept—a century ago.

Enter the Leica M Monochrom

So, when Leica released the Leica M Monochrom, they opened up the floodgates for criticism. Who would ever want to buy a digital camera that only shoots black and white? Why not just convert to black and white in post?

But, why not? It makes sense to build a camera optimised for photographers who only shoot black and white. Removing the possibility of shooting in colour, it forces users to truly master black and white. On the other hand, perhaps it’s better to just stick with film. After all, shooting film with proper darkroom work is arguably the epitome of black and white photography.

Let's try it out

My first step was choosing what film to shoot with. Leica hasn’t really based the M Monochrom’s output on any particular film stock, at least not in the same way Fujifilm has with their Acros preset. There are so many black-and-white film stocks still available, so I settled on one of my favourites—Adox Silvermax 100. It has a fine grain, excellent dynamic range and beautiful renditions of highlights and whites, due to the increased silver content.

From the off, I loved shooting with this beautifully-crafted beast. I quite liked that the Leica M Monochrom has a base sensitivity of 32O ISO—you can't go lower than this. However, the camera demands care when exposing the highlights. While there is wiggle room in post with Leica’s DNG ‘RAW’ files, you can't expect miracles. You have to treat those highlights with respect and get familiar with the zone system.

The Leica MP, while absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, was a bit more of a pain to shoot with. The in-built meter doesn't give you a value when you’re over or under. It just has a dot when you hit correct exposure, with arrows at either side telling you when you’re getting it wrong. Not great. But eventually, I got into the rhythm of it, which made shooting a lot more fun.

Which photos turned out better?

There is no definitive right or wrong answer. The images are strictly subjective. Maybe I should’ve gone with Kodak Tri-X or Ilford HP-5 to more closely match the ISOs. But, let’s not forget the Leica M Monochrom is still just a digital camera, made to be fiddled with in post to get the look you want.

Grain, grain, grain

Out of the camera, even as high as ISO 800 or 1600, these images are as clean as a whistle. A hint of grain or digital noise is still pleasing and never detracts from the image. Add grain in the post to these sharp files and you’d struggle to tell them apart from a well-exposed and well-scanned negative. Their response to editing is wonderful. Build your own presets and these files will reward you, slap on your fave VSCO Tri-X and they will blow you away.

Silvermax

The Silvermax-loaded Leica MP was not far behind. With film, you’re reminded of the cost of developing and the time spent scanning for every shot you fire. I’m no darkroom expert, and I’m sure some photographers can apply their wizardry and get the most perfect contact prints from my negatives. But I simply didn’t see a shot from the Leica M Monochrom that I couldn’t get to look as pleasing as the Silvermax.

Back and forth

Time and time again, I looked at the files from each camera individually, and I always thought that the one I was looking at was my favourite.

If there was ever a lens that belongs on the M Monochrom, it’s the Leica 28mm Summaron. Beautiful contrast, imperfect in the corners, but the most wonderful renditions in black and white. The combo just works.

The experience

For me, the shooting experience is the icing on the cake of a great camera. With the MP, however, I definitely liked the images more than I enjoyed shooting with it. Maybe this would have been different if I’d been shooting street photography, where the subject, humour and interplay outweigh perfect exposure and super-precise framing. But, for what I was doing when testing these two, I felt I could never really shoot with as much precision for exposure as I would’ve liked.

Fade to black (and white)

The M Monochrom, on the other hand, allowed me to at least review my images. Aided by auto ISO limited to 800 ISO, it allowed me to shoot confidently—and quickly, if I wanted to. Ultimately, what counts the most is the quality of the images and what you can do with them after shooting. The Leica M Monochrom didn’t disappoint. It exceeded my expectations.

Read our Leica Q3 review and more camera gear guides on the MPB content hub.