Leica M Monochrom

The Leica M Monochrom is not only unique in the digital camera world as one of only a few digital rangefinders, but also the world's only black and white only digital camera.

The Leica SL was predicted in some quarters but was a surprise for others. As a mirrorless camera, it marks a move away for the company from the use of the rangefinder or an optical viewfinder. Instead, the Leica SL adopts one of the highest-resolution electronic viewfinders to date and marries this with a completely new body and lens mount. It also has a 24-Mpix full-frame CMOS sensor similar to that in the earlier Leica Q. Read on to find out how well this camera with its intriguing new system performs.

It often seems that Leica M cameras could divide a nation: either you fall madly in love with them or you simply don't understand the hype. Leica took that controversy to the next level when they released the Leica M Monochrom in May of last year. Leica took an already exotic and fascinating camera and placed a sensor in it that is more unique than anything else on the market: it only captures black & white. Some love the idea, some don't get it. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to give it a try.

Leica's monochrome-only camera is all about the experience

The Leica M10 Monochrom is a manual focus rangefinder camera that only shoots in black and white and costs a whopping £7250 / $8295 for the body only. Does this super-niche version of the M10 offer the best ever b&w image quality? Find out now by reading our in-depth Leica M10 Monochrom review, complete with full-size JPEG and Raw sample images.

While the rest of us struggle to stay true to our New Year’s resolutions, Leica has managed to slim down its newest digital rangefinder, bringing the new M10 in at 1/8-inch thinner than its predecessor (the M Typ 240). With its newly slimmed form, the M10 is the thinnest digital rangefinder Leica has ever made, on par with the analog...

Every year member magazines from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) gather to consider and vote on the top products of the year in 40 categories, ranging from cameras to tripods to software and printers. This year’s selections represent technological sophistication along with features and functionality that make them leaders in their respective categories.  

Today Leica have announced a range of cameras as well as a lens at an event in Berlin Germany – one of which is causing quite the stir. It is the new Leica M-Monochrom camera – worth a cool $7990 USD (body only). The discussion already rages around the web – largely centred upon two […]

As a Leica M user since the 1960’s I’ve found the birth of a new M to be a cause for celebration. The new M240 in particular, because I was one of a small group who, early in the process, were privy to Leica’s design intentions for the M. I even made a few feature [Read More]

Shooting with a LEICA is like a long tender kiss, like firing an automatic pistol, like an hour on the analyist’s couch.  Henri Cartier Bresson On May 10, 2012, in Berlin, Germany Leica announced theM Monochrom. I was there for the launch event, along with hundreds of invited journalists and guests from around the world. [Read More]

Leica has long been a manufacturer happy to exploit niche markets - its M9 may be a fascinating camera to shoot with, but the company's adherence to the near-obsolete, manual focus rangefinder design, coupled with its distinctly exclusive pricing ensures its cameras will only ever be enjoyed by a few. However, we can't think of any of its products that combine 'fascinating' and 'niche' as well as its latest creation - the Leica M-Monochrom. As the name suggests, the Monochrom is a truly black-and-white camera, with no filter array to allow the capture of color information.

Leica rangefinder cameras were beloved of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and other legends of photojournalism who documented the historic events of the 20th century. They shot almost exclusively in black and white. Now, there is the new Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) a digital rangefinder camera that shoots only in black and white. As the successor to the original M-Monochrom...

The Leica Monochrom is a camera that provides something rarely found in digital cameras - it provides a completely unique shooting experience.