GEAR TALK - More Leica M Monochrom Typ 246

It has now been around 3 months with the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 and using the yellow-orange-red filters is no longer the mystery it once was. Some learnings from the past couple months -

• Good Light:  Good light is good light - whether shooting color or black and white. For the filters to really do their magic, the light needs to be contrasty. A nice side light (as opposed to overhead sunlight) on the clouds works wonders. If the light is flat, or if the cloud cover in a uniform blanket of opaque grays, tinkering with filters has limited value.
• Red Filters Only:  Yellow filters have a subtle effect - if any sometimes. I can replicate the yellow filter on the Monochrom via some highlight recovery in Capture One. Likewise, shooting with a red filter and opening up the shadows in Capture One nets a result similar to an orange filter. So my conclusion is to shoot with a red filter or no filter at all.
• EVF:  Using the Leica EVF-2 is a fact of life with red filters. It is the best way to combat filter induced focus shift. However, the shutter delay with the Leica EVF-2 and Leica M Typ 240 family throws off my timing, and the pictures tend to have varying degrees of blur. Using a tripod resolves the problem, but having to use a tripod is an unfortunate tax.

As that last bullet suggests, it is not all rainbows and unicorns when using red filters. The Leica EVF-2 is a 'must have' if wanting to focus somewhat reliably. I wrote 'somewhat' because the Leica EVF-2 is not a sure-bet due to technical shortcomings:

• 1.44 MP = low resolution = too few pixels to see details
• Cannot move around the magnification box
• Low magnification = hard to judge / gauge detail sharpness
• 30 FPS = jello effect = jiggly picture
• Hard to see bright conditions (mid-day sun)

A tripod goes a long ways towards taming the Leica EVF-2. Since the camera is essentially fixed on the tripod, the EVF jiggle and jello-effect are mitigated. Likewise, by using a 2 or 10 second timer, the shutter lag with the EVF (or live view) is moot. And to check focus at the corners, edges, etc., I use the EVF to review the captured DNG at 100% (inspecting corners, etc.). It is a fiddly way to work, but it gets the job done.

The EVF is not the only culprit - red filters can play havoc if shooting A mode. If using just the Leica EVF-2 or the rear LCD screen in live view mode, then the evaluative metering is pretty good. If shooting via the rangefinder (and using a red filter) in Classic metering mode, the camera tends to under-expose by 2/3 to 1 1/3 EC. So there can be a number of re-shoots to dial in exposure.

By now you probably surmised I must be taking some pictures 2-3-4-5-6-7-8 times to get a keeper. Yup... As I said - fiddly. Is the Monochrom worth the extra effort worth it? ABSOLUTELY, when everything comes together, the result is DNG gold. And before anybody gets the idea the Leica M Monochrom is categorically fiddly -

Take the red filters out of the equation, and then the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 is as easy to shoot as any other modern Leica digital rangefinder. Also, using red filters is mostly for landscapes and only when the light is right.

I have used the Leica M-P Typ 240 and Leica SL Typ 601 in parallel with the Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 and tried to match B&W results in post. The results ranged from lackluster to futile because the color cameras began in a very different place:

• A color file requires a white balance value and that radically influences the mix of the RGB channels. The Monochrom has no white balance setting.
• Color cameras have two color mapping processes - first when the raw file is created in camera, and second when decoded in the raw editor. Converting to B&W is alot of guesswork, but we not even working with "original" data...
• Add a color filter to the mix, the optical/light properties have been radically altered before anything digital has even happened (in the case of the Monochrom).

The pictures on this page were shot between 2:00-6:00 PM, so not golden hour conditions (sunset is ~8:40 PM this time). Normally I would not shoot a color camera at this time of day because the pictures will be "blah" given the overhead light. The Monochrom and red filters help to liven things up a bit.