Leica M11 Monochrom: The Latest Development in Digital Black and White Photography
Leica has recently released its latest camera, the M11 Monochrom, which is specifically designed for digital black and white photography. Interestingly, the company did not announce the camera’s release beforehand. The model is considered a response to the announcement of the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrom, which is expected to be delivered by the end of April 2023. While the two cameras are not directly comparable, as the Pentax is a single-lens reflex in APS-C format, the Leica is a compact rangefinder camera. Additionally, there are clear price differences, with the body of the Pentax costing 2500 euros and the Leica without lens costing 9450 euros.
The Leica M11 Monochrom is the third camera from Leica to follow this concept. The Leicas M10 Monochrom was its predecessor. The new camera is based on the body of the Leica M11, with a 60-megapixel sensor that apparently looks the same. It’s a backlit CMOS device, but the color filter is missing, which enhances sensitivity by one f-stop. This results in a higher in-image contrast, especially when shooting on grayscale. Consequently, photographers can set the ISO value from 125 to 200,000. DPRreview contains the first example images with different sensitivities, which far exceed what is possible with classic black-and-white films or the reduction of digital images to grayscale.
One of the remarkable features of the M11 Monochrom is that it has an integrated memory that has been quadrupled to 256 GB in addition to the SD slot for UHS-II cards. The internal memory should be the fastest source for the new USB-C port with 10 GBit/s, although there are no metrics yet. There are few other innovations; instead of Gorilla Glass, there is sapphire glass over the display, and the lettering on the case does not use colors to match the theme. The remaining data can be found in full at Leica, where the M11 Monochrom can be ordered.
If you’re looking to invest the cost of a good used car, you can order the camera, and it should be delivered in two to five working days. Overall, the Leica M11 Monochrom gives photographers the tools they need to produce high-quality black and white images in a digital format that was previously unavailable. With its high sensitivity, image contrast, integrated memory, and USB-C port, the M11 Monochrom sets new standards for what is possible in digital black and white photography.
