Leica Camera AG introduces the new Leica M Monochrom (Type 246), the next step in its hugely successful digital black-and-white photography concept for the Leica M rangefinder camera system. The new Leica M Monochrom, which improves on the world’s first digital black-and-white 35mm camera, will be available May 2015.
“With never-before-seen imaging performance, outstanding low-light capabilities, and richness of detail, the new Leica M Monochrom surpasses the high standards set by its predecessor,” said Roland Wolff, VP of Marketing and Corporate Retail for Leica. “At the same time, it keeps its primary aim sharply in focus: black-and-white images with top quality across the board.”
Thanks to its high-capacity 2GB-buffer memory and Leica Maestro processor, the new Leica M Monochrom captures sequences three times faster than its predecessor. The new processor also enables extremely fast display of the captured images in review mode, making the new Monochrom even more versatile. As a further benefit, the processor takes less than two seconds to deliver high-quality JPEG files in addition to raw data files in DNG format.
The Leica M Monochrom follows the successful route taken by the Leica M and captures decisive moments with 24-megapixel resolution on a monochrome CMOS sensor that produces exceptionally sharp pictures at all sensitivity settings up to ISO 25000. As the M Monochrom has no need for color filters, it requires no interpolation for the calculation of luminance values. The result is 100% sharper images with brilliance and detail contrast that far exceeds what color photography can do.
Another advantage of the new sensor is that, in addition to the M-Lens portfolio, almost all lenses of the Leica R series can now be used on the Leica M Monochrom to expand the creative capabilities of the Leica rangefinder system, as is also the case with the Leica M.
Other new features include:
