Leica Camera has announced a new addition to its lineup of innovative black-and-white full-frame digital rangefinder cameras. The long-awaited Leica M10 Monochrom is coming about five years after the launch of the last Leica M-Monochrom (Typ 246 Monochrom) in 2015. It is the third generation of its M-Monochrom cameras and takes a lot of its design and features from the M10-P that was released in 2018.
Leica’s new camera addition features improvements on all of the strengths of its black and white Leica cameras. It takes resolution and performance of Leica’s digital range finder cameras to new heights and promises unrivaled black-and-white photography experience.
The Leica M10 Monochrom offers an increase in resolution, an upgraded processor, and a wider ISO range. The first- and second-gen Monochrom cameras simply modified other M cameras color image sensors, the new M10 comes with a new unique image sensor, specially designed for black-and-white photography.
It features a brand new 40 megapixels full-frame Monochrom image sensor (the highest, so far, for M-system cameras) that achieves new heights in image resolution, detail, and sharpness. The new sensor ensures versatility by lowering the base ISO from 320 to 160.
Since the launch of the first Monochrom in 2012, there have been debates about the value of a digicam that can’t be used to shoot color images, especially when it will take a huge amount from your pocket.
However, the Monochrom has really been the choice camera for enthusiasts of black-and-white photography. This is because the resulting black-and-white pics are way better than photographs that you convert from a color digital camera. It offers great image detail, way better dynamic range, and an ultimate sharpness that’s hard for color shooters to beat.
Leica M10 Monochrome Has a New 40MP Sensor
The M10 Monochrom looks to be the ideal camera for any passionate black-and-white photographer. It features a fresh 40-megapixel full-frame monochrome sensor that helps it to achieve new levels of resolution, detail, and sharpness.
The color filter array has been removed from this camera’s image sensor which ensures the highest quality black and white photos. Since the sensor has no color filter, it requires no interpolation and each pixel gets to receive more light. This enables it to deliver superb image quality while maintaining beautiful contrast and sharpness and retaining the film-like grain.
The new 40-megapixel sensor was developed specifically for the M10 Monochrom. It enables the camera to achieve a more versatile ISO performance with an expanded ISO range of 160-100,000. This new base ISO of 160 is a really impressive feat for a camera without a Bayer filter.
With these new levels of performance, the M10 Monochrom outperforms its predecessors as it can deliver even sharper images in any lighting scenarios.
Additional Features and Specs of the Leica M10 Monochrom
This new camera brings a lot of changes to Leica’s M-System cameras in addition to increasing the image res and expanding the ISO range.
The Leica M10 Monochrom comes with no “Typ” number and Leica decided to emphasize the monochrome-ness of its latest full-frame digital rangefinder camera by omitting any hint of color inlaid engravings. The black-and-gray M10 Monochrome is missing the iconic Red Dot Leica badge and uses a really subtle black-on-black “Leica M10 Monochrom” inscription on the top plate.
Other features include a very quiet mechanical shutter – the quietest of all Leica M rangefinders. The M10 Monochrom has exposure times of 16 minutes up to 1/4000s new touchscreen controls and a dedicated ISO dial in a slimmer body. It has built-in WiFi connectivity (first for) through which the new camera can be paired with Leica’s comprehensive FOTOS 2.0 app.
Video capabilities are completely absent.
Availability and Pricing
The new Leica M10 Monochrom will cost you $8,295 for the body only which makes it more expensive than its predecessors were at launch. You can find more information about the new M10 or get one on the Leica website.
