Author: Richard

The previous weekend it was wonderful weather, but I was stuck in the studio working. This weekend we hit the road with the intention of find some good photographic locations.

Of course with us having the free time the weather was generally dull and overcast. That did not stop me taking pictures but they are more photographic notes then anything more.

The best picture of the day was actually taken by Caroline, a rather pleasing picture of a modern stained glass window.

Hope you all had great weekends too.

As I expected the Internet forums are full of opinions on the new Leica Monochrom, as I and many other people expected most people do not understand it. Many experts do not seem to have any understanding of how digital sensors work and of the advantages that a Black & White sensor can give.

It’s going to be a difficult few weeks holding my tongue. Many photographers seem to lack an understanding that different tools can give different advantages. Small format , Medium Format, Large Format; Film, CMOS, CCD digital sensors, Mirror-less, SLR’S, Rangefinder. There are many tools and options available, just because a type of camera is not for you does not mean it cannot be the perfect tool for another.

The Leica Rangefinder is a niche product. A Black & White Sensor is another niche product, so what you have here is a niche within a niche, a camera that suites few but those it does suite will love it.

Updated 13th May 2012

Well I was hoping for an announcement from Leica at yesterdays press conference of a new S3 to replace their stunning S2 digital medium format camera and with the date being May 10th i.e. M10 I was hoping the M10 would be announced.

Currently the M9 and S2 are out of my price range but a new M10 and S3 may have made the old version drop enough to enable me to consider one.

Instead we get the M9 mono, and the updated large sensor compact the new X2.  The X2 does not interest me as it does not have a built in viewfinder but the M9 mono does.

Many people will ask why?

Surely a colour camera is better and you can convert to mono and use the colour channels to customise the image as you see fit.

Well actually a mono sensor has a number of advantages, with no demosaicing there is an increase in resolution, the base ISO can be higher and again less noise at higher ISO values as again there is no demosaicing.

Until now you had to spend $40000 for a PhaseOne Mono digital back for your medium format camera.

For black & white enthusiasts this could be an amazing camera, for those after the ultimate in quality this should produce the best yet black & white images from a digital small format full frame 35mm sensor.

Is it worth the money well, for some yes, those who want the ultimate in quality.  For those willing to sacrifice a little in quality then there are far more cheaper options available.

Would I buy one?  Well if money was no object then yes I have to admit I would.  I love Black & White and this is the closest a digital camera has yet come to producing that ‘real’ Black & White experience.

Unfortunately, while I can justify buying high end Nikon SLR’s every few years as I can make money from them, a Leica M Monochrom would be for personal work and I could not justify the expense.  Lets hope in five years time or so a new Leica MM comes out based on the M10 and I can pick up one up second hand.  Until then i’ll produce my monochrome images using Adobe Lightroom and Nik’s Silver Efex Pro.

Reviews available from the usual sources:

• Luminous Landscape
• Steve Huff
• Reid Reviews (Required subscription)

 

As well as putting the hours in learning Adobe Lightroom V4 I am now starting to learn whats new in CS6.  The above shot of Dani was done on a simple white background with some gel filters over the flash heads lighting the background.

All I have done in CS6 is clean up the background somewhat.  With the improvements in LR4 Photoshop is becoming less and less of a requirement but there are still aspects of retouching and cleaning up of an image that is faster and easier with Photoshop.

A few people seem surprised at the amount of work I put into learning about photography and post production, I mean with modern cameras all you need to do is press the button and the camera does the rest.

Well technique and knowledge can make a hugh difference between a technically ok image and a technically perfect image.

As well as developing your knowledge there is also developing your artistic side.  I would rather have a great artistic shot that is technically poor then a poor artistic shot that is technically great.

The last couple of months has seen me studying and practice hard.  My main focus has been Lightroom V4, learning its differences.  The new development engine has seen some major changes and needs a different approach.

Many would question the amount of effort I had put in but when I come back from a studio shoot or a wedding, I have hundreds of images to quickly evaluate, catalogue, keyword, and edit.  Knowing the program inside out may only save a few more seconds here and there on every image but after editing several images its time well worth spent.

If you want to efficiently edit your photographs and give the customer the quality of images they deserve in a fast and responsive manor, lean and fully understand your tools, the time will be well spent.