Monochrom users a few questions

[Richard G]

As a matter of fact it does work, it just has a bug that causes the camera to freeze sporadically if you use discreet in conjunction with the "continuous" setting. Now why anybody would want to use those two settings in combination is quite beyond me.
If you are the type that wears braces and a belt you may want to switch discreet off to avoid making this mistake.

Jaap, you have to think these things through a little. It's not that someone wants that combination, it is that if they usually shoot Single mode with Discreet shutter mode set, and suddenly they need Continuous, they are hardly going to enter the Menu to reset the shutter mode, and so they run the risk of the camera stalling. The options are to never use Continuous, or never use Discreet. Ridiculous. It is a problem. And still Leica has done nothing about it.

 

[Richard G]

I don't have a Monochrom but have seriously looked into it and might get one eventually. Two things not mentioned so far:

1. No DNG compressed mode, so the files will take more HD space and SD card space.

2. Base ISO is 320. If you want images with fast lenses wide open then ND filters may come into play on many occasions.

 

[cam]

did you shoot those banded shots very fast, or in continuous mode?

i never use continuous but, yes, i was shooting fast... no faster, i don't think, than i had done earlier in the evening without any issues.

it hasn't happened before or since and i've been shooting a *lot* of high ISO shots.

i'll be keeping an eye on that card and the first thing i'll do when i hit L.A. is buy a couple of new batteries.


(when i had banding on my M9 with shots from the very same venue last march, the Leica engineers were able to calculate that i had been shooting on a very low battery, quite possibly the very same one... it's an original from the M8 so i think i need to either retire it or stick to using it only in that camera.)

 

[jpfisher]

Hey Monochrom shooters. I've got one on loan for a few weeks and wanted to verify that I've got the current firmware--mine says 0.017 is the version. Is that right?

Thanks!

 

[Godfrey]

Hey Monochrom shooters. I've got one on loan for a few weeks and wanted to verify that I've got the current firmware--mine says 0.017 is the version. Is that right?

I suggest you check the Leica website for available firmware downloads. That's the most reliable source.

G

 

[jsrockit]

2. Base ISO is 320. If you want images with fast lenses wide open then ND filters may come into play on many occasions.

Interesting. Does it have lo ISO options?

 

[jaapv]

Yes - 160 pull. Not recommended.

 

[jaapv]

Bug in LR4 - switching on lens profiles will produce banding.

i never use continuous but, yes, i was shooting fast... no faster, i don't think, than i had done earlier in the evening without any issues.

it hasn't happened before or since and i've been shooting a *lot* of high ISO shots.

i'll be keeping an eye on that card and the first thing i'll do when i hit L.A. is buy a couple of new batteries.


(when i had banding on my M9 with shots from the very same venue last march, the Leica engineers were able to calculate that i had been shooting on a very low battery, quite possibly the very same one... it's an original from the M8 so i think i need to either retire it or stick to using it only in that camera.)

 

[cam]

Bug in LR4 - switching on lens profiles will produce banding.

cheers, jaap! i've never knowingly turned on lens profiles -- but, then again, i've never turned them off either (don't know what the default is).

anyways, i'm away for two more weeks and stupidly took the wrong hard drive and so don't have any of those images with me :bang:

i will report back if that was the cause.

 

[alice]

All fair comments! I have experienced all of these with mine, too

the buffer is small, but is significantly sped up if you only shoot RAW. i did it last night for the first time (i usually shoot JPEG as well so i can do a quick look on the mac which still doesn't support the files). if you are a typical rangefinder photographer, sticking with RAW should be fast enough.

banding IS an issue if you shoot at a high enough ISO and severely under-expose... there is far more latitude than the M8 or M9, but still... to say it doesn't happen is untrue. it just hasn't happened to you (talking to airfrogusmc).

i had an eyelash or something right out of the box that shook itself away in a day or two, but no dust yet... i honestly don't think it is any worse than any other camera i've owned. an over-blown issue unless you shoot frequently stopped down in bright light.

the screen sucks, but i don't chimp much so it doesn't fuss me... it is what it is. if a decent screen is important, the OP should wait for the M.

i would stay away from 32GB cards and invest in a couple of 16GB instead. 32 can stutter at times.

another issue is that the Discreet mode does not work on the Monochrom yet -- and, unfortunately, it may never. (getting the new M won't help as they have done away with it altogether.) some still use this mode, but you're in for missed shots, etc.

all that said, the Monochrom is a singularly stunning camera that continues to amaze me every day.

 

[Calzone]

As a matter of fact it does work, it just has a bug that causes the camera to freeze sporadically if you use discreet in conjunction with the "continuous" setting. Now why anybody would want to use those two settings in combination is quite beyond me.
If you are the type that wears braces and a belt you may want to switch discreet off to avoid making this mistake.

My MM is a week old, and I froze my camera already, but I was in single mode.

Also had to "Reset" my profiles and recreate them last night. The camera was irrattic and kept jumping to 2500 ISO and would drop the "profile" I selected. a dash would be displayed instead of the selected "Profile."

BTW I'm not bashing, I love this camera already, and know that I'm a very creative person and that there is a high probability that the problem was me and not the camera.

When I removed the battery and replaced it the camera finally cycled the shutter and all was well.

I bought a Sandisk 8GB, and four Lexar Platinum 16GB SD-Cards. Time will tell.

Cal

 

[airfrogusmc]

My MM is a week old, and I froze my camera already, but I was in single mode.

Also had to "Reset" my profiles and recreate them last night. The camera was irrattic and kept jumping to 2500 ISO and would drop the "profile" I selected. a dash would be displayed instead of the selected "Profile."

BTW I'm not bashing, I love this camera already, and know that I'm a very creative person and that there is a high probability that the problem was me and not the camera.

When I removed the battery and replaced it the camera finally cycled the shutter and all was well.

I bought a Sandisk 8GB, and four Lexar Platinum 16GB SD-Cards. Time will tell.

Cal

WOW I have 6K shot and have yet to experience this. I only shoot in the single mode and I don't shoot discrete or soft. I didn't really see a significant difference in those modes. Sorry to hear that you have had these problems. I shoot with 32 GB sandisk cards. I do change batteries right away when I get the warning.

 

[Calzone]

WOW I have 6K shot and have yet to experience this. I only shoot in the single mode and I don't shoot discrete or soft. I didn't really see a significant difference in those modes. Sorry to hear that you have had these problems. I shoot with 32 GB sandisk cards. I do change batteries right away when I get the warning.

I use discrete mode with the MM set in "AUTO" so that I can use the memory lock. I do this a lot with a Nikon F3P and a Pentax 67II with AE prism. The second click has a tricky feel.

I have two manual profiles where I engage both the soft and discrete: one for 6-bit lenses; and another one for uncoded lenses.

Like I said, being a very creative person, I often create problems. LOL. I don't expect further problems and so far I'm looking into these two incidences, where I somehow confused my camera, as isolated incidences.

Cal

 

[airfrogusmc]

I use discrete mode with the MM set in "AUTO" so that I can use the memory lock. I do this a lot with a Nikon F3P and a Pentax 67II with AE prism. The second click has a tricky feel.

I have two manual profiles where I engage both the soft and discrete: one for 6-bit lenses; and another one for uncoded lenses.

Like I said, being a very creative person, I often create problems. LOL. I don't expect further problems and so far I'm looking into these two incidences, where I somehow confused my camera, as isolated incidences.

Cal

I shoot all manual. I never set up any of that stuff. To much stuff for me. LoL. I consider myself to be a pretty right brained person to.

 

[Calzone]

I shoot all manual. I never set up any of that stuff. To much stuff for me. LoL. I consider myself to be a pretty right brained person to.

Been looking at your work and took notice that you shoot a lot of street.

Even though I'm using "AUTO" I'm basically using the camera manually to set the exposure. I find that using the "memory lock" function to be faster than manually turning the shutter speed dial. I often meter off the back of my hand like a grey card BTW.

In my other cameras with electronic shutters the shutter speed is stepless, and this can add a level of precision to exposure IMHO.

In my heart I'm just a lazy slacker, and I am trying to exploit the features to my advantage.

Cal

 

[cjbecker]

It's sounding like the best thing would to just shoot some xp2 or bw400cn through a film Leica and process and scan. It's costing me 5$ a roll to process and scan (I don't actually shoot any 35mm but that's the price through my Prolab.

 

[airfrogusmc]

Cal,

I have become addicted to the street. I can get more accurate exposure shooting manual because I've been shooting this way for 30 years. If I have a spot meter I will usually meter the scene see where my highlights and my shadows are falling and base my exposure on that information. With the MM when shooting street, before I start working, I will make an exposure in the shade, check the histogram and adjust my exposure accordingly and remember the setting then check the bright side and do the same and remember that. Then I just pay attention to the light as the time goes by and adjust accordingly.

Winogrand never used a meter. He would just go by the info Kodak used to supply with the film. If you use the same stuff all the time it becomes very familiar. I've had the MM since mid Nov and its starting to become second nature with framing and learning how to expose but I am still not as sharp with it as I want to be. It just takes time with any new piece of equipment. It will become just an extension of my vision at some point and I'm closer now than I was in Nov.

 

[airfrogusmc]

It's sounding like the best thing would to just shoot some xp2 or bw400cn through a film Leica and process and scan. It's costing me 5$ a roll to process and scan (I don't actually shoot any 35mm but that's the price through my Prolab.

Well the beautiful thing about the MM is you can go from 320 ISO to 6400 ISO form one shot to the next.

I like have the ability to shoot street at 3200 and 6400 and have really clean images at those ISOs and to be able to shoot at f/8 & f/11 and shutter speeds of 1/500 and faster in some cases to freeze action if I so desire. Not arguing against film, I love film especially med and large format, just pointing out some advantages to shooting with the MM.

 

[Calzone]

It's sounding like the best thing would to just shoot some xp2 or bw400cn through a film Leica and process and scan. It's costing me 5$ a roll to process and scan (I don't actually shoot any 35mm but that's the price through my Prolab.

Prior to buying a MM I use to be a die-hard B&W film only guy, and know I shoot mucho 120.

I think you miss a lot of advantages of a Leica Monochrom by limiting yourself to scanning small format. One thing is medium format like resolution and detail; another is convenience; another speed...

Its debatable if shooting film and scanning is cost effective, and this all depends on how much you shoot, meaning if you shoot a lot not shooting film and scanning not only is cost feasible, but also can save money.

Anyways don't want to start another film verses digital war; but I think if you look at digital as a separate medium than film a rather rigid rut can be avoided and creative thinking can begin without imposed or projected limitations.

Know that I will still continue to shoot as much film as I can, and that for me digital is a separate medium.

Cal

 

[airfrogusmc]

Prior to buying a MM I use to be a die-hard B&W film only guy, and know I shoot mucho 120.

I think you miss a lot of advantages of a Leica Monochrom by limiting yourself to scanning small format. One thing is medium format like resolution and detail; another is convenience; another speed...

Its debatable if shooting film and scanning is cost effective, and this all depends on how much you shoot, meaning if you shoot a lot not shooting film and scanning not only is cost feasible, but also can save money.

Anyways don't want to start another film verses digital war; but I think if you look at digital as a separate medium than film a rather rigid rut can be avoided and creative thinking can begin without imposed or projected limitations.

Know that I will still continue to shoot as much film as I can, and that for me digital is a separate medium.

Cal

Yes I agree totally with this. Sadly I no longer have a darkroom (downsized some years back) and I got rid of my 500 C/Ms (which I wish would have kept at least one and my 180 and 50 FLE lenses) but I will never rule out returning to film because I love the darkroom. Maybe in retirement an 8X10 Deardorff and hand coated platinum contact prints but for now the MM is a perfect street camera and a great tool for what I'm now doing personally.