This is an image I took in Berlin in 2013 while on a trip to test out Samsung's failed Galaxy NX camera. I would have liked the camera pretty well if it hadn't "featured" an Android operating system and had just stuck to producing photographs and video. But when it worked it worked well. The 20 megapixel sensor was actually very good and the color science in that camera, and then the even better color science in the NX-1, were both highly competitive. No gripes about the lenses either.
What killed the NX? I will probably never know for sure but the complexity of the OS was probably a big part of their problem. Too much horsepower running too many unnecessary apps which caused some reliability/ freezing issues. But as Thom Hogan seems to always tell us, those consumers really, really want Wi-fi, Bluetooth and Cell capability all crammed into their cameras so they can share..... I still don't buy it. And neither did consumers at the time. But it was novel to be able to play Candy Crush on one's camera....
But the camera was capable of producing nice images...
Why I didn't buy a camera today...
After wading through Michael Johnston's latest post, all peppered with links about monochrome-dedicated camera stuff, and reading David Farkas's article (on Red Dot Forum) comparing the black and white performance of various Leicas, I got it into my head that a Leica Q2 Monochrom in the "Reporter" finish might be a fun place to start my own dive into discovering the (well) hidden joys of strict black and white photography in the digital age.
Now, I've read for years and years that Leica is a failed company with antiquated products and produces Luxe cameras solely for trust-fund hipsters with "daddy's credit card" and is also a maker of favorite toys for orthodontists, west coast plastic surgeons, and hedge fund managers. The common theme among photographers is that the Leica cameras are so expensive that no "real" photographer would ever buy one and use it for commercial purposes. There is also the assumption that since their M series cameras don't autofocus nearly as fast as Sony cameras the company will soon be bankrupted because....who wants a camera that can't AF?
I was going to wake up today and prove everyone wrong. I'd buy that Q2 monochrome in "Reporter/Kevlar" regalia and start using it for paid jobs. And personal work. And that's taking into account that I've never held a medical license or been investigated by the S.E.C. I was on a campaign to take my black and white work to a higher level and after seeing all the buzz about the Leica monochrom (and being highly impulsive) I thought it would be a good place to start.
No more fiddling with the monochrome settings in the SL or SL2 or the CL or the TL2. From now on it would be the pure discipline of the majestic two colors = black and white.
But then reality interceded. All of the Q2 Monochrom Reporter edition cameras are sold out. No more are available. Sure, you can still get a "regular" Q2 but with all that icky color potential who would want one. And you can still get a monochrome version but who doesn't want a great paint color and a Kevlar body wrap?
I guess if Leica were more successful at making and selling cameras they would have been able to make more of the Monochrom Reporter models. Now I've resigned myself to just going back to work with the less glamorous and obviously less desirable Leicas. I'm so disappointed.
15 comments:
"There is also the assumption that since their M series cameras don't autofocus nearly as fast as Sony cameras the company will soon be bankrupted because....who wants a camera that can't AF?"
A lot of Fuji users. Nothing they have matches the big boys for sports and wildlife. Somehow they keep selling.
Good move, it's Kevlar or nothing.
Not getting Q2 would be, according to an Ex, a Sign from your higher power. Take heed. But recently a number of B&W images on the B&W forum of dp rev by Truman Prevatt have caught my eye, done with Q2 Mono.
There's no doubt in my mind that a very gently used Q2 Mono with the body wrap you want will become available before long. Perhaps the best thing is that the Q2 will never send you down the Leica lens rabbit hole. Patience, grasshopper!
I would really like to buy a Q2 monochrom, but it is too expensive for me. There is a misunderstanding in the concept of "monochrome" photography. In the age of film BW, we called panchromatic a film capable of registering the whole spectrum of colora (opposed to ortochromatic, not sensibile to red light). Applying a colored glass filter, we could do "monochromatic" photography, i.e. we could use just one color. With a Leica monochrom you riproduce the panchro film, and you can do "One wavelenght" photography via filters.
With a color Bayer sensor you never do "monochromatic" photography because the sensor uses all wavelenghts in the demosaicizing processo: you can only simulate the BW look of a panchro film, and perhaps also simulate the densities you would obtain with colored filters.
With all the crying people do about Leica its usually because they want one.Of course
they are expensive Leica is a small company that produces superb products that they take pride in and last a lifetime.Much of the work is done by hand and they employ experts in their field and pay them for their skill.Even if one does not like the brand they stand pretty much alone in a world of cookie cutter cameras.Can they take better photographs?Thats debatable but one things certain it sure makes you want to take photos.And thats exactly why you bought that beautiful Leica SL.
Hi Kirk,
I have been reading your blog for years here in Vienna Austria.
Have you seen the report on Dear Susan, about the Pixii camera . If
you are searching for a black and white camera ,take a look at all the
articles concerning this camera. You may even be surprised about
the quality.
Best regards,
Terry
thanks Terry, One of my friends here in Austin is quite interested in that camera. I hope he buys one so we can play with it and see how well it works.
Thanks for writing. And for reading.
Pixii or M11? Pixii or M11? Pixii or...
What do you think Kirk?
P.S. I always thought I hated rangefinders (only shot one once). Somehow a magnet is drawing me to the M11 and I am renting one next week. But Oh! the price!
My always on answer is almost always = Leica SL + cool sigma lens of your favorite focal length. Set to either BWHC and tweaked. Color is always optional as well.
"My always on answer is almost always = Leica SL + cool sigma lens"
Yes but I already have one. How am I going to feed my GAS if you keep on suggesting "old" stuff?
Jon, So, the step up camera for me, shooting black and white, will probably be the SL2-S with the 50mm Apo Summicron. The high ISO performance is said to be breathtaking.....as is the price of the SL 50 Apo. That should keep the G.A.S. at bay for at least a week, maybe more.
At the other end of the scale I took possession of my excellent condition, black enamel Canon FTb camera and the even more coveted 50mm "chrome nose" f1.4 FD lens yesterday. The lens immediately went on an adapter and onto the SL2. Looks amazing. I'll shoot some with it this afternoon.
The grand total for the FTb+Lens experiment? A whopping $150. Two tanks of gas for someone's Texas pick-up truck. Equal to one "light" bag of groceries from Whole Foods. What's not to like?
Aahhhh yes. The Canon FTb. My first camera with the kit FD 50mm 1.8 in 1971. I soon traded it in for two Canon F1's. After that, believe it or not, apart from a two year stint of commercial photography with a Sinar P, I never shot any other camera than those two cameras until I bought my first digital. Almost 30 years until I discovered GAS.
About"That should keep the G.A.S. at bay for at least a week, maybe more." - I admire your fortitude. I don't think I can last that long. But... I wasn't aware they made a SL2-S Monochrom. Am I missing something?
Hi Jon. No, there is no SL2-S ..... yet. But I'm confident that my recipe when setting the camera to monochrom in the saturation sub-menu will look great as black and whites.
And the body style is my favorite..
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