You would call Henri. And almost all intuiranno the quote without having to read any further. But in the end, true or mere rumour, the naming great Cartier Bresson’s first camera able to shoot in black and white only is not substantiated. In contrast to his Leica M content: Monochrom, wonderful gem capable of mixing technology and ancient taste of photography to study, to make, to the extent possible, manually, you just on the market, free to enter the dreams of many and ending up in the hands of very few willing to pay a price of 6,800 euros, solely on the camera body. A value that, for who should build a kit “Made in Solms” from scratch would inexorably to triple, even simply adding a classic threesome of Optics (21 or 24 mm, 35 and 90, strictly fixed), ideal to take advantage of the rangefinder machine stainless, you want to use in reports or in landscape photography.
Photos La Monochrome and his shots-auctioning a Leica prototype of 1923
The memo, Monochrom, is an “M” in all respects. In design, similar to the M9, the first of the family to hire a full frame sensor, full size, how big the old 35 mm film (and as the flagship of the Japanese pro great houses, which instead rely on large formats, about half for the digital consumer “). But the uniqueness is given by its 18 megapixel sensor, the first designed exclusively for black and white photos, and deprived of primary color filter that allows the camera to “see” and reproduce colors. This allows each pixel Monochrome to record the effective luminance values, thus providing real black-and-white images, much sharper than those deriving from a camera that captures the colors. Add to this the lack the anti-aliasing filter (eliminates the risk of moiré pattern, complete loss of detail in the cases, when the sample pattern is repeated, it’s a detail of a fabric or a contrasting tiles, becomes smaller compared to single pixels, but in turn reduces sharpness overall), which have no other Mbut not the remainder of digital production, except for the new Nikon D800E. Mixi you all with the extraordinary quality of the Leitz optics. You will have a black and white monstre for sharpness and variety of nuances, as samples shown by the German show.
Saying all this, someone may wonder whether it makes more sense, in the era of ipertecnologia and disposable photo, spend 15-20 thousand euros for a machine that doesn’t even have the autofocus, but a viewfinder to harmonize, and that forced its owner to “study” before every single click. For those looking for the absolute quality and loves, the answer is Yes. The lightness and compactness, camera lenses, and about the lack of mirror and pentaprism, it finds to date in any system 35 mm/full frame and make it an ideal tool for the photographer-hikers, but also for those who enjoy taking in urban contexts and crowded passing unnoticed. A strange, inimitable mix of tradition and technology, if we want a noble precursor of mirrorless cameras, which today are invading the market, to offer more quality to those coming from compact cameras and less weight to those who want to get rid of reflex. A black and white of the future, which is not waiving its past.
