Leica Unveils M11 Monochrom For Black-And-White Photography

Leica just unveiled the M11 Monochrom, a black-and-white shooting digital rangefinder camera. Featuring a “dedicated monochrome multi-resolution full-frame BSI sensor,” the M11 Monochrom is aimed at photographers interested in “the timeless art of black and white photography.”

Leica supplied Outdoor Photographer with a pre-production version of the M11 Monochrom prior to this morning’s launch and we had a chance to briefly test out this camera’s black-and-white shooting capabilities. While we’re not sure how much the M11 Monochrom, which retails for $9195, will appeal to outdoor photographers, we enjoyed shooting urban landscapes in New York City’s Central Park while testing it out.

We’ve included five of our black-and-white test images in this story to give you an idea of the M11 Monochrom’s capabilities. Aside from the monochrome image sensor, this new Leica rangefinder shares many of the characteristics of the original M11, which was announced about a year ago. Read our hands-on review of the M11 here.

Like the M11, the Leica M11 Monochrom is able to capture images in three resolutions using the full sensor area: 60, 36 or 18 megapixels. Leica calls this Triple Resolution Technology. In 60MP mode you’ll be able to shoot L-DNG (RAW) files of approximately 70-120MBs. In 36MP mode you can shoot M-DNG (RAW) files at 40MB in size. And in 18MP mode, you can shoot 20MB S-DNG (RAW) files. The M11 Monochrom captures JPEGs as well.

A new feature to the Leica M11 Monochrom is that internal memory has been extended to 256GB. (The M11 offers 64GB of internal memory.) Here’s a rundown of the key features of the new Leica M11 Monochrom

• Monochrome BSI CMOS sensor with Triple Resolution Technology: 60/36/18MP
• Base ISO 125
• Max ISO 200,000
• Internal memory 256GB
• Understated design: no red dot logo plus dark chrome view finder coating
• Premium aluminum top cover and scratch resistant black paint finish
• Sapphire monitor cover glass
• Faster connection to the Leica FOTOS app to speed up mobile workflow
• Made in Germany

The Leica M11 Monochrom goes on sale today for $9195. Leica today also announced the Leica Summilux-M 50 f/1.4 ASPH lens. The M lens goes on sale today for $4495 for the black version and $4795 for the silver version.