Comparing the Leica M11 & Leica M11 Monochrom

Leica – a brand synonymous with German craftsmanship and quality, is also a brand associated with a high price, and if you’re in the right (or possibly wrong) circles, a lot of cynicism. While they’re a brand known for creating lenses with some of the highest quality optics available, they’ve also been known as a brand that charges you extra not to have an LCD screen on the back of the camera. With all their quirks and marketing platforms, they do have a camera system that can often be met with criticisms, but it’s not just a marketing ploy – I’m of course talking about the Monochrom systems Leica offers. So let’s talk about it.

The Leica Monochrom line of cameras are cameras that have one defining feature that isn’t found on other camera systems – it only shoots in black and white. However, this isn’t a situation where you’re paying more for a camera that offers less – the Leica Monochrom is a specialty camera that is incapable of shooting color down to the sensor, and this wild idea promises better sharpness, better details, and better contrast.

By removing the color filter array, Leica has created a modern camera system that operates entirely in grayscale. Andrew, the man behind our YouTube channel decided to take the Leica M11 and the Leica M11 Monochrom out, explain how these two cameras compare, and look at why we all need to start looking at black and white as an option when shooting photographing.

The Leica M11 Monochrom works by removing the color filter array (CFA) typically found on modern digital cameras. In this case, a Bayer Filter mosaic is an arrangement of RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors, with half of the filter squares being green, and red and blue being 1/4th each. This photosensor pattern helps detect light intensity based on their wavelengths, producing a color image. By removing this filter array, the Leica M11 Monochrom detects only light intensity, and in theory, produces a cleaner image overall. While scientifically this makes sense, there have been endless disputes as to whether the human eye can detect these changes.

The Cameras

If you were to hold both the Leica M11 and the Leica M11 Monochrom in your hands, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell one from the other without turning them on and looking at the screen. Design-wise the two cameras are nearly identical – with the key moniker of external differences lying in the badge, with the Monochrom offering a monochromatic Leica badge instead of the iconic red label.

Aside from that (and the aforementioned removal of the Bayer filter), these two cameras are virtually identical – except the Leica M11 Monochrom costs $500 more, at $9,495, instead of the $8,995 base price of the Leica M11.

The Quiz

A few years ago, we compared the Leica M10 and the Leica M10 Monochrom, and ended the piece with a quiz, which generated a lot of responses. So it felt like we had to do it again. Below is a quiz where you can guess which images were taken with the Leica M11 Monochrom, and which was taken with the Leica M11, in its default B&W setting. Be sure to share your score in the comments!

While the contrast provided by the Leica M11 Monochrom might be a matter of taste, and in our previous touch on this topic a few years ago, it seemed many preferred the contrast of the M10 over the M10 Monochrom. Still, Leica has developed a sensor system that has practical use and is not just marketing jargon – which we love to see. Be sure to watch Andrew’s full breakdown of the cameras in the YouTube video above, and share your results on the quiz in the comments below.

Author: Lensrentals

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