Ray Tamarra, Photographer

This was my first time shooting the Leica Monochrome -a camera that shoots only Black and White.  Since I don’t shoot B&W, I thought the camera might be an interesting purchase.  It would force me to see in B&W and I’d have no choice but to shoot something different than I normally do. 

However, after spending 2 hours with the Monochrome, I concluded the camera just wasn’t for me.  The main problem is I see the world in color. 

But even if that wasn’t the case, I don’t see the Monochrome being worth $8,000. It uses the same flawed CCD chip as the M9 (minus some filter that gives the M9 color) and that means the same banding that shows up on the M9 at ISO 1600, shows up on the Monochrome (at ISO 6400).  And like the M9, the highlights on the Monochrome blow out pretty quickly.  It’s not the camera for me.