Leica's $10,000 Black-And-White-only Camera Was So Popular They Built A Third Version

In 2012, Leica’s inaugural Monochrom turned heads all around with its “limited” black-and-white functionality and astronomic price point. For a digital camera that was limited to black-and-white shooting, the Monochrom cost an astronomical USD 10,000.

This year, the Monochrom gets a redo based on the winning design of the M10. With a slimness that approaches that of Leica’s film bodies, along with a new 40-megapixel monochrome sensor and modern conveniences like wireless connectivity, the M10 Monochrom costs USD 8,295.

The purpose-built black-and-white full frame sensor on the Leica M10 Monochrom is touted to deliver greater dynamic range and detail than conventional, comparable colour sensors. Image: Alan Schaller

That’s a big deal: in its previous two iterations, the Leica Monochrom cameras had utilised modified colour sensors used on the company’s other cameras.

Leica boasts that the unique, purpose-built monochromatic 40-megapixel sensor offers greater detail and dynamic range when compared to colour images converted into black-and-white. The new full-frame sensor offers an ISO range of 160 to 100,000, wider than previous Monochrom cameras.

In place of the characteristic Leica “red dot” on the face plate, the top plate features a subtle, engraved “Monochrom”. The shutter button, chrome on the M10-P, is blacked out. Image: Leica.

In addition to the brand-new sensor, slimmer body and Wi-Fi connectivity, the new M10 Monochrom also offers a touch screen and a quieter shutter.

Classic Monochrom trimmings abound. The M10 Monochrom is fully blacked-out – the shutter release and lens release buttons, usually chrome, decked out in black. Perfect for stealthy street photographers, the camera also eschews the trademark Leica “red dot” logo.