This is an unofficial part 2 of a recent post. Most of the text below is copied from that post.
I am intrigued by the two recent monochrome only camera announcements. One for Leica and another from Pentax. The Leica I expected. Leica has a long history of these specialized editions. The Pentax was a bit of a surprise. I welcome both.
Some scoff at such additions and I get it. Technically both take away features and hardware and charge more.
I welcome them because I get it. Plus having an allegiance to arguably even less sensible image capturing devices…
…I am not one to judge. In both cases color gathering sensors are removed which:
- Allows more light to fall on the B&W sensor which improves light gathering capabilities.
- Allows light to have a straight path to the B&W sensor rather than being partially obstructed by the color arrays which means the true image is captured with no interpolation needed to reconstruct the blocked bits.
So as I said above, I get it. Clean B&W DNG files is one of the reasons I enjoy using the Quattro twins above.
If I ever locate my money tree I might buy both the Leica and the Pentax. But… What if you had no interest in or ability to purchase these specialized devices?
What if I took the sd Quattro out for a spin?
For my purposes, based on past experience this should be a close enough approximation to a dedicated B&W sensor to satisfy my needs. But of course, this changes nothing about me still wanting the new monochrome offerings. As usual I set the camera to DNG and Monochrome and we are off. I did not take as many pictures this time around. I was out for a shorter amount of time and I used it as I went along my day instead going to a place especially to take photos.
As with the Sony A7C and FE 40mm f/2.5 Art, it has served me as well. I rhetorically ask once again, would a sensible rational person see enough of a difference? Likely not. But even though I am neither sensible nor rational this setup keeps me sufficiently amused.
Once again as mentioned previously, a funny thing happens when I am out shooting. The glance. That look you see other photography gear afflicted individuals throw your way as they are trying to work out what exactly you are working with. A Konica Hexar RF with TTArtisans 21mm f/1.5…
…almost put an elder statesman jogger at Duke Gardens down as he almost stumbled trying to work out exactly what the heck it was. The same setup was the reason I met a fantastic local professional photographer. Cameras are like flares for camera geeks. Well, I had mentioned that some noticed the addition of a metal square hood to the A7C/40mm resulted in a similar effect as it left puzzled looks on a couple of faces. Well, if your intention is to confuse onlookers and those who are camera curious you can do no better than an sd Quattro.
I have yet to run into anyone out in the wild that has any idea what this camera is. And attempting to explain things does not help at all. Th best I can do is point them to my blog. And bless anyone who takes in all of my rambling. A few have. A few have gone on to purchase one as a result.. I am sorry.
Anyhoo. On to the photos. While I did not expect the images to turn out badly by any means, I must say I like them more than I expected to.
Yeah… You know what?… I am good. Mark me safe from the new monochrome announcements. Will the monochrome Leica and Pentax create even cleaner images? Likely, yes. But when I look at the results above, especially the passing car above? I am good. Another perk? Not only are you able to create impressive monochrome images with that fantastic Foveon sensor. Not only that, but that same sensor creates some fantastic color images. Some of the best colors I have ever seen.
Impressed by a monochrome only sensor? Think that is risky, unique? SIGMA engineers would kindly ask you to hold their beer. With the sd Quattro SIGMA engineers also included a removable IR cut filter.
I am not aware of another camera where you can do this. There is a whole company dedicated to removing IR cut filters from your camera and they sell cameras already modified. SIGMA? Take it out when you want. Put it back any time you want. As a result, non-destructive IR photography is available to you at no additional cost any time you wish. Pick up an available light filter, place it out front, and you have B&W IR capabilities.
Want some color with your IR photography? Get yourself to Kolari’s website, or another retailer, and get one of those Kolari IR Chrome Filters.
So what has happened here is the SIGMA has out special purposed both Leica and Pentax.
Oh, and the price? If you can manage to get your hands on a new one the price includes one of the best lenses I have ever used or owned. The SIGMA 30mm f/1.4 Art… All for $899 for both when I picked up mine.
Now understand that I am not saying that one should not purchase the new Leica or Pentax. I would still like to have both… But I am good.
Do I have a recommendation? Nope. Marshall yourself accordingly. Get whatever floats your boat and I will applaud whatever you do or do not purchase.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 