Leica’s Latest Black-and-white-only Camera Is The $7,800 Q3 Monochrom

Monochrom models stay immoderate of Leica’s astir unsocial (and astir expensive) offerings.

Leica is announcing a Q3 Monochrom, its latest integer camera that captures only black-and-white photos and video. In galore ways, nan Q3 Monochrom is nan aforesaid arsenic a modular Q3, but pinch its 60-megapixel sensor modified to not grounds color, and dressed up successful a stealthier logo-less design. It’s disposable coming for $7,790, a $1,055 upcharge from nan regular Q3 that captures color.

Like nan modular Q3, nan Q3 Monochrom is simply a weather-resistant compact camera pinch full-frame sensor and fixed 28mm f/1.7 Summilux lens pinch image stabilization. It captures RAW photos successful Adobe DNG and videos up to 4K / 60p aliases 8K / 30p. And it’s sewage a integer zoom fastener that tin harvest nan lens to 35mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 90mm (if you for illustration cropping arsenic you sprout alternatively of successful post). 

It’s fundamentally a spec-for-spec lucifer of nan modular Q3, but it’s nan first Q camera to get Leica’s Content Credentials — embedding a integer signature into nan files to verify authenticity. The different large quality is that nan monochromatic sensor has a higher maximum ISO mounting of 200,000. The colour Q3 and Q3 43 cameras max retired astatine ISO 100,000. Design-wise, nan caller exemplary is overmuch for illustration different caller Monochroms. Its achromatic decorativeness is much matte, there’s nary Leica reddish dot logo, immoderate colorful markings are alternatively conscionable achromatic aliases gray, and nan grip has a textured shape much akin to M rangefinders. 

You tin of people group a modular Q3, aliases immoderate integer camera for that matter, to achromatic and white. But Leica has made Monochrom version cameras since 2012 for bully reason: by omitting nan colour select array from nan sensor, you tin get somewhat sharper images and amended low-light performance. It’s a niche approach, but utilizing 1 and moving wrong that regularisation is genuinely fun.

I can’t thief but emotion nan Monochrom cameras whenever I get to usage one, but they’re getting moreover harder to warrant arsenic they support climbing successful price. (The Q2 Monochrom was astir $1,800 little than nan Q3 Monochrom erstwhile it launched.) Though nan black-and-white-only integer camera acquisition whitethorn unfastened up to much group soon, since Ricoh precocious announced it will merchandise a GR IV Monochrome successful 2026. That will beryllium Leica’s first existent challenger successful this niche space. And though we don’t cognize its value yet, it’s apt to costs galore thousands little than nan Q3 Monochrom.