Fuji vs Leica, who does black and white best? Monochrome blind test
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
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We've always loved the look of Fuji Acros profile on our Fuji devices, but long wondered what we were missing in regards to the Leica Monochrom original and Type 246 that so many rave about for tonality and detail rendering. In this video, we show side by side comparisons of the Fuji X-t3, the Leica Monochrom classic, and the Leica Monochrom Type 246, along with some film shot on the Leica M3 thrown in for fun. #fuji #leica #monochrome
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First things first, a HUGE thanks for doing these tests. It requires a lot of time, patience and planning on your side, but believe me, it is invaluable to us. Your work guys is massively appreciated, please know that.
Now, as for the results, I come away with three conclusions. First, I have been right all along, Acros is such a great simulation, and you can tell this in almost every image. Secondly, I really like Leica Monochrom's results, but I know I will never be able to afford one- but it's ok, because there is Acros. Third, film is and remains something so truly special, there's just something about its results that digital has (still) not been able to replicate
To my eyes, D picks up the most details than the rest
I picked B every time.
I picked images a and b, and I've been planning to buy that camera. This sealed the deal.
Dry interesting comparisons, I also chose the Leica Monochrome, BUT..... the M3 with the Delta did not really get a fair shot. The exposures looked under in most cases, especially the interior shots. The digital cameras could vary the iso of the “film” there were using, the M3 was stuck on 100. Delta 100 does not give its best in dim light anyway, and if I was stuck in the situation of having to shoot iso 100 of any brand indoors I would alter the development of the film accordingly. The M3 with Delta 100could have done a lot better, but I am not complaining. A very good test, please do more like this!
I was impressed with how well Fuji did relative to the Leica.
Great video! Thank you for taking the time and effort to produce this. 👏👏Monochrome is fun and challenging
D (Monochrome classic) was consistently my favorite, with the newer Monochrom and the Acros profile as second and third. The classic Monochrom has really nice tones and the sky renders differently.
i have been shooting Monochrome on my fuji xe3 for a while, in this test i prefered the Across over all of the images. Looks like im going to be switching my camera film profile! Thank you for doing this.
C and D. The detail and sharpness of both is just amazing. However, I love my X-T2, shoot raw, choose Acros + Red filter and essentially get similar tonality as the Leica except the sharpness SOOC. Pretty happy with my Fujifilm setup!
Hey I'm new to photography in general and have a x-h1. Wanted to ask you what exactly do you mean by red filter and how do you apply it in order to get that effect you mentioned ? Please if you could help thank you so much
I chose A and B, consistently. I shoot Canon, but really like the Fuji.
I chose C consistently with A and B close behind and I know nothing about photography.
Holy crap! I thought Leica would do better, but I only picked one Leica shot. Everything else was X-T3 + Acros.
very interesting!
Abdon Phir'athon weird because the X-T30 wasn’t even used in this comparison.
Rediscover Film It was a typo, I meant the X-T3. I'll edit it now.
Look at prints. Different story
When I saw the images, it was woohoo, I can save some money; I can stop lusting after an M3. But once I saw the results, it was darn, now I want a Type 246. Thanks for the video.
Haha. Yup
Don't worry, go for the M3. Nothing beats black and white film.
I'm really relieved. In the color comparison I mostly choose the Leica pictures. But this time it was Fuji all the way through. I'm very happy about that being a Fuji shooter myself.
This is a powerful test and insight, nice to see some clear sense and thought process behind this. It's probably worth noting that Acros came with ever FujiFilm X mount camera, even the ones that didn't feature the Acros Film simulation. Like the XT1 and XT20 etc etc. Across was just a defined preset by mixing the right contrast, highlight and tones which anyone can do in the Fuji menus. I typed This only to help those that rant and get upset because they want across in thier fujifilm.
Gotta be honest, the results had me fooled, I got the wrong results but this also pleased me because I realised there wasn't much in it besides cleaner iso on the TV screens and darker contrasts in D or E. Too me it's a brilliant comparison idea, and should make everyone realise its always going to be about the user not the gear hype and price tags or trends.
Great video, thanks for sharing.
Loved it! I picked the Fuji Across 4 of the groups and Leica Mono 246 for the other 2. Very happy with my XT3 and I can't wait for the new XPro3 photocentric camera to arrive.
My favorite was the Lecia M3 by far and away, but knowing it was the film camera I decided to pick a favorite digital image as well and as a Fuji shooter I was really happy to discover that my second place pick was the Fuji with the Acros which has become a staple of my photography recently
You guys and KEH are killing it with these videos. Thank you!!
:) Thanks man
When I saw the E photos I thought: damn, that Acros film simulation can be noisy sometimes (some of my Acros photos turned out very noisy as well). So yeah, I was genuinely surprised. Thanks for this comparison.
My biggest takeaway from this was just how little there was in it between the Fujis and the Leicas. Maybe the Leicas edge it out side by side, and if that's worth it to some people then that's OK, but the Acros profile on the Fuji looks incredible to me and I'm more than happy with it on mine (though I might need to look at that 23mm lens...)
I loved this comparison, it was so fun! Took it as a challenge and paused to really look. I was nervous about the results but guessed them all correctly. So close the average person wouldn't notice most definitely, aside from the film shots of course. Lovely video just subscribed.
For my untrained eye, all of them almost looked the same except the film camera. I like the result of the Type 246 most but I also like the film grain from the delta 100.
Of course you could edit the jpeg profile in the Fuji and add grain to the film simulation but I agree the real film grain always looks more pleasing!
I’m an X-T3 user and surprised how close they were. The Leicas were sharper but were they really $5000 sharper??
My thoughts exactly, they were definite winners but not $5000 winners lol!
Thing is when you get to this level of cameras you hit the laws of diminshing returns. That is why I am sticking with my Fuji X-T1. The extra resolution of the X-T2/3 would be nice. But no way in hell I would be able to justify the cost. Apart from the film on E it was really hard to spot any diffrence. Although you can get B/W film that offers more contrast than my X-T1 one wich I love & stick in my Nikon FE2 50mm f1.8. Just take both cameras out & get the best of both, or pop the Nikon lens on the Fuji.
Blinded, I chose the Fuji every time. LOL I guess I don't have $5k vision. 👁 👁
After you shoot 10k shots, the question becomes: The Leicas were sharper but were they really $.5 sharper??
@@kurtx agreed! After recently watching videos on the new Q2 monochrome I really feel like it may be the best camera ever made…. Being able to shoot usable photos at 100,000 iso??? Incredible!
I’ve owned and used the original CCD Monochrom since late 2012 and more than seven years later it remains my favorite camera. For what it is, Fuji Acros (I use an X-Pro2 and the Acros+yellow quite often) it is simply outstanding.
I consider myself very fortunate to have both.
This was great! My two faves ended up being the X-T3 Monochrom and the Leica M3.
I nailed B Acros every time, I also chose C every time too. I never shot with Fuji’s monochrome setting so I don’t know what it looks like, from what I’ve read it’s just the Provia film sim desaturated. I don’t know. But this was fun, please have more of these tests. Thanks for posting this. 👍🏻
Acros looks great straight form camera. It adds contrast and some grain. In some cases, I don't want this, so I will use the RAW file instead. I always shoot Fuji with RAW + Fine.
I picked D every time. That beautiful film like result from CCD sensor is unbeatable in the digital field!
I would be interested to know how exposure was determined. Were the digitals set to ISO 100 to match the film? How closely did their meters agree? Was one camera chosen as the reference standard and all others shot at the same shutter speed and aperture (where the lenses were capable of it)? etc.
My choices were equally split between the X-T3 with Acros, and the Type 246. I had expected that I would prefer the classic Monochrome, so that was a surprise. Thanks for a fun test!
Hahahah.. i was all in to A and B, and what do you know? I’m a X shooter.
🤓
Thanks for sharing. //freddie
A comparism to the monochrome mode of the Olympus Pen F would be interesting ...
For me, what I picked depended on what I was looking for. If I was measuring the amount of detail, I would pick the Leica - it was easy when I put the screen to my face :). But for feeling, I found myself liking the Fuji a lot of the times. I thought I would have been an Across purist, but I liked some of the standard monochrome. Now there is one other option you could do, try everything out with a GFX 50r 😈.
So for me, in this test, I think my takeaway is the same as your lesson on Bokeh - clients are not going to notice. Like, maybe they would notice a side-by-side - but not if you just put it in from of them and asked "is this good?".
The 246 is definitely the sharpest, especially on the portraits. But unless you are looking at 100%, they are all very compatible (except the film, which I don’t think was scanned properly in the first place)
FWIW, I pretty consistently chose D, B, C, in that order; but it was always close. I love Fuji and its Acros simulation, but not its normal Monochrome setting. And as another person noted, I don't think you had your best outing with the M3 and Delta 100, so that wasn't much of a comparison. -- Thanks for doing this comparison!
My ranking is a>d>c>b which is weird because I like acros and use it mostly...
thanks for this nice comparison delivered in your own calm way
Great video. I picked mostly C & D...
First time purchasing from KEH and ordered a 23mm f1.4 for my x-t2. Your promo discount code still works and I was able to save $36!! I’m glad I read the description. I’m just hoping the lens is not damaged or in bad shape and I can continue to buy from them in the future. Thank you.
As a XPro2 user and M240 user I have always been jealous of the quality and lack of ISO noise on a Typ246. Bit I definitely can't justify the cost of another camera body!
M240 is a great shooting experience that tickles my fancy.
Fuji gets the job done fast, efficiently and with great results.
I like shooting both. :)
I was totally blown away by D, with B coming close in some shots, especially indoors with the lady as your subject, where to me B stood out. Overall I was absolutely blown away that I legitimately preferred the results of D by a wide margin once you revealed them! Great video concept and execution, I like it. Keep it up!
I felt exactly the same 😂
Beautiful shots. Did you change anyting like highlight tone, shadow tone etc in the fujifilm simulations or it was full natural (everything 0) ? Thank you 🤝🏾📸
The cafe shot and the portrait is where I noticed the Leica advantage. The others were difficult to tell apart. Then again I'm viewing this on my 2013 iPad. It would be nice to see some large prints ( 2 to 3 feet ).
Did you edit any of the RAW files from the Fuji? I wonder if the difference would be narrowed?
Thanks.
I picked B, E (loved the film look on the car), then C,C,C,C. The 246 seemed to leap out for detail and toning. I loved the fall off in light on the portrait shot on the 246 - from clean detail on the sweater to the deep shadows in her hair on the right of frame.
When I shot film, in the last few years (1998-2005) it was exclusively Delta 100 with just a little Delta 400 in 35mm. What a startling contrast between the film and the digital shots. For me and what I do now, the Fuji simulations are just perfect! But I always have wondered what my Leica friends were seeing when they were shooting with their Monochroms... What a great comparison!!! Thank you, Andrew!
I love Delta 100 when I get it right. But it sure is a lot less flexible than FP4.
Thank's for sharing. This test is amazing.
My choice : BACBCB. Fuji's doing it hands down (what is more, for a fifth of the price).
hello I have a xt3 and I like to take black and white photos, I have tried various recipes but I can't find the right setting to emulate a good black and white, kindly would you have any suggestions?
Thank you
Andrew
are the results on the x100v similar to the xt3? or is it not as good for black and white ? planning to buy one...
Amazing sample shots!
Amazing comparison! Thank you so much!
@andrew I have come back to this video so many times. I'm really impressed with the standard Fuji monochrome, especially for the portrait. The way it treated the skin tone &lightened up the blacks, I'm a fan of.
I chose F on all (even on that failed portrait) and C on some (first two), but all digital camera failed at the TV frame, where the tonal gradation on kinescopic tube was horrible, with low resolution. Thank you for this test guys, it helps me a lot.
I picked C and D. In the first photos you can see the extra tones in the tar and the street. Also the truck photos you can see the extra tones when looking at the rust on the door.
Both Leica and Fuji results were excellent IMO, the M3, well, it just shows how far we’ve come. But both Fuji and Leica have a signature, I think Fuji feels more natural and Leica hyper detailed. I like them both... I think the best combo would be a Leica M lens on a Fuji body if you can live without autofocus. PS: all my observations were based on what I could perceive on my iPhone 12 screen. Thank you for taking the time to put those together.
I do like C very much for all the images. The shading is in the middle of all choices, in my opinion. It does look very natural for me. Thanks for this to prove that I have chosen the right camera :)
Very nice comparison! It's crazy how little noise the Leicas have in the lower light shots.
I'm a Fuji guy but I loved the analog pictures!
I kept picking D, preferring the slightly boosted mids/shadows. Until we got to the portrait. To me, the skin on A and B had a more organic feel than D and C. Very nice little comparison, and interesting to see what other people in the comments prefer as well
Same! Probably just too much details, and on the other hand Fuji by default applies NR, which probably smoothed out the skin.
thank you so much for putting this together; amazing work. I am happy that I passed and chose C & D as my favorite for half and half, which means Im ready to finally switched over to monochrom leica now haha. thank you again
I would have thought that I would like the 246 the most but in this blind test I consistently chose A and D most of the time. Cool comparison. Thank you 👍🏻
Thanks! Been enjoying your videos as well
@@AndrewGoodCamera thanks a lot. Glad you like them as well. I truly enjoy your channel.
Nice job, thanks for your work!
I liked C & B. I also liked your comment about using your camera gear to serve others. It is what has drawn me away from stills and into more and more video work. I have much to learn but was able to do 3 short videos about charity efforts in the Philippines this summer. Very satisfying. Keep up the good work!
My takeaway was just how identifiable, characteristic the M3 really is, just beautiful, other than that, all the images were impressive, and for most of us that are fiscally challenged, you can squeeze some amazingly comparative images out of the Fuji. Great Video!
For me my favorites changed a bit from scene to scene, but in most cases it was C, closely followed by A, and then B. Those, with C in particular, had a bit more punch (contrast) and were really well exposed IMO. I was sure D was the Leica Monochrome because it seemed to retain a bit more dynamic range which resulted in a slightly flatter contrast. That should be better in post ... So it was surprising to see that C was a Leica Monochrome as well, just with the newer CMOS sensor instead of the M9’s CCD! What’s also surprising is that B looked a bit softer than the others (including A) so I thought that was the only one with an AA filter applied. Turns out it’s the same as A, just with a different software filter applied?! The biggest difference was in the portrait, with the Fujis creating much smoother skin which almost looked out of focus. Really preferred the Leicas there, but maybe the focus was set slightly differently.
My main takeaway, though, is that the differences between all of them are very small and I’m sure they could be reduced even further in post-processing. I really don’t think they are significant, so I’d definitely prioritize ergonomics (and price) in my buying decisions. Buy a Leica if you like the controls more, buy a Fuji if you like that more.
Thank you for doing test like these, they are helpful to a lot of people. I could not help but realize the that film shots were underexposed, some even close to 2 stops. Did you rate at 100 ISO? Did you match settings after metering with digital cameras? Maybe your developper does not give true speed (HC110 maybe?) I was really surprised with the film results, they can be much better when exposed right, and contrary to digital, it is better to err on the side of overexposure than underexposure. Great work and thank you for the comparison.
Preferred D every time. Better contrast and very analog feeling. Thought it's 246.
I actually guessed all of them correctly. I have the advantage of having shot Fujifilm for several years, so my brain is pretty well trained to recognize Fuji files. Man, the detail that those monochrome sensors can resolve is really something. I've been drooling over the Q2 monochrome since it came out. I was hoping this video would put that to rest, but no dice! Haha. Maybe some day I'll make the totally emotional and irrational decision to buy a monochrome Leica.
Great stuff! That was a surprise, a lover of Fuji smitten by "C" - can't imagine how much better the images would be with one of Leica's sharper lenses, a 50mm Summicron for example. Just wow! The quality/value ratio goes to Fuji, obviously, my X-T30 can achieve the exact same but one day...
34136TS not exact same but close, extremely close.
I consistently picked the Fuji in these photos, happy with that because I have a Fuji camera! Was definitely surprised, was expecting to like the Leica more simply because the price tag implies better quality but I either couldn't tell the difference or straight up preferred Fuji.
Love your meticulous way of putting these tests together!
That being said there are so many variables in shooting B/W pictures, like filters (I mean real yellow, orange or red filters) - or settings on your digital camera (which emulate those filters) that it is probably not the camera, which is the decisive variable in this equation. (And by the way, weren't you not just a little bit mean on the film?) In your test I liked the "D" pictures most. Shame that one nowadays can't use a camera that is just 7 years old at most! (And this while the manufacturer claimed, it was like forever!)
Im gonna stick with my tri-x 400
Good man!
Whats the settings for the Fuji monochrome?
I was really hoping I wouldn't pick Leica, but C was my first choice in all but one image (My second choice for almost every image was B). Maybe one day, when I retire.
I'm stunned by how wrong I was.
My guess, in order of general preference, was:
B and D: The Monochroms
A: Acros
C: Fuji Mono.
So my jaw dropped when I learned I'd picked the Acros and classic Monochrom as nearly tied for favorite and the newer Monochrom in last. I'm a Fuji shooter but mostly use vintage Leica lenses, and I'm generally not that impressed with my own Fuji BWs and tend to prefer the Leica look, so I didn't see this coming.
Doing the blind test I was convinced that my favourite would be a Leica monochrome, but the fact that it turned out to be acros fills me with joy. I use it all the time, but thought maybe the Leica monochrome would be far superior. Just love acros then. Confirmed
I went consistently back and forth between A and B. I’d of guessed A was the Leica. Wow!?!
I liked the old tv, it brought back some memories, TV Guide and choosing among three channels. The renditions of images are hard to compare. They are all so effected by choices in contrast, exposure and focus.
D was my favorite with B very close behind...that would have been an enjoyable project to work on in my opinion.
Thank you for the great video and comparison. Could not tell the digitals apart much, but I finally understood what youtubers mean by video compression affecting images with the shot of the old TV set, where very odd banding showing up on all the shots. While I understand theoretically why a monochrome sensor is superior, I found no strong enough reason to consider Fuji's B&W simulations inferior here.
Andrew, great blind test thanks for doing this. I'm a fan of B&W and shoot Fuji Acros quite a lot, usually with a red filter. I chose as my favourite Fuji Acros 3 times (no surprise), Fuji mono once, Leica Type 246 once and M3 with Delta 100 once. I shot Delta 100 at school and collage back in the day, and I still like it. Really I'm please I'm not in love with the Lieca images, I can't afford another camera set up!!
Apparently I chose D (for all of them) & B frequently. B wasn't surprising since I'm a Fuji user, D was surprising. This was fun. lol
Yeah. D also surprised me. I also liked it more than C in these shots.
Excellent, thx a lot. I am shooting Fuji Xpro2 and I like the Leicas resolution more in this test, but if it's the full-frame or the B&W effect, who knows.
I chose E every time, knew straight away that was pure film... I own a Fuji X10 btw, love the Fuji feel, and hey! Do Good, great idea guys!
Could you add a section to your video descriptions with what the video was shot? Thanks!
My overall top 3 was 1st place: B, 2nd place: D and third place: A, but man that Leica gives some stunning results. Still very happy with my X-T2. Need to shoot some B/W more. Still a sucker for some nice classic chrome SOOC shots.
Great video and comparison. I was surprised that I picked the xt3 with monochrome instead of Acros and also the 246. Evenly split between those two. One each for the Acros and M3 but didn’t pick the Leica monochrome at all
Great video and fun experiment! I picked D for all the tests, and D&C ahead of A&B on all of them. Which makes me sad bcuz I hown a fuji lol, but at least now I know i prefer monochrome over acros in most cases :)
Do you happen to remember the NR and Sharpness settings on the Fuji?
I wish you posted the settings for at least one set of images. My impression is that a monochrome sensor gathers more light and hence you gain a stop or two. I wanted to see how much, in comparison with the Fuji, after deducting the full frame to apsc factor.
Blind test 1st place E and 2nd place D. Well makes me just wanna go shoot more ilford hp5 or kodak tri-x 1600.. buying a leica digi or analog camera? aaaaaint got the money for it
I consistently chose A and B and then found it was the XT3. No shock - I rented the old Leica Monochrom and compared it to my X-T3 and got the same result. At least now I know it wasn't bias on my part. Just plain old preference. Something about the Xtrans with black & white. Thanks for this!
Thanks for this test! For me it was absolute A and B, wow! both Fujifilm...
Nice video bro, just subscribed. I managed to guess A&B was Fuji cause it was a little less sharper and film was obvious haha
anybody know what mic setup he's using? Sounds fantastic
Should one shoot directly monochrome or shoot regular and after turn it to bnw with software?
Doesn't make a difference if you're shooting RAW
After watching this video two years ago, I performed a similar comparison test with my Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji X-Pro2, Leica M6, Leica M10, and Fuji 6x7. I decided to shoot black & white with the Leica M6 35mm film rangefinder and the Fuji 6x7cm medium format film rangefinder.
One of my dream cameras is the Leica M8. But is it worth the risk? I keep asking myself that question.
wow, can't believe I got them all right. A great test man
wow great comparison! i like the 246 most...awesome b+w
Thanks for a great review. I was consistently choosing in this order D,B,A,C,E. But to be frank apart from the film output the other four in tone were much of a muchness and as stand alone images all were excellent. The only conclusion I could reach was that Fuji Monochrome and Arcos stand up well against the Leica if one’s budget doesn’t reach that far
I wonder what the result would have been had you included a conventional B&W converted image from a DSLR/mirrorless.
I found A being the strongest of the group. This test tells me that you can probably improve your black and white images more with a great low element, high micro-contrast lens than you can with a dedicated monochrome sensor. Sad to see that the film shots were last in almost all sets.
Great informative and interesting video thanks
Interesting comparison and thank you for making the video. I really do need a better monitor to be ultra critical. Film was obvious. Overall I liked the output from D a lot. From what I've seen and read the Fujifilm 50mm F/2 is there best lens for monochrome. Also I'd be curious how the Fujifilm medium format cameras would perform in comparison to Leica's.