Leica and PhaseOne have both released monochromatic cameras that don’t capture images in RGB but in luminance. There is no doubt the image quality is exceptional but at $8000US for the Leica and even more for the PhaseOne IQ260 Achromatic (you don’t want to know the price) it’s out of reach for most people and Professional Photographers.
The best results converting RGB files to grayscale has been with RAW files adjusting the Red, Green and Blue channels but still doesn’t have the look and feel of true black and white images.
The $30 Russian Made Zenit Film 35mm Camera
The Zenit FotoSniper with 300mm lens. “Made in the USSR”
Russian made Zenit camera with a 6 element 58mm/f2 “Helios” lens is based on the pre-war Zeiss Biotar lens and can be found cheap on Ebay these days. The recommended flash sync speed is questionable but the ease to focus and image quality makes it ideal for family holiday snaps.
Recommended items needed for Developing film
- Agfa/Rollei Rodinal/R09 developer
- Stop bath
- Illford Rapid Fixer
- Paterson universal tank w/reels
- Film change bag
Pros for shooting film:
- Black and white film is still cheap
- developing film is easy once you’ve learnt the process
- 35mm scanners can be purchased for as little as $100 but a $500-1000 scanner would be better
- cheaper than a Leica or PhaseOne kit
Cons:
- scanning time
- developing times
One day film production will cease and maybe the price of the Leica will drop but until then I will continue shooting film.
Recommended Places to purchase film:
B&H (New York)
Vanbar (Melbourne)
