Nikon D850 Monochrome: Highly Competitive vs Leica M11 Monochrom
Related: black and white, EVF, Leica, Leica M, Leica M11 Monochrom, Nikon, Nikon D850 monochrome, Nikon DSLR, rangefinder, Zeiss, Zeiss Milvus
re: Nikon D850 Monochrome
re: monochrome
I went back and looked at some captures from 2019 that I had made with the Nikon D850 Monochrome. What I see is a sensor unforgiving of any technical errors or lens performance shortcomings. The new Leica M11 Monochrom will only be more demanding.
What I concluded is that the D850m will not fall much short of the Leica M11m. The linear resolving power difference of the sensor is only 1.15X eg sqrt(60/45).
And the D850m has the bonus of having native lens mount for lenses that will work great on it—Zeiss Otus, Zeiss Milvus, and quite a few of the newer Nikon AF-S lenses. Or lenses like the Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8, which the M11m does not have in native mount.
What the M11m has is a handful of suitable lenses, a lighter and more compact form factor, an EVF. And an $11K price tag with EVF, spare battery, camera, plate, etc. And the M11m is surely a better camera for 'street' photography and similar. But... I don’t have $11K sitting around ($15K with the lenses I need).
Still, I am looking forward to testing the Leica M11m with the Leica M, Zeiss ZM and various Voigtlander lenses. As well, Zeiss Otus/Zeiss Milvus lenses can be used albeit a bit awkwardly with the Novoflex lens adapter and ASTAT ring for tripod mount.
Below, will the LeicaM11m with base ISO 125 be able to deliver this kind of quality?
NIKON D850 monochrome + Zeiss Milvus 15mm f/2.8 + filter Hoya 85 warming
ENV: Pine Lake, altitude 9900 ft / 3018 m, 29°F / -1°C
RAW: USM {15,50,0}
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NIKON D850 monochrome + Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 APO-Distagon
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