THERE are two items from the golden age of Hollywood photography that stand the test of time – black-and-white photographs and a 50mm lens, said to mimic the focal length of human eyes.

Leica Camera AG, makers of the legendary Leica M rangefinder cameras and a slew of lenses, today launched their latest Leica M11 Monochrom and a 50mm Summilux f1.4 lens in Wetzlar, Germany, for its fans and collectors – recalling that golden age of photography.

This is the fourth Leica rangefinder with a dedicated black-and-white sensor – besting previous versions with a triple resolution sensor of 18, 36 and 60 megapixels similar to the M11 launched last year.

But the Leica M11 Monochrom supersedes all its rangefinders with a whopping ISO 200,000 – double that of the M10 Monochrom launched three years ago. In addition, it now has 256GB of built-in storage space.

Only the Leica M11 series has built-in storage with the original Leica M11 having 64GB. The new Leica M11 Monochrom will retail for RM44,450 in Malaysia.

Like the Leica M11, the Leica M11 Monochrom is a certified “made for iPhone and iPad” accessory and has an included Leica FOTOS cable to be used with the Leica FOTOS mobile app.

Leica Camera, which first started using black-and-white sensors with the M9 Monochrom launched in 2012, also produces the autofocus full-frame Leica Q2 Monochrom with a 28mm Summilux f1.7 lens.

Together with the camera launch, the German camera-maker also introduced a new-generation 50mm Summilux f1.4 M lens – with a closer focus of 0.45m and 11 aperture blades for a better bokeh or blur effect. 

The previous version – a firm favourite of many Leica camera shooters – has the usual rangefinder focus limit of 0.7m and 9 aperture blades. 

This is the third Leica optics to have such a close focus range with the other two being the new 35mm Summilux f.14 and the 35mm APO-Summicron f2.0 M lenses.

The retail price of the new 50mm Summilux f1.4 M lens will be RM19,550 for the black version and RM20,770 for the silver version. – April 13, 2023.