Specifications#
- Brand
- Leica
- Model
- M Monochrom
- Also known as
- LEICA M MONOCHROM (Typ 246), Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246), Leica M Monochrom Typ 246, M Monochrom (Typ 246)
- Camera type
- Digital rangefinder
- Released
- 2012-01-01
- Lens mount
- Leica M
- Sensor size
- 35.8 × 24.3 mm (Full frame (35 mm))
- Crop factor
- 1.00×
- Resolution
- 18 MP (5,150 × 3,495 px)
- Weight
- 600 g (21.2 oz)
- Sensor
- Monochrome 35.8 × image sensor
- Storage
- SD up to 2 GB and SDHC up to 32 GB
- Viewfinder
- Rangefinder and additional color LCD: 2.5", 230,000 pixels
- Metering
- TTL, center weighted averaging
- Exposure modes
- Manual, aperture priority auto exposure
- Shutter
- Focal plane, metal curtains, vertical travel
- Flash
- Fixed hot shoe
- Battery
- Lithium ion
- Dimensions
- 139 ×
- Successor
- Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246)
Specifications merged from Wikipedia, Wikidata, Lensfun and openMVG. Spot an error? Tell us.
Sensor size compared#
Focal length equivalents & field of view#
Multiply any focal length by 1.00 to get the full-frame field of view. Angles are for a rectilinear lens focused at infinity.
| Lens on this camera | Full-frame equivalent | Horizontal | Vertical | Diagonal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mm | 10 mm | 121.6° | 101.1° | 130.4° |
| 12 mm | 12 mm | 112.3° | 90.7° | 122.0° |
| 14 mm | 14 mm | 103.9° | 81.9° | 114.2° |
| 16 mm | 16 mm | 96.4° | 74.4° | 107.0° |
| 18 mm | 18 mm | 89.7° | 68.0° | 100.5° |
| 20 mm | 20 mm | 83.7° | 62.6° | 94.5° |
| 24 mm | 24 mm | 73.4° | 53.7° | 84.1° |
| 28 mm | 28 mm | 65.2° | 46.9° | 75.4° |
| 35 mm | 35 mm | 54.2° | 38.3° | 63.4° |
| 40 mm | 40 mm | 48.2° | 33.8° | 56.8° |
| 50 mm | 50 mm | 39.4° | 27.3° | 46.8° |
| 56 mm | 56 mm | 35.5° | 24.5° | 42.2° |
| 70 mm | 70 mm | 28.7° | 19.7° | 34.3° |
| 85 mm | 85 mm | 23.8° | 16.3° | 28.6° |
| 100 mm | 100 mm | 20.3° | 13.9° | 24.4° |
| 135 mm | 135 mm | 15.1° | 10.3° | 18.2° |
| 200 mm | 200 mm | 10.2° | 7.0° | 12.3° |
| 300 mm | 300 mm | 6.8° | 4.6° | 8.2° |
| 400 mm | 400 mm | 5.1° | 3.5° | 6.2° |
| 600 mm | 600 mm | 3.4° | 2.3° | 4.1° |
| 800 mm | 800 mm | 2.6° | 1.7° | 3.1° |
Depth of field table#
Total depth of field at each subject distance, using a circle of confusion of 30.0 µm (the 0.030 mm full-frame standard scaled by the crop factor). Detailed tables: 24 mm f/1.8, 24 mm f/2.8, 35 mm f/1.8, 35 mm f/2.8, 50 mm f/1.8, 50 mm f/2.8.
| Focal | Aperture | 50.0 cm | 1.00 m | 2.00 m | 3.00 m | 5.00 m | 10.0 m | Hyperfocal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 mm | f/1.8 | 5.3 cm | 22.1 cm | 92.8 cm | 2.24 m | 8.03 m | ∞ | 8.98 m |
| 22 mm | f/2.8 | 8.4 cm | 35.0 cm | 1.56 m | 4.23 m | 34.1 m | ∞ | 5.78 m |
| 22 mm | f/4 | 12.0 cm | 51.5 cm | 2.58 m | 9.74 m | ∞ | ∞ | 4.06 m |
| 22 mm | f/8 | 25.1 cm | 1.27 m | 103 m | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | 2.04 m |
| 43 mm | f/1.8 | 1.3 cm | 5.6 cm | 22.9 cm | 52.2 cm | 1.48 m | 6.35 m | 34.3 m |
| 43 mm | f/2.8 | 2.1 cm | 8.7 cm | 35.8 cm | 82.1 cm | 2.37 m | 11.4 m | 22.1 m |
| 43 mm | f/4 | 3.0 cm | 12.5 cm | 51.6 cm | 1.20 m | 3.59 m | 22.2 m | 15.5 m |
| 43 mm | f/8 | 6.0 cm | 25.2 cm | 1.09 m | 2.70 m | 11.0 m | ∞ | 7.75 m |
| 73 mm | f/1.8 | 0.4 cm | 1.9 cm | 7.8 cm | 17.8 cm | 50.1 cm | 2.03 m | 98.8 m |
| 73 mm | f/2.8 | 0.7 cm | 2.9 cm | 12.2 cm | 27.7 cm | 78.1 cm | 3.21 m | 63.5 m |
| 73 mm | f/4 | 1.0 cm | 4.2 cm | 17.4 cm | 39.7 cm | 1.12 m | 4.71 m | 44.5 m |
| 73 mm | f/8 | 1.9 cm | 8.4 cm | 35.0 cm | 80.5 cm | 2.33 m | 11.2 m | 22.3 m |
| 120 mm | f/1.8 | 0.1 cm | 0.7 cm | 2.8 cm | 6.5 cm | 18.3 cm | 74.2 cm | 267 m |
| 120 mm | f/2.8 | 0.2 cm | 1.0 cm | 4.4 cm | 10.1 cm | 28.5 cm | 1.16 m | 172 m |
| 120 mm | f/4 | 0.3 cm | 1.5 cm | 6.3 cm | 14.4 cm | 40.7 cm | 1.66 m | 120 m |
| 120 mm | f/8 | 0.6 cm | 2.9 cm | 12.5 cm | 28.9 cm | 81.9 cm | 3.39 m | 60.1 m |
Equivalent aperture#
Exposure is identical at the same f-number on any format; equivalence only describes depth of field and total light.
Diffraction & pixel pitch#
With 6.95 µm pixels, diffraction starts to soften pixel-level detail around f/10.4. For maximum sharpness keep landscapes between f/5.7 and f/10; stopping down further trades detail for depth of field.
| Aperture | Airy disk diameter | Spread over | At 100% view |
|---|---|---|---|
| f/2.8 | 3.8 µm | 0.5 px | sharp |
| f/4 | 5.4 µm | 0.8 px | sharp |
| f/5.6 | 7.5 µm | 1.1 px | sharp |
| f/8 | 10.7 µm | 1.5 px | sharp |
| f/11 | 14.8 µm | 2.1 px | slight softening |
| f/16 | 21.5 µm | 3.1 px | visibly soft |
| f/22 | 29.5 µm | 4.2 px | visibly soft |
Maximum print sizes#
At 18 MP the Leica M Monochrom produces 5,150 × 3,495 pixel images. See the 18 megapixel guide or the print size calculator.
| Resolution | Typical use | Inches | Centimetres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 DPI | Photo-lab quality | 17.2 × 11.7 in | 44 × 30 cm |
| 240 DPI | Fine-art inkjet | 21.5 × 14.6 in | 55 × 37 cm |
| 200 DPI | Wall print | 25.8 × 17.5 in | 65 × 44 cm |
| 150 DPI | Poster, viewed from 1 m+ | 34.3 × 23.3 in | 87 × 59 cm |
Night-sky exposure limits#
Longest exposure before stars trail. The NPF rule accounts for pixel pitch and is stricter than the classic 500 rule — use it for pin-sharp stars on high-resolution sensors.
| Focal length | 500 rule | NPF f/1.8 | NPF f/2.8 | NPF f/4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 mm (14 mm eq.) | 35.7 s | 19.4 s | 21.9 s | 24.9 s |
| 20 mm (20 mm eq.) | 25.0 s | 13.6 s | 15.3 s | 17.4 s |
| 24 mm (24 mm eq.) | 20.8 s | 11.3 s | 12.8 s | 14.5 s |
| 35 mm (35 mm eq.) | 14.3 s | 7.8 s | 8.8 s | 10.0 s |
| 50 mm (50 mm eq.) | 10.0 s | 5.4 s | 6.1 s | 7.0 s |
Handheld shutter speed guide#
The reciprocal rule uses the equivalent focal length. High-resolution sensors may need one stop faster than this for pixel-sharp results.
| Focal length | No stabilisation (1/equiv. focal) | With 3-stop IS | With 5-stop IBIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 mm | 1/25 s | 0.3 s | 1.3 s |
| 50 mm | 1/50 s | 1/6 s | 0.6 s |
| 100 mm | 1/100 s | 1/13 s | 0.3 s |
| 200 mm | 1/200 s | 1/25 s | 1/6 s |
Lenses for the Leica M Monochrom#
Native Leica M lenses in our database (8 total). Also adaptable: T-mount (T2), M39 / LTM (Leica thread), M42 screw mount, Deckel (DKL).
- Voigtländer Nokton 28mm F1.5 Aspherical 28 mm
- Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2X Ultra Macro APO 85 mm
- Leica Elmarit-M 1:2.8/28 Asph. 28 mm
- Leica Summicron-M 1:2/28 Asph. 28 mm
- Leica Summicron-M 1:2/35 Asph. (11879/11882) 35 mm
- Leica Summicron-M 1:2/50 50 mm
- Leica APO-Summicron-M 1:2/75 Asph. (11673/11701) 75 mm
- Leica Elmarit-M 1:2.8/90 90 mm
Similar cameras#
Other Full frame (35 mm) cameras from around the same time.
- Canon EOS 5D Mark III 2012
- Canon EOS 6D 2012
- Canon EOS-1D X 2012
- Nikon D4 2012
- Nikon D600 2012
- Nikon D800 2012
- Nikon D610 2013
- Nikon Df 2013
- Sony α7 2013
- Nikon D4S 2014
- Nikon D750 2014
- Nikon D810 2014
Frequently asked questions#
What is the crop factor of the Leica M Monochrom?
The Leica M Monochrom has a crop factor of 1.00× relative to 35 mm full frame (diagonal 43.3 mm vs 43.3 mm).
What size is the Leica M Monochrom sensor?
35.8 × 24.3 mm (Full frame (35 mm)), an area of 870 mm² — 101% of full frame.
Is the Leica M Monochrom full frame?
Yes — its sensor is the same 36 × 24 mm size as 35 mm film.
How many megapixels does the Leica M Monochrom have?
18 megapixels (5,150 × 3,495 pixels), enough for a 17 × 12 inch print at 300 DPI.
What lens mount does the Leica M Monochrom use?
The Leica M Monochrom uses the Leica M (flange distance 27.80 mm).
How long can I expose the night sky with the Leica M Monochrom?
With a 20 mm lens (20 mm equivalent) the 500 rule gives 25 s and the stricter NPF rule at f/2.8 gives 15 s.
Sources & licences#
- Wikipedia: Leica M Monochrom — CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikidata Q349977 — CC0
- Lensfun camera database — CC BY-SA 3.0
- openMVG sensor width database — MPL-2.0
Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources