# Disappointment in Leica M Monochrom Digital Camera



## Skaperen (May 21, 2012)

This is a kind of camera I would like to see.  It's expensive, but, it's Leica.  And they get to leave out the 'e' in the name.  I'm sure some people will call it the "mono" and some might just call it "mo" or "mo pixels".

The disappointment is that it is limited to 32 GB per card using SDHC.  The M9 and M9-P also are limited to SDHC though the specs at B&H don't actually say 32GB max in these cases.

32GB might be adequate for most users in 2012.  But pros (I'm not one, so I'm guessing) need more.  2013 needs more.  2014 needs even more.  Leica seriously needs to get an upgrade to SDXC rolling ASAP.  If they are having filesystem issues on the card (I know FAT filesystems are cranky this large), then divide the card up into 4 partitions and cut over to the next partition when the previous one is done.

I'm curious what the exact pixel geometry is.  Maybe 5184x3456 ?


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## rexbobcat (May 21, 2012)

&#3232;_&#3232;
...that's why you're disappointed?

Why not buy several 32 GB cards? It's much more secure than having one ginormous card.


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## Sw1tchFX (May 21, 2012)




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## Patriot (May 21, 2012)

I dont think that that is somethjng to be disappointed about at all. Just carry more than one card.


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## gsgary (May 21, 2012)

My friends are perfectly happy with their's one of them has m9 and m9p 32g is plenty i dont use cards bigger than 4g


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## Jaemie (May 21, 2012)

I wish I could afford to buy a Mo.

Seriously, you're complaining about the name and the 32GB card capacity?


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## usayit (May 21, 2012)

Skaperen said:


> This is a kind of camera I would like to see.  It's expensive, but, it's Leica.



Worst kinda of Leica ownership is one that was driven by price, brand, and posturing.  Unfortunately, those are the types that come to mind when people think Leica.  



> And they get to leave out the 'e' in the name.



They are German.. translate it... Its an adjective spelled without the "e".   Or do we expect VW owners to go around saying "I drive a people's car".   "How do you like your people's car"?  Or "Got a problem with your Folks Wagon?"



> I'm sure some people will call it the "mono" and some might just call it "mo" or "mo pixels".
> 
> The disappointment is that it is limited to 32 GB per card using SDHC.  The M9 and M9-P also are limited to SDHC though the specs at B&H don't actually say 32GB max in these cases.



Pssst....  Its pretty well known fact that the Leica Monochrome is an M9... the same released back in 2009 with a different sensor and firmware.   Why would you expect differently?  I still use 8GB cards... no issues.  "mo pixels" would be inaccurate as its mpixel count is the same as the M9 of 2009.  

They are a small (very small) company.   R&D is probably got most of their resources developing the M10.  Production is probably tied up trying to fill backorders on their perpetually out of stock items.  Out fitting an of the shelf camera body with firmware and sensor to support the Monochrome was probably the best they could do.   Despite what people say, there is a market for this camera... how big.. not sure but Leica's market is also a niche one.


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## belial (May 22, 2012)

gsgary said:
			
		

> My friends are perfectly happy with their's one of them has m9 and m9p 32g is plenty i dont use cards bigger than 4g



Same.  All 4g for me. Doesn't take but a second to switch a card.


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## unpopular (May 22, 2012)

And I thought it was great that I could shoot 24 images on 220, rather than just 12.

I also remember squeezing 40, 35mm frames into a canister... kids these days have no respect.


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## Skaperen (May 27, 2012)

Patriot said:


> I dont think that that is somethjng to be disappointed about at all. Just carry more than one card.


I use memory cards for many reasons and will be soon going above 64 GB.  This limitation means I have to keep separate cards.


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## Skaperen (May 27, 2012)

Jaemie said:


> I wish I could afford to buy a Mo.
> 
> Seriously, you're complaining about the name and the 32GB card capacity?


Not complaining about the name.


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## Skaperen (May 27, 2012)

usayit said:


> > And they get to leave out the 'e' in the name.
> 
> 
> 
> They are German.. translate it... Its an adjective spelled without the "e".   Or do we expect VW owners to go around saying "I drive a people's car".   "How do you like your people's car"?  Or "Got a problem with your Folks Wagon?"



I think I am misunderstood here ... this is not a complaint about the name.  I'm saying they GET TO have the name they want because of their reputation.  I'm fine with that.  I'm saying other companies would be laughed at doing that ... Leica would not be (German or otherwise).


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## Garbz (May 27, 2012)

Skaperen said:


> 2013 needs more.  2014 needs even more.



How is that relevant to a camera that exists now? 2013/14 will likely see a new camera released. If 32GB is adequate for most users in 2012 then those users of that camera should still be happy with 32GB even 10 years down. 

Also at 36MB for a RAW file you can get 887 of them on a card. I'd hate to think what kind of a review you'd give a D800 especially given that 128MB CF cards are in the order of $800



Skaperen said:


> If they are having filesystem issues on the card (I know FAT filesystems are cranky this large), then divide the card up into 4 partitions and cut over to the next partition when the previous one is done.



Great solution. Except you've now broken every image importing program that imports from devices which identify themselves as mass storage devices (all of them I think). An easier solution would be to pay the licence fees and implement FAT32.


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## usayit (May 27, 2012)

Wow. what a english centric attitude....   It has nothing to do with their reputation but simply the name they chose according to their locale.   Companies do it all the time.... 

The English language itself borrows and butchers words from all sorts of languages.  A coworker of mine knows several languages (german, english, hindi that I recall) and has an interest in languages.   She always said that English is one of the most confusing languages to learn as an adult because the numerous exceptions to the rules and fill the language with misspelling.  

You seem to have hard on for Leica for some unknown reason.


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## Skaperen (May 28, 2012)

usayit said:


> Wow. what a english centric attitude....   It has nothing to do with their reputation but simply the name they chose according to their locale.   Companies do it all the time....


Not that often in a world market.  It is English centric.  I'm not saying that's good.  It just is.  Would it be OK to call it the &#1084;&#1086;&#1085;&#1086;&#1093;&#1088;&#1086;&#1084;&#1085;&#1099;&#1081; if it were made in Russia?  I think the Russians would consider that to be just fine.  But it would not play as well in the world market.  However, had Leica been a Russian company, I think they would have the reputation to do it anyway and not have to worry.  By contrast, I don't think a name like &#12514;&#12494;&#12463;&#12525; could be pushed even by Nikon.

What I am saying is few companies really can push a non-English product name into a world market ... but Leica is one that can.



usayit said:


> The English language itself borrows and butchers words from all sorts of languages.  A coworker of mine knows several languages (german, english, hindi that I recall) and has an interest in languages.   She always said that English is one of the most confusing languages to learn as an adult because the numerous exceptions to the rules and fill the language with misspelling.


Indeed English is a mess.  Maybe we could replace it with another?



usayit said:


> You seem to have hard on for Leica for some unknown reason.


I have a respect for the quality of Leica.  But it dropped a notch because they have chosen to not support SDXC.


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## Skaperen (May 28, 2012)

Garbz said:


> Skaperen said:
> 
> 
> > If they are having filesystem issues on the card (I know FAT filesystems are cranky this large), then divide the card up into 4 partitions and cut over to the next partition when the previous one is done.
> ...


The 4 partition media will show up as 4 devices in Windows.  I've  already done that years ago.  You just have to do the import action from  all 4.

What do you think they are using for media larger than 4GB now?  Something other than FAT32?


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## rexbobcat (May 28, 2012)

usayit said:


> Wow. what a english centric attitude....   It has nothing to do with their reputation but simply the name they chose according to their locale.   Companies do it all the time....
> 
> The English language itself borrows and butchers words from all sorts of languages.  A coworker of mine knows several languages (german, english, hindi that I recall) and has an interest in languages.   She always said that English is one of the most confusing languages to learn as an adult because the numerous exceptions to the rules and fill the language with misspelling.
> 
> You seem to have hard on for Leica for some unknown reason.



This is off-topic, but if she thinks English is confusing has she looked at Chinese? It has NO reference what-so-ever to any other language other than Chinese. I was considering it as a minor until I came to my senses.

Why don't you just buy two cards? Is it really that hard to keep up with two different cards? I carry over 150 GB of cards in my bag spread over about 13 different cards varying in size. I've yet to lose a card in over 2 years. And even then, replacing an 8 or 16 GB card is much less expensive than replacing a 32 or 64 GB card.


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## Garbz (May 29, 2012)

Skaperen said:


> What do you think they are using for media larger than 4GB now?  Something other than FAT32?



But you miss the point. The programs don't allow parallel import, you can't just insert the memory card and start working. Many programs also work on a "Last Import" system when editing which also breaks workflows (unless you're already using multiple memory cards ). Basically importing becomes a rigmarole. 

The solution is simple. Implement it properly. FAT32 has a max supported partition size of 2TB and no it doesn't get grumpy with large sizes. It gets grumpy with deep directory trees and insanely high file count but that's not an issue on digital cameras. It has a max supported file size of 4GB, but even a D800 has a while to go before it needs to worry about that. There is a 32GB limit for partition size formatting removable media in Windows XP only which is circumvented by downloading one of the millions of other formatting programs available on the net.


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## DiskoJoe (May 29, 2012)

Skaperen said:


> This is a kind of camera I would like to see.  It's expensive, but, it's Leica.  And they get to leave out the 'e' in the name.  I'm sure some people will call it the "mono" and some might just call it "mo" or "mo pixels".
> 
> The disappointment is that it is limited to 32 GB per card using SDHC.  The M9 and M9-P also are limited to SDHC though the specs at B&H don't actually say 32GB max in these cases.
> 
> ...



This is a niche camera. Nuff said.


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## Skaperen (May 29, 2012)

Garbz said:


> Skaperen said:
> 
> 
> > What do you think they are using for media larger than 4GB now?  Something other than FAT32?
> ...



What I read is that FAT16 has a max VOLUME size of 4GB (4 partitions thereof allowing up to 16GB per card, or go with GPT for more than that ... though Windows might not support it).  Not being a Windows user I can't verify it.  But that's what I have read on the internet (can it be trusted?).

So it should already be FAT32.  So licensing FAT32 is not an issue to go from SDHC to SDXC.  Also, according to Wikipedia, SDHC cards are shipped with FAT32 formatting.  So I'll stay with my opinion that Leica should have gone with SDXC (released over 3 years ago).  I expect that of a high end company.  I expect that for cameras that are considered "multi decade keepers".


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## belial (May 30, 2012)

I think the main point os most photographers prefer to carry smaller cards and carry more of them so your eggs aren't all in one basket if that basket breaks (which isnt even uncommon). Therefore no support for hdxc doesn't even effect very many shooters at all


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## usayit (May 30, 2012)

belial said:
			
		

> I think the main point os most photographers prefer to carry smaller cards and carry more of them so your eggs aren't all in one basket if that basket breaks (which isnt even uncommon). Therefore no support for hdxc doesn't even effect very many shooters at all



yup .. that and how can one expect a camera from 2009 to support sdxc when sdxc itself was announced shortly after the m9 was released.   Leica has long running production cycles....  M9, M9P, and MM are all the essentially the same camera.


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## 2WheelPhoto (May 30, 2012)

This thread topic  is full of pure win


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