Cecilia Hoezen

Photo: Cecilia Hoezen, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Lady Tremaine - The Wicked Stepmother

Photo: Anabel Eckerling as Lady Tremaine - the wicked stepmother, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Rotterdam, my City. - Lunchtime

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - Street stall with Vietnamese spring rolls, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - Shared interest, shared focus, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - French fries, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - Lunchtime @ dailywok, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Rotterdam, my City. - Burger King

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - Burger King, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Wanda

Photo: Wanda, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Alena Krivileva

Photo: Alena Krivileva, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Paulina and Two Chairs

Photo: Paulina and Two Chairs, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Rotterdam, my City. - Getting Ready for Christmas

Photo: The Sting's Chrismas shop window, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Marina Bilterijst

Photo: Marina Bilterijst, by Barend Jan de Jong.

Ranjeeta

Photo: Ranjeeta, by Barend Jan de Jong.

This is Just a Crazy Camera #65000ShadesOfGrey

Yesterday evening it was a perfect moment to do a first quick test with my new Leica M Monochrom. It is a camera that is very similar to the Leica M9 that I used to own, however this camera does not have a Bayer filter in front of the chip. Most people do want such a filter, since it adds the capability to take color pictures. I prefer not to have one, since not having it means more sensitivity, a larger dynamic range and less noise; it means that this camera is optimized for making high quality black and white pictures under difficult light conditions.

So, how did I test it. I did a photo walk of 1 hour (7-8 PM) in the center of Rotterdam. You can see some of the results below. (All pictures are taken with a Summicron 28mm, and having the camera set on ISO 3200. I did not use a tripod.) Let me know what you think.

• Leica M Monochrom
• Bayer Filter (on Wikipedia)

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - De Bijenkorf.

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - Shopping Window at De Bijenkorf.

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. Schouwburgplein.

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - Skyfall at Pathé.

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - The Burger King at Rotterdam Central Station.

Photo: Rotterdam, my City. - Shopping Window at Mody Mary.

She Can Do As She Pleases She's Nobody's Fool

Photo: She can do as she pleases she's nobody's fool, Amalia, by Barend Jan de Jong.

(The title of the photo is an excerpt from She's Always A Woman To Me by Billy Joel.)