Leica producing their own black and white film comes as no surprise to me. It actually makes complete sense considering the popularity of vintage Leica film cameras in recent years and the rebirth of film photography. As someone who started out shooting black and white film, this is rather exciting news.
Leica Monopan 50 is a 35mm film that boasts fine grain, particularly suitable for Leica high-performance lenses. It’s a super-panchromatic film, which means it's sensitive to a wider range of lightwaves than standard film. This makes it an excellent choice to use with orange and red filters, extending it near the infrared part of the color spectrum with the ability to create images with strong contrast. Monopan 50 should be a great choice for fine art photography, offering smoother highlight roll-off and better tonal separation and accuracy. Expect skin tone rendering to be very good.
Super-panchromatic film, with a red filter, will take you into the infrared end of the color spectrum.
Being a 50 ISO film, a fast lens will be a benefit for low light, resulting in fine grain, good sharpness, and remarkable tonal value reproduction. Leica claims this film, shot with a Leica lens, will result in an unmistakable Leica bokeh. Leica states, “Analogue photography is a conscious choice in favor of craftsmanship, a slower pace, and trust in our own ability to capture an image. Leica Monopan 50 black-and-white film recalls the early days of 35 mm photography. It takes us back to 1925, when we presented the revolutionary Leica I to the world.”
I don’t have a Leica film camera, but being a black and white fanatic, I may well be the first to line up and try it. Leica Monopan 50 will be available from August 21, 2025.
Probably $50/roll