There’s something about monochrome photography that’s reminiscent of generations past. Like a continuous new fad, the contrasty format still abounds and excites film shooters and digital users today. There’s a resurgence that something old is new again, and this is certainly the case for mirrorless cameras which include a monochrome mode or dedicate themselves to the format.

So in celebration of the launch of The Mono Awards 2020, presented by digiDirect, we have selected three leading cameras which celebrate monochrome. The competition is open to all Australian and New Zealand residents.

In the video, we compare monochrome modes on the Leica M10 Moncohrom, the Fujifilm X-T3 and Sony A7 III cameras. You may hear the terms ‘monochrome’ and ‘black & white’ interchangeably mentioned, but there is a difference. Monochrome means that the image only shows one colour (grey) whereas black and white could contain a tone, which is commonly referred to as sepia. Now that you understand this, take the time to watch the video and decide which photo looks the best from the three cameras described below.

Leica M10 Monochrom

The first camera in the comparison is the Leica M10 Monochrom. This is a brand new camera that was just announced, it’s an update to their M Monochrom Typ 246 camera. The special thing about this camera is it can only shoot in monochrome. The new release has no colour filter, so it’s all in on black and white. The upside to this is that removing the colour filter means the sensor requires less interpolation which allows the camera to offer sharper picture quality and better low light performance than a camera that does shoot in colour.

Fujifilm X-T3

Next up is the Fujifilm X-T3. We chose this model because Fujifilm is well known for their film legacy and they build their film simulations into all of their cameras. So while it may not be a dedicated monochrome camera like the Lecia, it boasts a stronger monochrome legacy than many other brands can offer.

Sony A7 III

And finally, the third camera is the Sony A7 III. This camera has a black and white shooting mode, but that’s about as far as it goes. Sony is not particularly known for their monochrome shooting performance, and they don’t put any particular emphasis on it. However the Sony A7 III is one of the most popular cameras on the market right now, so it will be interesting to see if it’s basic monochrome features differ from the other two models.