Good news for the analogue enthusiasts as Leica announced the Monopan 50, the first Leica branded film stock released by the prestigious brand. Its name is said to pay homage to the Leica Monochrome camera series, whereas “pan” refers to the panchromatic attribute of the film, meaning it is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light. The number 50, denotes its low ISO sensitivity which makes it ideal for for shooting wide open and creating smooth bokeh effects even in bright light.
Leica Monopan at a glance:
- Price: $£10
- Type: Black & White
- Frames: 36
- ISO sensitivity: 50
- Resolution: 280 line pairs/mm
- Sensitisation: Superpanchromatic 780nm
- Compatible with all black and white developers
The 35mm film combines ultra-fine grain and superpanchromatic sensitisation with an extended infrared sensitivity at 780nm, resulting in capturing high resolution images with exceptional tonal range. Leica recommends it for landscape, architectural, cityscape and travel photography, but its high infrared sensitivity can also be used to tone down skin redness in portraits and achieve a more glowy complexion. It is very responsive to filtration and ideal for infrared photography while pairing seamlessly with Leica colour filters. According to the published data sheets, the Leica Monopan 50 has exactly the same unusual extended infrared sensitivity as Adox HR-50, suggesting it’s the same film but repackaged.
The Monopan 50 will be available worldwide from the 21st of August for $12/£10 and it’s compatible with all black and white developers, with Leica suggesting times for Adox, Ilford and Kodak developers on its data sheet.
Related reading:
Follow AP on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
