Bought a new M6? The latest Leica-branded product is for you
Image: Leica For the past 100 years, Leica has made plenty of iconic 35mm film cameras. Now, it's selling film to go in them, with the announcement of Leica MonoPan 50, a black-and-white 35mm film. Leica says its first film is super panchromatic. It is sensitive to all visible light sources as well as infrared light. Photographers can use yellow, orange, red, blue, green or infrared filters to alter the appearance of images, providing quite a bit of flexibility. It offers a film resolution of 280 line pairs per millimeter, meaning it should be able to capture high levels of detail. It also features ultra-fine grain. Image: Leica For film fans, that may all sound very familiar. While MonoPan 50 is made in Germany and bears the Leica name and red dot, it's very unlikely that the company has spun up its own film factory. The film shares an awful lot in common with Adox HR-50, which is also super panchromatic, provides the same film resolution and offers the same ultra-fine grain structure. Adox HR-50 is also made in Germany. Even if it is a rebranded film, Leica could modify the emulsion to make it somewhat unique. That's a common practice, after all. For example, CineStill goes through the process of removing the remjet layer on Kodak Vision 3 500T film. MonoPan 50 could, however, simply be repacked film, which is also very common. Leica shared sample images, showing that the film provides a high-contrast, clean image with ultra-fine grain, consistent with Adox HR-50. Image: Leica Leica says MonoPan 50 won't be available until the end of August 2025, so we'll have to wait to see if there is anything unique about the film. Either way, it will come in four "distinctive packaging options" so photographers can collect their favorite design. Leica MonoPan 50 will cost $10 per roll. For comparison, Adox HR-50 currently sells for $8 per roll. Leica-provided samples: Sample galleryThis widget is not optimized for RSS feed readers. Click here to open it in a new browser window / tab. Press release: New: MONOPAN 50 – the new black-and-white 35mm film from Leica To honor a century of 35mm photography, Leica Camera AG is introducing a high-resolution black-and-white film with enhanced spectral sensitivity. Teaneck, June 18th 2025. The Leica I transformed photography when it made its debut back in 1925, establishing the 35mm format as the new industry standard. The compact format swiftly gained traction with retailers and photographers commonly referring to it simply as “Leica film”, even though the 35mm film packs used with the Leica I originated from manufacturers like Kodak, Agfa, or Perutz. To celebrate the Leica I’s centenary and pay homage to 35 mm photography, Leica Camera AG is unveiling its first true Leica 35mm film: MONOPAN 50 black-and-white film, offering 36 exposures. Honoring the origins of 35mm photography and its distinctive aesthetic, Leica is introducing its high-resolution MONOPAN 50 film, featuring an extended spectral range. The name MONOPAN 50 is derived from its components: “mono”, “pan”, and the number “50”. “Mono” refers to Leica’s renowned Monochrom series, a line of digital black-and-white cameras first introduced in 2012. “Pan” denotes the film’s outstanding panchromatic properties, while the number “50” represents its ISO rating. Leica MONOPAN 50 features an ultra-fine grain, delivering an impressive resolution of up to 280 line pairs per millimeter. With super-panchromatic sensitivity of up to 780nm, it ensures remarkable sharpness and an exceptional tonal range. The film encapsulates Oskar Barnack’s vision of “small negative – big picture”, the very principle that gave rise to the original Leica. With its refined specifications, the black-and-white film is perfectly suited to Leica lenses, showcasing their remarkable optical performance, particularly in high-end large-format prints and detailed scans. Back in Barnack’s day, most films had low sensitivity. Leica has embraced this historical context in its choice of ISO 50/18°. With high-performance Leica lenses like the Noctilux-M, Summilux-M and Summicron-M, the film’s low sensitivity enables wide-aperture shooting, rendering the distinctive Leica bokeh – even in bright lighting conditions. Thanks to its enhanced spectral sensitivity, the newLeica black-and-white film is also ideal for infrared photography, demonstrating exceptional responsiveness to filtration. As such, MONOPAN 50 pairs seamlessly with Leica color filters. This enhances photographs with striking contrast and dramatic aesthetics, granting photographers greater creative freedom in their compositions. Produced in Germany, MONOPAN 50 is particularly perfect for landscape, architectural, cityscape, and travel photography. The film is compatible with all black-and-white developers. It guarantees complete control over black-and-white photography, ensuring the highest degree of detail. Its vintage-style packaging evokes the pioneering era of 35mm photog
 |
| Image: Leica |
For the past 100 years, Leica has made plenty of iconic 35mm film cameras. Now, it's selling film to go in them, with the announcement of Leica MonoPan 50, a black-and-white 35mm film.
Leica says its first film is super panchromatic. It is sensitive to all visible light sources as well as infrared light. Photographers can use yellow, orange, red, blue, green or infrared filters to alter the appearance of images, providing quite a bit of flexibility. It offers a film resolution of 280 line pairs per millimeter, meaning it should be able to capture high levels of detail. It also features ultra-fine grain.
 |
| Image: Leica |
For film fans, that may all sound very familiar. While MonoPan 50 is made in Germany and bears the Leica name and red dot, it's very unlikely that the company has spun up its own film factory. The film shares an awful lot in common with Adox HR-50, which is also super panchromatic, provides the same film resolution and offers the same ultra-fine grain structure. Adox HR-50 is also made in Germany.
Even if it is a rebranded film, Leica could modify the emulsion to make it somewhat unique. That's a common practice, after all. For example, CineStill goes through the process of removing the remjet layer on Kodak Vision 3 500T film. MonoPan 50 could, however, simply be repacked film, which is also very common. Leica shared sample images, showing that the film provides a high-contrast, clean image with ultra-fine grain, consistent with Adox HR-50.
 |
| Image: Leica |
Leica says MonoPan 50 won't be available until the end of August 2025, so we'll have to wait to see if there is anything unique about the film. Either way, it will come in four "distinctive packaging options" so photographers can collect their favorite design.
Leica MonoPan 50 will cost $10 per roll. For comparison, Adox HR-50 currently sells for $8 per roll.
Leica-provided samples:
Press release:
New: MONOPAN 50 – the new black-and-white 35mm film from Leica
To honor a century of 35mm photography, Leica Camera AG is introducing a high-resolution black-and-white film with enhanced spectral sensitivity.
Teaneck, June 18th 2025. The Leica I transformed photography when it made its debut back in 1925, establishing the 35mm format as the new industry standard. The compact format swiftly gained traction with retailers and photographers commonly referring to it simply as “Leica film”, even though the 35mm film packs used with the Leica I originated from manufacturers like Kodak, Agfa, or Perutz. To celebrate the Leica I’s centenary and pay homage to 35 mm photography, Leica Camera AG is unveiling its first true Leica 35mm film: MONOPAN 50 black-and-white film, offering 36 exposures.
Honoring the origins of 35mm photography and its distinctive aesthetic, Leica is introducing its high-resolution MONOPAN 50 film, featuring an extended spectral range. The name MONOPAN 50 is derived from its components: “mono”, “pan”, and the number “50”. “Mono” refers to Leica’s renowned Monochrom series, a line of digital black-and-white cameras first introduced in 2012. “Pan” denotes the film’s outstanding panchromatic properties, while the number “50” represents its ISO rating.
Leica MONOPAN 50 features an ultra-fine grain, delivering an impressive resolution of up to 280 line pairs per millimeter. With super-panchromatic sensitivity of up to 780nm, it ensures remarkable sharpness and an exceptional tonal range. The film encapsulates Oskar Barnack’s vision of “small negative – big picture”, the very principle that gave rise to the original Leica. With its refined specifications, the black-and-white film is perfectly suited to Leica lenses, showcasing their remarkable optical performance, particularly in high-end large-format prints and detailed scans. Back in Barnack’s day, most films had low sensitivity. Leica has embraced this historical context in its choice of ISO 50/18°. With high-performance Leica lenses like the Noctilux-M, Summilux-M and Summicron-M, the film’s low sensitivity enables wide-aperture shooting, rendering the distinctive Leica bokeh – even in bright lighting conditions. Thanks to its enhanced spectral sensitivity, the new
Leica black-and-white film is also ideal for infrared photography, demonstrating exceptional responsiveness to filtration. As such, MONOPAN 50 pairs seamlessly with Leica color filters. This enhances photographs with striking contrast and dramatic aesthetics, granting photographers greater creative freedom in their compositions.
Produced in Germany, MONOPAN 50 is particularly perfect for landscape, architectural, cityscape, and travel photography. The film is compatible with all black-and-white developers. It guarantees complete control over black-and-white photography, ensuring the highest degree of detail. Its vintage-style packaging evokes the pioneering era of 35mm photography, while its outstanding specifications encourage photographers to carry forward this legacy by creating impressive images.
Leica MONOPAN 50 will be available worldwide in Leica Stores and through authorized dealers starting August 21st, 2025. The price for the Leica MONOPAN 50 is $10.00.
