To mark the 100th anniversary of the Leica I, the German brand unveils the Monopan 50, a fine-grain 35mm black and white film designed to take full advantage of its most demanding lenses. Presented as the first genuine Leica film, it nonetheless raises a crucial question about its actual manufacturing.
A Leica film to mark the centenary
On June 18, 2025, in Wetzlar, Leica unveiled the Monopan 50, an ISO 50 black and white film with ultra-fine grain, designed to precisely capture the entire light spectrum.
Its name echoes the Leica Monochrom cameras and the film’s extended panchromatic sensitivity (up to 780 nm), allowing for infrared black and white photography using filters.
Claimed result: a resolution of 280 line pairs per millimeter, the equivalent of over 14,000 dpi – enough to fully exploit the capabilities of Summicron-M or Noctilux-M lenses, whether for printing or high-resolution scanning.
“The film embodies Oskar Barnack’s vision of ‘small negative – big image,’ the very principle that gave birth to the original Leica,” Leica explains.
Moreover, the choice of low sensitivity (50 ASA) allows for shooting wide open, even in broad daylight, without overexposing the images.
A historic first… but not in-house production
Announced as the “first genuine Leica film,” the Monopan 50 casts some doubt over its true origin. Historically, Leica has never produced its own photographic emulsions. Since 1925, the brand has focused on optics and mechanics, recommending third-party films (Kodak, Agfa, Perutz…), but never manufacturing them.
The very first “Leica film,” the Perutz-Leica Spezialfilm, was already a rebadged product. Since then, the brand has partnered with major photo chemistry names, but has never set up its own production line.
Has Leica finally changed its tune to start producing its own film in Germany? On certain Reddit groups, Leica fans, film enthusiasts – or both – quickly noticed that this Monopan 50 film continues the tradition: multiple sources suggest a repackaging of an existing film, the Adox HR-50, with Leica-branded packaging.
If Monopan 50 is indeed based on an existing formula, the emulsion would then come from Adox Fotowerke’s facilities in Bad Saarow, east of Berlin. Since 2017, this factory, revived by Photo Impex, has been producing films, papers, and photographic chemicals, preserving a rare expertise in Europe. This would align with the “Made in Germany” marking displayed by Leica.
Here’s a video showing the new film in action:
Price and availability of the Leica Monopan 50
The Leica Monopan 50 film will be available from August 21, 2025, priced at €14.90 – about twice the price of an Adox HR-50.
By adding a film to its catalog, Leica positions itself as an active ambassador of analog photography, without claiming a chemical expertise it has never asserted. The launch of the Monopan 50 thus reflects both a celebration and a deliberate premium positioning.
In other words, the “red dot” here serves more as a quality seal than a chemical signature.
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