Leica S2 vs. Leica M9 Titanium

Comparison

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S2 image
vs
M9 Titanium image
Leica S2 Leica M9 Titanium
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Megapixels
37.50
18.00
Max. image resolution
7500 x 5000
5212 x 3472

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
45 x 30 mm
35.8 x 23.9 mm
Sensor resolution
7500 x 5000
5196 x 3464
Diagonal
54.08 mm
43.04 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
1.58 : 1
(ratio)
Leica S2 Leica M9 Titanium
Surface area:
1350.00 mm² vs 855.62 mm²
Difference: 494.38 mm² (58%)
S2 sensor is approx. 1.58x bigger than M9 Titanium sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Leica S2 (2008) and Leica M9 Titanium (2010). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
6 µm
6.89 µm
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Difference: 0.89 µm (15%)
Pixel pitch of M9 Titanium is approx. 15% higher than pixel pitch of S2.
Pixel area
36 µm²
47.47 µm²
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 11.47 µm² (32%)
A pixel on Leica M9 Titanium sensor is approx. 32% bigger than a pixel on Leica S2.
Pixel density
2.78 MP/cm²
2.11 MP/cm²
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Difference: 0.67 µm (32%)
Leica S2 has approx. 32% higher pixel density than Leica M9 Titanium.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Leica S2
Leica M9 Titanium
Crop factor
0.8
1.01
Total megapixels
18.50
Effective megapixels
37.50
18.00
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80-1250
Auto, 160 - 2500
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Centre weighted
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Min. shutter speed
32 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/500 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Optical (rangefinder)
White balance presets
5
6
Screen size
3"
2.5"
Screen resolution
460,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive, SDHC Secure Digital
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
1400 g
585 g
Dimensions
160 x 120 x 81 mm
139 x 37 x 80 mm
Year
2008
2010




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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Leica S2 diagonal

w = 45.00 mm
h = 30.00 mm
Diagonal =  45.00² + 30.00²   = 54.08 mm

Leica M9 Titanium diagonal

w = 35.80 mm
h = 23.90 mm
Diagonal =  35.80² + 23.90²   = 43.04 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

S2 sensor area

Width = 45.00 mm
Height = 30.00 mm

Surface area = 45.00 × 30.00 = 1350.00 mm²

M9 Titanium sensor area

Width = 35.80 mm
Height = 23.90 mm

Surface area = 35.80 × 23.90 = 855.62 mm²


Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel pitch =   sensor width in mm  × 1000
sensor resolution width in pixels

S2 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 45.00 mm
Sensor resolution width = 7500 pixels
Pixel pitch =   45.00  × 1000  = 6 µm
7500

M9 Titanium pixel pitch

Sensor width = 35.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Pixel pitch =   35.80  × 1000  = 6.89 µm
5196


Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area =   sensor surface area in mm²
effective megapixels

S2 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 6 µm

Pixel area = 6² = 36 µm²

M9 Titanium pixel area

Pixel pitch = 6.89 µm

Pixel area = 6.89² = 47.47 µm²


Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel density =  ( sensor resolution width in pixels )² / 1000000
sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:
Pixel density =   effective megapixels × 1000000  / 10000
sensor surface area in mm²

S2 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 7500 pixels
Sensor width = 4.5 cm

Pixel density = (7500 / 4.5)² / 1000000 = 2.78 MP/cm²

M9 Titanium pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Sensor width = 3.58 cm

Pixel density = (5196 / 3.58)² / 1000000 = 2.11 MP/cm²


Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000    →   
X =  effective megapixels × 1000000
r
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

S2 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 45.00 mm
Sensor height = 30.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 37.50
r = 45.00/30.00 = 1.5
X =  37.50 × 1000000  = 5000
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 5000 × 1.5 = 7500
Resolution vertical: X = 5000

Sensor resolution = 7500 x 5000

M9 Titanium sensor resolution

Sensor width = 35.80 mm
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.00
r = 35.80/23.90 = 1.5
X =  18.00 × 1000000  = 3464
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3464 × 1.5 = 5196
Resolution vertical: X = 3464

Sensor resolution = 5196 x 3464


Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
Crop factor =   43.27 mm
sensor diagonal in mm


S2 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 54.08 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 0.8
54.08

M9 Titanium crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.04 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.01
43.04

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

S2 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Leica S2, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Leica S2 is 0.8

M9 Titanium equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Leica M9 Titanium, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Leica M9 Titanium is 1.01

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