Leica M (Typ 262) vs. Leica M9

Comparison

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M (Typ 262) image
vs
M9 image
Leica M (Typ 262) Leica M9
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Megapixels
24.00
18.00
Max. image resolution
5976 x 3992
5212 x 3472

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CCD
Sensor size
35.8 x 23.9 mm
35.8 x 23.9 mm
Sensor resolution
6000 x 4000
5196 x 3464
Diagonal
43.04 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 : 1
(ratio)
Leica M (Typ 262) Leica M9
Surface area:
855.62 mm² vs 855.62 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
M (Typ 262) and M9 sensors are the same size.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Leica M (Typ 262) (2015) and Leica M9 (2009). Six years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
5.97 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: 0.92 µm (15%)
Pixel pitch of M9 is approx. 15% higher than pixel pitch of M (Typ 262).
Pixel area
35.64 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: 11.83 µm² (33%)
A pixel on Leica M9 sensor is approx. 33% bigger than a pixel on Leica M (Typ 262).
Pixel density
2.81 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: 0.7 µm (33%)
Leica M (Typ 262) has approx. 33% higher pixel density than Leica M9.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Leica M (Typ 262)
Leica M9
Crop factor
1.01
1.01
Total megapixels
18.50
Effective megapixels
24.00
18.00
Optical zoom
 
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 200-6400 (extendable to 100)
Auto, Pull 80, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 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
Center-weighted
Centre weighted
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (rangefinder)
Optical (rangefinder)
White balance presets
7
6
Screen size
3"
2.5"
Screen resolution
921,600 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
BP-SCL2 lithium-ion battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
600 g
585 g
Dimensions
138.6 x 42 x 80 mm
139 x 37 x 80 mm
Year
2015
2009




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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 M (Typ 262) diagonal

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

Leica M9 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.

M (Typ 262) sensor area

Width = 35.80 mm
Height = 23.90 mm

Surface area = 35.80 × 23.90 = 855.62 mm²

M9 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

M (Typ 262) pixel pitch

Sensor width = 35.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6000 pixels
Pixel pitch =   35.80  × 1000  = 5.97 µm
6000

M9 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

M (Typ 262) pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.97 µm

Pixel area = 5.97² = 35.64 µm²

M9 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

M (Typ 262) pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 6000 pixels
Sensor width = 3.58 cm

Pixel density = (6000 / 3.58)² / 1000000 = 2.81 MP/cm²

M9 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

M (Typ 262) sensor resolution

Sensor width = 35.80 mm
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.00
r = 35.80/23.90 = 1.5
X =  24.00 × 1000000  = 4000
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4000 × 1.5 = 6000
Resolution vertical: X = 4000

Sensor resolution = 6000 x 4000

M9 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


M (Typ 262) crop factor

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

M9 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).

M (Typ 262) 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 M (Typ 262), take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Leica M (Typ 262) is 1.01

M9 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, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Leica M9 is 1.01

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