Nikon D4 vs. Leica M9-P

Comparison

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D4 image
vs
M9-P image
Nikon D4 Leica M9-P
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Megapixels
16.20
18.00
Max. image resolution
4928 x 3280
5270 x 3516

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CCD
Sensor size
36 x 23.9 mm
35.8 x 23.9 mm
Sensor resolution
4945 x 3275
5196 x 3464
Diagonal
43.21 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
1.01 : 1
(ratio)
Nikon D4 Leica M9-P
Surface area:
860.40 mm² vs 855.62 mm²
Difference: 4.78 mm² (0.6%)
D4 sensor is slightly bigger than M9-P sensor (only 0.6% difference).
Pixel pitch
7.28 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: 0.39 µm (6%)
Pixel pitch of D4 is approx. 6% higher than pixel pitch of M9-P.
Pixel area
53 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: 5.53 µm² (12%)
A pixel on Nikon D4 sensor is approx. 12% bigger than a pixel on Leica M9-P.
Pixel density
1.89 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: 0.22 µm (12%)
Leica M9-P has approx. 12% higher pixel density than Nikon D4.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon D4
Leica M9-P
Crop factor
1
1.01
Total megapixels
16.60
18.50
Effective megapixels
16.20
18.00
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800 (204800 with boost)
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
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Center-weighted
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/8000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Optical (rangefinder)
White balance presets
12
6
Screen size
3.2"
2.5"
Screen resolution
921,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Compact Flash (Type I, XQD) x2
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion EN-EL18 rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
1340 g
600 g
Dimensions
160 x 157 x 91 mm
139 x 37 x 80 mm
Year
2012
2011




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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

Nikon D4 diagonal

w = 36.00 mm
h = 23.90 mm
Diagonal =  36.00² + 23.90²   = 43.21 mm

Leica M9-P 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.

D4 sensor area

Width = 36.00 mm
Height = 23.90 mm

Surface area = 36.00 × 23.90 = 860.40 mm²

M9-P 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

D4 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4945 pixels
Pixel pitch =   36.00  × 1000  = 7.28 µm
4945

M9-P 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

D4 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.28 µm

Pixel area = 7.28² = 53 µm²

M9-P 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

D4 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4945 pixels
Sensor width = 3.6 cm

Pixel density = (4945 / 3.6)² / 1000000 = 1.89 MP/cm²

M9-P 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

D4 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.20
r = 36.00/23.90 = 1.51
X =  16.20 × 1000000  = 3275
1.51
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3275 × 1.51 = 4945
Resolution vertical: X = 3275

Sensor resolution = 4945 x 3275

M9-P 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


D4 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.21 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1
43.21

M9-P 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).

D4 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 Nikon D4, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Since crop factor for Nikon D4 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.

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

Crop factor for Leica M9-P is 1.01

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