Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 vs. Leica X2

Comparison

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1

Leica X2

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Megapixels

24.30

16.20

Max. image resolution

6000 x 4000

4928 x 3264

Sensor

Sensor type

CMOS

Sensor size

35.8 x 23.9 mm

23.6 x 15.8 mm

Sensor resolution

6038 x 4025

4913 x 3297

Diagonal

43.04 mm

28.40 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
2.29	:	1
(ratio)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1		Leica X2

Surface area:

855.62 mm²

372.88 mm²

Difference: 482.74 mm² (129%)

RX1 sensor is approx. 2.29x bigger than X2 sensor.

Pixel pitch

5.93 µm

4.8 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: 1.13 µm (24%)

Pixel pitch of RX1 is approx. 24% higher than pixel pitch of X2.

Pixel area

35.16 µm²

23.04 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:

Pixel area difference: 12.12 µm² (53%)

A pixel on Sony RX1 sensor is approx. 53% bigger than a pixel on Leica X2.

Pixel density

2.84 MP/cm²

4.33 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: 1.49 µm (52%)

Leica X2 has approx. 52% higher pixel density than Sony RX1.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Sony RX1

Leica X2

Crop factor

1.01

1.52

Total megapixels

24.70

16.50

Effective megapixels

24.30

16.20

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12500

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

25 cm

30 cm

Macro focus range

30 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

35 mm

36 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.0

f2.8

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f4.3

Metering

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

30 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Electronic and Optical (optional)

Electronic (optional)

White balance presets

Screen size

2.7"

Screen resolution

1,229,000 dots

230,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo

SD/SDHC card

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Lithium-Ion NP-BX1 battery

Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery

Weight

482 g

345 g

Dimensions

113 x 65 x 70 mm

124 x 69 x 52 mm

Year

2012

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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

Sony RX1 diagonal

w = 35.80 mm
h = 23.90 mm

Diagonal = √

35.80² + 23.90²

= 43.04 mm

Leica X2 diagonal

w = 23.60 mm
h = 15.80 mm

Diagonal = √

23.60² + 15.80²

= 28.40 mm

Surface area

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

RX1 sensor area

Width = 35.80 mm
Height = 23.90 mm

Surface area = 35.80 × 23.90 = 855.62 mm²

X2 sensor area

Width = 23.60 mm
Height = 15.80 mm

Surface area = 23.60 × 15.80 = 372.88 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

RX1 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 35.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6038 pixels

Pixel pitch =	35.80	× 1000	= 5.93 µm
	6038

X2 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4913 pixels

Pixel pitch =	23.60	× 1000	= 4.8 µm
	4913

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

RX1 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.93 µm

Pixel area = 5.93² = 35.16 µm²

X2 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.8 µm

Pixel area = 4.8² = 23.04 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

RX1 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 6038 pixels
Sensor width = 3.58 cm

Pixel density = (6038 / 3.58)² / 1000000 = 2.84 MP/cm²

X2 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4913 pixels
Sensor width = 2.36 cm

Pixel density = (4913 / 2.36)² / 1000000 = 4.33 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

RX1 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 35.80 mm
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.30

r = 35.80/23.90 = 1.5

X = √	24.30 × 1000000	= 4025
	1.5

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4025 × 1.5 = 6038
Resolution vertical: X = 4025

Sensor resolution = 6038 x 4025

X2 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor height = 15.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.20

r = 23.60/15.80 = 1.49

X = √	16.20 × 1000000	= 3297
	1.49

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3297 × 1.49 = 4913
Resolution vertical: X = 3297

Sensor resolution = 4913 x 3297

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

RX1 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.04 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 1.01
	43.04

X2 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.40 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 1.52
	28.40

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).

RX1 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 1.01
Aperture = f2.0

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0) × 1.01 = f2

X2 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 1.52
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 1.52 = f4.3

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