Leica M11 Monochrome has a
60.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Maestro III processor. On the other hand, Nikon D850 has a
46.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor.
Leica M11 Monochrome's sensor provides 14MP more than Nikon D850's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Nikon D850's sensor doesn't have an anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the M11 Monochrome and D850 sensor size comparison.
Leica M11 Monochrome and Nikon D850 have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
At Camera Decision, we also look at Dxo Mark sensors when available as we think it is a good indicator of image quality.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Leica M11 Monochrome |
100 |
26.3 bits |
14.8 Evs |
3376 ISO |
Nikon D850 |
100 |
26.4 bits |
14.8 Evs |
2660 ISO |