Leica M11 has a
60.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Maestro III processor. On the other hand, Leica M9-P has a
18.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CCD sensor .
Leica M11's sensor provides 42MP more than Leica M9-P'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 Leica M9-P'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 and M9-P sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Leica M11 and Leica M9-P Cameras
Leica M11 and Leica M9-P have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Leica M9-P has 233% larger pixel area (47.73µm 2 vs 14.33µm 2 ) compared to Leica M11, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Leica M11 and Leica M9-P sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, M11 has scored 100, 32 points higher than M9-P.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Leica M11
100
26.3 bits
14.8 Evs
3376 ISO
Leica M9-P
68
22.5 bits
11.6 Evs
854 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Leica M11
or the
Leica M9-P ,
including hyperfocal distance.
