Leica M8 has a
10.0MP APS-H (27 x 18 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Olympus E-600 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic III+ processor.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Leica M8's sensor lacks 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 M8 and E-600 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Leica M8 and Olympus E-600 Cameras
As seen above, Leica M8 has a 2.2x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-600. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Leica M8 and Olympus E-600 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, M8 has scored 59, 4 points higher than E-600.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Leica M8
59
21.1 bits
11.3 Evs
663 ISO
Olympus E-600
55
21.5 bits
10.3 Evs
541 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 M8
or the
Olympus E-600 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-H versus Four Thirds),
so compare them at the same framing rather than the same focal length.
Put the same focal length on the smaller sensor and it will show less depth of
field, not more, because it also crops tighter. The calculator shows the
full frame equivalent focal length for each body so you can match the framing.
