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Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom Comparison

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Nikon L120

14 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) CCD Sensor

Nikon L120
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Leica M-Monochrom

18 MP | Full frame (36 x 24 mm) CCD Sensor

Leica M-Monochrom
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Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Nikon L120, which was introduced in February 2011 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 14.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Leica M-Monochrom, which was introduced in May 2012 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 18.0MP Full frame sensor. There is 15 months difference between L120 and M-Monochrom so we don't expect to see a huge technology difference between these two cameras but it would still give an advantage to younger M-Monochrom, especially in sensor tech.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon L120 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-02-09
  • 14MP - 1/2.3-inch CCD Sensor
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • 25-525 mm F3.1-5.8 Zoom Lens
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • 1 fps continuous shooting
  • HD - 1280 x 720 video resolution
  • 431g. 110 x 77 x 78 mm
  • Replaced Nikon Coolpix L110 Compare

Leica M-Monochrom Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2012-05-10
  • 18MP - Full frame CCD Sensor
  • ISO 160 - 10000
  • Leica M Mount
  • 2.5" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (rangefinder) viewfinder
  • 2 fps continuous shooting
  • No Video Mode
  • 600g. 139 x 80 x 37 mm

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon Coolpix L120 over Leica M-Monochrom
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs No very handy for portraits
LCD Screen Size
3" vs 2.5" 0.5 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution
921k dots vs 230k dots 300% higher resolution screen
Weight
431 g vs 600 g 169 g lighter
Max Video Resolution
1280 x 720 vs None Higher Resolution Video


Reasons to choose Leica M-Monochrom over Nikon Coolpix L120
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Optical vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Max Sensor Resolution
18 MP vs 14 MP 28% more pixels
Max ISO
10.000 vs 6.400 56% higher Max ISO
Continuous Shooting
2.0fps vs 1.0fps 1 fps faster
Battery Life
350 shots vs 330 shots 20 more frames with a single charge
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
Sensor Pixel Area
47.73µm2 vs 2.01µm2 2274% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Strengths of Nikon Coolpix L120 and Leica M-Monochrom
Common Weaknesses of Nikon Coolpix L120 and Leica M-Monochrom
Fixed Screen
Fixed Type vs No No flexible viewing angles
LCD Screen Size
3" vs 2.5" Small display
Continuous Shooting
1.0fps vs 2.0fps Slow shooting speeds
Environmental Sealing
No vs No not suitable for tough conditions
Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon L120 has external dimensions of 110 x 77 x 78 mm (4.33 x 3.03 x 3.07″) and weighs 431 g (0.95 lb / 15.20 oz) (including batteries). Leica M-Monochrom has external dimensions of 139 x 80 x 37 mm (5.47 x 3.15 x 1.46″) and weighs 600 g (1.32 lb / 21.16 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom. Nikon L120 is 29mm narrower and 3mm shorter than Leica M-Monochrom but it is also 41mm thicker. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Nikon L120 has a built-in lens but Leica M-Monochrom doesn't. Once you put a lens on M-Monochrom, its thickness will increase significantly.

Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom.

Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom.
Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Nikon L120 is significantly lighter (169g ) than the Leica M-Monochrom which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on M-Monochrom, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Nikon Coolpix L120 nor Leica M-Monochrom provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon L120's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Leica M-Monochrom's 2.5" screen.

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.
Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom: Sensor Comparison

Nikon L120 has a 14.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Expeed C2 processor. On the other hand, Leica M-Monochrom has a 18.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CCD sensor .

Below you can see the L120 and M-Monochrom sensor size comparison.

Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom Cameras


As seen above, Leica M-Monochrom has a 30.8x Larger sensor area than Nikon L120. 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.

What types of Photography are Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Nikon L120 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Leica M-Monochrom for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Nikon L120 for Street Photography

GOOD

Leica M-Monochrom for Street Photography

AVERAGE
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Read the details

Nikon L120 for Sports Photography

POOR

Leica M-Monochrom for Sports Photography

AVERAGE
Image Stabilization
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
525 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 1.0fps
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.80
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Slow Continuous Shooting: 2.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Focus Points
Read the details

Nikon L120 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Leica M-Monochrom for Daily Photography

GOOD
Compact Body
21.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
431g
Body Thickness 78mm
Read the details
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
600g
Read the details

Nikon L120 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Leica M-Monochrom for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
No Live-view
Read the details

Nikon L120 vs Leica M-Monochrom: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Nikon L120 and Leica M-Monochrom scores compare:

Nikon L120
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #216 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #792 out of 1223 in all Cameras
Leica M-Monochrom
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #122 out of 127 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #609 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Leica M-Monochrom has a higher Overall Score than the Nikon L120 mainly because of its huge advantage in Image quality. In all other areas, Nikon L120 excels. It is a tough choice!
If image quality is your priority, get the Leica M-Monochrom.
If you are ready to compromise image quality for extra features, compactness and value, choose Nikon L120

Nikon L120
Nikon L120
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Leica M-Monochrom
Leica M-Monochrom
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Leica M-Monochrom vs Nikon L120 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Nikon Coolpix L120 Leica M-Monochrom
Brand Nikon Leica
Announced 2011-02-09 2012-05-10
Body Type Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type CCD CCD
Size 1/2.3-inch Full frame
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 36 x 24 mm
Area 28.07mm2 864.00mm2
Megapixels 14 megapixels 18 megapixels
Max Resolution 4320 x 3240 5212 x 3472
Max Native Light sensitivity 6,400 ISO 10,000 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 80 ISO 160 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 9 n/a
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Leica M
Lens Focal Range 25-525 mm (21×) no lens
Max Aperture F3.1-5.8 no lens
Macro Focus Range 1cm no lens
Screen
Type Fixed type Fixed type
Size 3" 2.5"
Resolution 921k dots 230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Optical (rangefinder)
Viewfinder Coverage n/a Unknown
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.68x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/4000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 6.00 m no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/180s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 1.0 fps 2.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 1280 x 720 None
Video Formats Motion JPEG n/a
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity None None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 431g 600g
Dimensions 110 x 77 x 78mm 139 x 80 x 37mm
Battery Life 330 shots 350 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
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