Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon D5 and Leica M-Monochrom. Leica M-Monochrom is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 21mm narrower, 79mm shorter and 55mm thinner than Nikon D5.
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon D5 and Leica M-Monochrom.
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Leica M-Monochrom is significantly lighter (815g ) than the Nikon D5 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since both Nikon D5 and Leica M-Monochrom have the same Full frame sized sensor, their lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will be similar in size and weight.
Weight Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Thickness Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Nikon D5 has a 21.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 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 D5 and M-Monochrom sensor size comparison.
Nikon D5 and Leica M-Monochrom have almost the same sensor size so none of them has any significant advantage over other in providing control over depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture.
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon D5 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 D5 for Portrait Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Portrait Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
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 D5 for Street Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Street Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
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 D5 for Sports Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Sports Photography
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 14.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
99 Cross Type Focus sensors
153 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 3780 shots
Good Low Light ISO
No Image Stabilization
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 D5 for Daily Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Daily Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
1415g
Body Thickness 92mm
Read the details
Nikon D5 for Landscape Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Landscape Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
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
Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Nikon D5 has an advantage over Leica M-Monochrom. There are 287 lenses for Nikon D5's Nikon F mount, on the other hand there are only 59 lenses for Leica M-Monochrom's Leica M lens mount.
Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. None of these bodies have sensor based image stabilization so you have to buy lenses with Optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 88 lenses for Nikon F mount and 0 lenses for Leica M mount with IS.
| Lens Type |
# of Nikon D5 Lenses |
# of Leica M-Monochrom Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
33 (17 Full Frame) |
n/a |
| Standard Prime |
18 (15 Full Frame) |
15 (15 Full Frame) |
| Wideangle Zoom |
30 (14 Full Frame) |
1 (1 Full Frame) |
| Wideangle Prime |
45 (43 Full Frame) |
31 (31 Full Frame) |
| Telephoto Zoom |
49 (39 Full Frame) |
n/a |
| Telephoto Prime |
41 (40 Full Frame) |
10 (10 Full Frame) |
| SuperZoom |
30 (6 Full Frame) |
n/a |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
8 (3 Full Frame) |
n/a |
| Macro Prime |
22 (19 Full Frame) |
1 (1 Full Frame) |
| Perspective Control Prime |
10 (10 Full Frame) |
1 (1 Full Frame) |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
1 (0 Full Frame) |
n/a |
| TOTAL |
287 (206 Full Frame) |
59 (59 Full Frame) |
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 D5 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 D5 and Leica M-Monochrom scores compare:
Nikon D5
Ranked
#2 out of 10 in Large SLR cameras
Ranked
#25 out of 1156 in all Cameras
Leica M-Monochrom
Ranked
#112 out of 118 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#541 out of 1156 in all Cameras
Nikon D5 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Leica M-Monochrom in all criterias except one: Portability. Leica M-Monochrom is significantly smaller than Nikon D5. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Leica M-Monochrom. Otherwise, Nikon D5 is the better camera overall.
| General |
Nikon D5 |
Leica M-Monochrom |
| Brand |
Nikon |
Leica |
| Announced |
2016-01-05 |
2012-05-10 |
| Body Type |
Large SLR |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
| Price |
$6,496.95 |
$7,950.00 |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CCD |
| Size |
Full frame |
Full frame |
| Dimensions |
35.8 x 23.9 mm |
36 x 24 mm |
| Area |
855.62mm2 |
864.00mm2 |
| Megapixels |
21 megapixels |
18 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5588 x 3712 |
5212 x 3472 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
102,400 ISO |
10,000 ISO |
| Max Boosted Light Sensitivity |
3280000 ISO |
- |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
100 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 |
153 |
n/a |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Nikon F |
Leica M |
| Number of Available Lenses |
287 |
59 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fixed type |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3.2″ |
2.5″ |
| Resolution |
2,359k dots |
230k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Optical (pentaprism) |
Optical (rangefinder) |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
Unknown |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.72 |
0.68 |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Shutter Speed |
1/8000s |
1/4000s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
No |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Max Flash Sync |
no built-in flash |
1/180s |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
14.0 fps |
2.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
3840 x 2160 |
None |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
n/a |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Optional |
None |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
1415g |
600g |
| Dimensions |
160 x 158.5 x 92mm |
139 x 80 x 37mm |
| Battery Life |
3780 shots |
350 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
Optional |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
88 |
not tested |
| DxO Color Depth |
25.1 |
not tested |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
12.3 |
not tested |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
2434 |
not tested |
|
Report a correction |
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