Nikon D500 has a
21.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor. On the other hand, Leica M-E Typ 220 has a
18.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CCD sensor .
Another difference between these two cameras is that Nikon D500'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 D500 and M-E Typ 220 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Leica M-E Typ 220 has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Nikon D500. 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 Nikon D500 and Leica M-E Typ 220 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, D500 has scored 84, 15 points higher than M-E Typ 220.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon D500 |
84 |
24.1 bits |
14.0 Evs |
1324 ISO |
Leica M-E Typ 220 |
69 |
22.7 bits |
11.7 Evs |
787 ISO |