Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica M9-P Comparison

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Olympus E-M10 IV

20 MP | Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Leica M9-P

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

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Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica M9-P Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing E-M10 IV and M9-P, two Mirrorless cameras from Olympus and Leica. Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV is a Entry-Level Mirrorless class camera and Leica M9-P is a Pro Mirrorless class camera.

Olympus E-M10 IV was introduced to market in August 2020 and Leica M9-P was launched in June 2011. As you can see, M9-P is 9 years older than E-M10 IV. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Olympus E-M10 IV Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2020-08-04

20MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

ISO 200 - 25600

Micro Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Tilting Screen

2360k dot Electronic viewfinder

15.0fps continuous shooting

4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution

Built-in Wireless

383g. 122 x 84 x 49 mm

Replaced Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III Compare

Leica M9-P Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2011-06-21

18MP - Full frame CCD Sensor

No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter

ISO 80 - 2500

Leica M Mount

2.5" Fixed Type Screen

Optical (rangefinder) viewfinder

2.0fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

600g. 139 x 80 x 37 mm

Replaced Leica M9 Compare

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV over Leica M9-P

Wireless Connection	Built-In vs None	Better connectivity
Live Composite Mode	Yes vs No	Excellent help for long-exposure photography
Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
LCD Screen	Tilting vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
Built-in Flash	Yes vs No	Useful in low-light
Touch Screen	Yes vs No	Easy control of camera functions
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs No	very handy for portraits
Max Sensor Resolution	20 MP vs 18 MP	11% more pixels
Max ISO	25.600 vs 2.500	924% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Size	3" vs 2.5"	0.5 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution	1.040k dots vs 230k dots	352% higher resolution screen
Continuous Shooting	15.0fps vs 2.0fps	13 fps faster
Battery Life	360 shots vs 350 shots	10 more frames with a single charge
Weight	383 g vs 600 g	217 g lighter
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs No	creative shooting
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160 vs None	Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing	Yes vs No	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD	Yes vs No	Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
Bluetooth	Yes vs No	Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Focus Bracketing	Yes vs No	Take multiple photos shifting focus point
Smartphone Remote	Yes vs No	Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support	UHS-II vs none	Read/Write in Ultra High Speeds

Reasons to choose Leica M9-P over Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV

Viewfinder Magnification	0.68x vs 0.62x	Larger Viewfinder
Sensor Pixel Area	47.73µm² vs 11.22µm²	325% larger pixel area

Common Strengths of Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs Yes	Better for flash photography
Viewfinder	Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Optical)	Better framing and control
RAW Support	Yes vs Yes	Better image quality
Max Resolution	20 MP vs 18 MP	Bigger prints and more details

Common Weaknesses of Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P

LCD Screen Size	3" vs 2.5"	Small display
Environmental Sealing	No vs No	not suitable for tough conditions

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Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica M9-P: 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 Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Olympus E-M10 IV has external dimensions of 122 x 84 x 49 mm (4.8 x 3.31 x 1.93″) and weighs 383 g (0.84 lb / 13.51 oz) (including batteries). Leica M9-P 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 Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P. Leica M9-P is 4mm shorter and 12mm thinner than Olympus E-M10 IV but it is also 17mm wider.

Comparison image of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P.

Comparison image of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P.

Top View Comparison image of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus E-M10 IV is significantly lighter (217g ) than the Leica M9-P 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 Leica M9-P has a Full frame sensor and Olympus E-M10 IV has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Olympus E-M10 IV's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Leica M9-P lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

E-M10 IV

M9-P

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

E-M10 IV

M9-P

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV nor Leica M9-P 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 Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Olympus E-M10 IV's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Leica M9-P's 2.5" screen.

In addition to the size advantage, Olympus E-M10 IV LCD screen also has a Tilting feature where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Leica M9-P has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to E-M10 IV.

Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica M9-P: Sensor Comparison

Olympus E-M10 IV has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VIII processor. On the other hand, Leica M9-P has a 18.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CCD sensor .

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 moire occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the E-M10 IV and M9-P sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P Cameras

As seen above, Leica M9-P has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-M10 IV. 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.

Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica M9-P Comparison of Available Lenses

Which camera has more lenses?

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 Olympus E-M10 IV has an advantage over Leica M9-P. There are 108 lenses for Olympus E-M10 IV's Micro Four Thirds mount, on the other hand there are only 60 lenses for Leica M9-P's Leica M lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Olympus E-M10 IV has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization (IS) which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. E-M10 IV's built-in Image stabilization system is effective to compensate vibration up to 4.5-stops according to CIPA standards.
On the other hand, Leica M9-P doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 0 lenses for Leica M mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type	# of Olympus E-M10 IV Lenses	# of Leica M9-P Lenses
Standard Zoom	15	n/a
Standard Prime	13	15 (15 Full Frame)
Wideangle Zoom	6	1 (1 Full Frame)
Wideangle Prime	29	32 (32 Full Frame)
Telephoto Zoom	18	n/a
Telephoto Prime	9	10 (10 Full Frame)
SuperZoom	8	n/a
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	5	n/a
Macro Prime	4	1 (1 Full Frame)
Perspective Control Prime	n/a	1 (1 Full Frame)
Telephoto Mirror Prime	1	n/a
TOTAL	108	60 (60 Full Frame)

What types of Photography are Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P 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.

Olympus E-M10 IV for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Leica M9-P for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
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

Olympus E-M10 IV for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Leica M9-P for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized 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

Olympus E-M10 IV for Sports Photography

GOOD

Leica M9-P for Sports Photography

AVERAGE

Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 8.7fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
121 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Environmental Sealings
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

Olympus E-M10 IV for Daily Photography

GOOD

Leica M9-P for Daily Photography

GOOD

Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
383g
Body Thickness 49mm
Read the details

Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
600g
Read the details

Olympus E-M10 IV for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Leica M9-P for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Live-view
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

Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica M9-P: 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 Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 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 Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica M9-P scores compare:

Olympus E-M10 IV

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #68 out of 90 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #144 out of 1229 in all Cameras

Leica M9-P

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #119 out of 129 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #516 out of 1229 in all Cameras

Olympus E-M10 IV has a higher Overall Score than the Leica M9-P. It also has more features, more compact body and offers higher value for the money. But there is one area that E-M10 IV trails behind the M9-P: Imaging.
If image quality is the most important aspect in a camera, choose the Leica M9-P. If not, we recommend the Olympus E-M10 IV.

Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M10 IV Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV	Leica M9-P
Brand	Olympus	Leica
Announced	2020-08-04	2011-06-21
Body Type	SLR-style mirrorless	Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type	CMOS	CCD
Size	Four Thirds	Full frame
Dimensions	17.4 x 13 mm	36 x 24 mm
Area	226.20mm²	864.00mm²
Megapixels	20 megapixels	18 megapixels
Max Resolution	5184 x 3888	5212 x 3472
Max Native Light sensitivity	25,600 ISO	2,500 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	25600 ISO	-
Min Native Light sensitivity	200 ISO	80 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity	100 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	121	n/a
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Micro Four Thirds	Leica M
Number of Available Lenses	108	60
Screen
Type	Tilting	Fixed type
Size	3"	2.5"
Resolution	1,040k dots	230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Electronic	Optical (rangefinder)
Viewfinder Resolution	2,360k dots	no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage	100%	n/a
Viewfinder Magnification	0.62x	0.68x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/4000s
Max Electronic Shutter	1/16000s	n/a
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift	No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	7.20 m (at ISO 200)	no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync	1/250s	s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	8.7 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	Built-In	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	383g	600g
Dimensions	122 x 84 x 49mm	139 x 80 x 37mm
Battery Life	360 shots	350 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	68
DxO Color Depth	not tested	22.5
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	11.6
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	854
	Report a correction	Report a correction