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 Sony A7S and Leica M-Monochrom side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7S has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89″) and weighs 489 g (1.08 lb / 17.25 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 Sony A7S and Leica M-Monochrom. Leica M-Monochrom is 14mm shorter and 11mm thinner than Sony A7S but it is also 12mm wider.
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Leica M-Monochrom Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7S and Leica M-Monochrom.
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Leica M-Monochrom Size and Weight - Back View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Leica M-Monochrom.
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S 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.
Sony A7S is significantly lighter (111g ) than the Leica M-Monochrom 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 Sony A7S 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
Weather Sealing
With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7S has a big advantage over M-Monochrom which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Sony A7S's 3 LCD screen is slightly larger than Leica M-Monochrom's 2.5" screen.
In addition to the size advantage, Sony A7S 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 M-Monochrom has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7S.
Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Leica M-Monochrom has a 18.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CCD sensor .
Leica M-Monochrom's sensor provides 6MP more than Sony A7S's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the A7S and M-Monochrom sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Leica M-Monochrom Cameras
Sony A7S 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.
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 Sony A7S has an advantage over Leica M-Monochrom. There are 128 lenses for Sony A7S's Sony E 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 31 lenses for Sony E mount and 0 lenses for Leica M mount with IS.
Lens Type |
# of Sony A7S Lenses |
# of Leica M-Monochrom Lenses |
Standard Zoom |
12 (9 Full Frame) |
n/a |
Standard Prime |
18 (9 Full Frame) |
15 (15 Full Frame) |
Wideangle Zoom |
7 (6 Full Frame) |
1 (1 Full Frame) |
Wideangle Prime |
42 (26 Full Frame) |
31 (31 Full Frame) |
Telephoto Zoom |
9 (7 Full Frame) |
n/a |
Telephoto Prime |
18 (14 Full Frame) |
10 (10 Full Frame) |
SuperZoom |
8 (1 Full Frame) |
n/a |
Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
2 (0 Full Frame) |
n/a |
Macro Prime |
8 (7 Full Frame) |
1 (1 Full Frame) |
Perspective Control Prime |
2 (2 Full Frame) |
1 (1 Full Frame) |
Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
n/a |
TOTAL |
128 (81 Full Frame) |
59 (59 Full Frame) |
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S 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.
Sony A7S for Portrait Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Portrait Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
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
Sony A7S for Street Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Street Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
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
Sony A7S for Sports Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Sports Photography
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
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
Sony A7S for Daily Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Daily Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details
Sony A7S for Landscape Photography
Leica M-Monochrom for Landscape Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
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
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 Sony A7S 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 Sony A7S and Leica M-Monochrom scores compare:
Sony A7S
Ranked
#39 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#71 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Leica M-Monochrom
Ranked
#121 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#606 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Sony A7S is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Leica M-Monochrom in all criteria. It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money
General |
Sony Alpha A7S |
Leica M-Monochrom |
Brand |
Sony |
Leica |
Announced |
2014-04-06 |
2012-05-10 |
Body Type |
SLR-style mirrorless |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
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 |
12 megapixels |
18 megapixels |
Max Resolution |
4240 x 2832 |
5212 x 3472 |
Max Native Light sensitivity |
409,600 ISO |
10,000 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 |
25 |
n/a |
Lens |
|
|
Manual Focus |
|
|
Lens Mount |
Sony E |
Leica M |
Number of Available Lenses |
128 |
59 |
Screen |
|
|
Type |
Tilting |
Fixed type |
Size |
3 |
2.5" |
Resolution |
1,230k dots |
230k dots |
Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
Viewfinder |
Electronic |
Optical (rangefinder) |
Viewfinder Resolution |
2,359k dots |
no electronic viewfinder |
Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
Unknown |
Viewfinder Magnification |
0.71x |
0.68x |
Photography Features |
|
|
Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/8000s |
1/4000s |
Shutter Priority |
|
|
Aperture Priority |
|
|
Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
Custom White Balance |
|
|
Image Stabilization |
No |
No |
Built-in Flash |
|
|
Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
1/180s |
External Flash |
|
|
Continuous Shooting |
5.0 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, AVCHD, XAVC |
n/a |
Microphone Port |
|
|
Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
Environmental Sealing |
|
|
Weight |
489g |
600g |
Dimensions |
127 x 94 x 48mm |
139 x 80 x 37mm |
Battery Life |
360 shots |
350 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
Timelapse Recording |
With Downloadable App |
|
GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
DxO Overall Score |
87 |
not tested |
DxO Color Depth |
23.9 |
not tested |
DxO Dynamic Range |
13.2 |
not tested |
DxO Low Light ISO |
3702 |
not tested |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |