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 X1 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 X1 has external dimensions of 124 x 60 x 32 mm (4.88 x 2.36 x 1.26″) and weighs 306 g (0.67 lb / 10.79 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7S and Leica X1. Leica X1 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 3mm narrower, 34mm shorter and 16mm thinner than Sony A7S. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Leica X1 has a built-in lens but Sony A7S doesn't. Once you put a lens on A7S, its thickness will increase significantly.
![Sony A7S vs Leica X1 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Leica X1 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Leica X1.
![Sony A7S vs Leica X1 Camera Size Comparison - Top View]()
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S and Leica X1 Size
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Leica X1 is significantly lighter (183g ) than the Sony A7S 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 A7S, the total kit will weigh much higher.
Weather Sealing
With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7S has a big advantage over X1 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 X1's 2.7" 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 X1 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7S.
Both Sony A7S and Leica X1 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Sony A7S's sensor is Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) and Leica X1's sensor is APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ).
Since Sony A7S's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Leica X1.
Below you can see the A7S and X1 sensor size comparison.
![Sony A7S vs Leica X1 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Leica X1 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A7S has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Leica X1. 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.
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Leica X1 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 X1 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 APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
External Flash Shoe
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Sony A7S for Street Photography
Leica X1 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 APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fast Lens at Wide: f2.80
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
35 mm - Poor Wide Angle Coverage
Read the details
Sony A7S for Sports Photography
Leica X1 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
External Flash Shoe
11 Focus Points
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
35 mm Tele Lens
Read the details
Sony A7S for Daily Photography
Leica X1 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 X1 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 APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
35 mm - Poor Wide Angle Coverage
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 X1, 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 X1 scores compare:
Sony A7S
Ranked
#39 out of 88 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#71 out of 1223 in all Cameras
Leica X1
Ranked
#49 out of 61 in Large sensor compact cameras
Ranked
#614 out of 1223 in all Cameras
Sony A7S is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Leica X1 in all criteria except one: Portability. But the size difference between these cameras are negligible in real world so it is not a big disadvantage for Sony A7S.
| General |
Sony Alpha A7S |
Leica X1 |
| Brand |
Sony |
Leica |
| Announced |
2014-04-06 |
2009-12-18 |
| Body Type |
SLR-style mirrorless |
Large sensor compact |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
| Size |
Full frame |
APS-C |
| Dimensions |
35.8 x 23.9 mm |
23.6 x 15.8 mm |
| Area |
855.62mm2 |
372.88mm2 |
| Megapixels |
12 megapixels |
12 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
4240 x 2832 |
4272 x 2856 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
409,600 ISO |
3,200 ISO |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
100 ISO |
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 |
25 |
11 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Sony E |
fixed lens |
| Lens Focal Range |
no lens |
35 mm (1×) |
| Max Aperture |
no lens |
F2.8 |
| Macro Focus Range |
no lens |
30cm |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Tilting |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3 |
2.7" |
| Resolution |
1,230k dots |
230k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Electronic |
None |
| Viewfinder Resolution |
2,359k dots |
no electronic viewfinder |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
n/a |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.71x |
n/a |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/8000s |
1/2000s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
No |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
5.0 fps |
3.0 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 |
306g |
| Dimensions |
127 x 94 x 48mm |
124 x 60 x 32mm |
| Battery Life |
360 shots |
n/a |
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 |
|
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