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Sony A7S vs Leica X1 Comparison

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Sony A7S

12 MP | Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) CMOS Sensor

Sony A7S
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Leica X1

12 MP | APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

Leica X1
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Sony A7S vs Leica X1 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Sony A7S, which was introduced in April 2014 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 12.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Leica X1, which was introduced in December 2009 is a Large Sensor Compact camera with a 12.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, X1 is 5 years older than A7S. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Sony A7S and Leica X1 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A7S Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-04-06
  • 12MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 409600
  • Sony E Mount
  • 3 Tilting Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 5 fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 120 fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 489g. 127 x 94 x 48 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Leica X1 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2009-12-18
  • 12MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • 35 mm f2.80 Prime Lens
  • 2.7" Fixed Type Screen
  • 3 fps continuous shooting
  • No Video Mode
  • 306g. 124 x 60 x 32 mm

Sony A7S was replaced by Sony Alpha 7S II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Sony Alpha A7S
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Leica X1

Leica X1 was replaced by Leica X2. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Leica X2 vs Leica X1
Leica X2 vs Sony Alpha A7S

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Sony A7S and Leica X1 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7S over Leica X1
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs None Better connectivity
LCD Screen
Tilting vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
Max ISO
409.600 vs 3.200 12700% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
25 vs 11 14 more focus points
LCD Screen Size
3 vs 2.7" 0.3 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution
1.230k dots vs 230k dots 434% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/2000s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
5.0fps vs 3.0fps 2 fps faster
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Sensor Pixel Area
71.24µm2 vs 30.56µm2 133% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs None Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
NFC Connection
Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone


Reasons to choose Leica X1 over Sony Alpha A7S
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Weight
306 g vs 489 g 183 g lighter

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7S and Leica X1
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7S and Leica X1
In-body Image Stabilization
No vs No No Built-in stabilization
LCD Screen Size
3 vs 2.7" Small display
Sony A7S vs Leica X1: 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 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.
Sony A7S vs Leica X1: Sensor Comparison

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.

What types of Photography are Sony A7S and Leica X1 Good for?
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

GOOD

Leica X1 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
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

GOOD

Leica X1 for Street Photography

AVERAGE
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

GOOD

Leica X1 for Sports Photography

POOR
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

EXCELLENT

Leica X1 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Compact Body
306g
Read the details

Sony A7S for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Leica X1 for Landscape Photography

POOR
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

Sony A7S vs Leica X1: 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 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
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #39 out of 88 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #71 out of 1223 in all Cameras
Leica X1
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
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.

Sony A7S
Sony A7S
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Leica X1
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Leica X1 vs Sony A7S Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
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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