Leica M9 has a 18.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CCD sensor . You can shoot at maximum resolution of 5212 x 3472 pixels with aspect ratios of and 3:2. M9 has a native ISO range of 80 - 2500 and it can save files in RAW format which gives you a wider room for post processing.
Leica M9 is not the highest resolution Full frame camera. Blackmagic PYXIS 12K with its 98.8MP sensor is leading in this class. Check the comparison of Leica M9 vs Blackmagic PYXIS 12K or take a look at Highest resolution Mirrorless cameras list.
Leica M9 DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. Leica M9 sensor has been tested by DxO Mark and got an overall score of 69 for its image quality. You can find the details of their analysis of Leica M9 here.
Anti-Aliasing Filter
Another important feature about Leica M9's sensor is the lack of anti-alias (Low-pass) filter. Removing anti-aliasing filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but on the other side it also increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Let's look at how the size of the Leica M9's Full frame sensor compares with other standard sensor sizes.
Comparison image of Leica M9 Sensor Size with other standard sensors
Sensor size is what determines the circle of confusion, and therefore how much
depth of field Leica M9 gives you at any given aperture.
You can
calculate
the exact depth of field for the Leica M9
at any focal length, aperture and subject distance, including the hyperfocal distance
for landscapes and the very shallow focus zone you get with long telephoto lenses.
