Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1
78 Imaging
63 Features
30 Overall
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71 Imaging
52 Features
85 Overall
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Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 18MP - Full frame Sensor
- 2.5" Fixed Display
- ISO 80 - 2500
- No Anti-Alias Filter
- No Video
- Leica M Mount
- 600g - 139 x 80 x 37mm
- Announced June 2011
- Superseded the Leica M9
(Full Review)
- 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 3" Tilting Screen
- ISO 100 - 25600
- Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 497g - 130 x 94 x 63mm
- Released October 2013
- Renewed by Olympus E-M1 II
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1 Overview
Its time to take a more detailed look at the Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1, both Pro Mirrorless digital cameras by competitors Leica and Olympus. The resolution of the M9-P (18MP) and the E-M1 (16MP) is relatively similar but the M9-P (Full frame) and E-M1 (Four Thirds) offer totally different sensor measurements.
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music videoThe M9-P was released 3 years prior to the E-M1 which is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Leica M9-P being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus E-M1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.
Before getting into a more detailed comparison, here is a simple summary of how the M9-P matches up against the E-M1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1 Gallery
Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Leica M9-P & Olympus OM-D E-M1. The complete galleries are viewable at Leica M9-P Gallery & Olympus E-M1 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Leica M9-P over the Olympus E-M1
| M9-P | E-M1 |
|---|
Reasons to pick Olympus E-M1 over the Leica M9-P
| E-M1 | M9-P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Released | October 2013 | June 2011 | Newer by 28 months | |
| Screen type | Tilting | Fixed | Tilting screen | |
| Screen size | 3" | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.5") | |
| Screen resolution | 1037k | 230k | Clearer screen (+807k dot) | |
| Touch screen | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Leica M9-P and Olympus E-M1
| M9-P | E-M1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus manually | Very exact focusing | |||
| Selfie screen | Neither contains selfie screen |
Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1 Physical Comparison
If you're planning to travel with your camera often, you will have to consider its weight and proportions. The Leica M9-P has got outer measurements of 139mm x 80mm x 37mm (5.5" x 3.1" x 1.5") and a weight of 600 grams (1.32 lbs) while the Olympus E-M1 has measurements of 130mm x 94mm x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") accompanied by a weight of 497 grams (1.10 lbs).
See the Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilising during that time. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the M9-P versus the E-M1.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the M9-P and E-M1 is 78 and 71 respectively.
Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1 Sensor Comparison
More often than not, it is tough to see the gap between sensor dimensions merely by reading technical specs. The pic below might give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the M9-P and E-M1.
As you can tell, the 2 cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The M9-P due to its bigger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Leica M9-P will offer you more detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also help you crop photographs way more aggressively. The more aged M9-P is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.
Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1 Screen and ViewFinder
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Leica M9-P vs Olympus E-M1 Specifications
| Leica M9-P | Olympus OM-D E-M1 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Make | Leica | Olympus |
| Model type | Leica M9-P | Olympus OM-D E-M1 |
| Type | Pro Mirrorless | Pro Mirrorless |
| Announced | 2011-06-21 | 2013-10-28 |
| Body design | Rangefinder-style mirrorless | SLR-style mirrorless |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Chip | - | TruePIC VII |
| Sensor type | CCD | CMOS |
| Sensor size | Full frame | Four Thirds |
| Sensor measurements | 36 x 24mm | 17.3 x 13mm |
| Sensor surface area | 864.0mm² | 224.9mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 18MP | 16MP |
| Anti alias filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
| Max resolution | 5212 x 3472 | 4608 x 3456 |
| Max native ISO | 2500 | 25600 |
| Minimum native ISO | 80 | 100 |
| RAW format | ||
| Autofocusing | ||
| Manual focusing | ||
| Touch focus | ||
| Continuous AF | ||
| AF single | ||
| Tracking AF | ||
| AF selectice | ||
| AF center weighted | ||
| AF multi area | ||
| Live view AF | ||
| Face detect AF | ||
| Contract detect AF | ||
| Phase detect AF | ||
| Total focus points | - | 81 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens mount type | Leica M | Micro Four Thirds |
| Amount of lenses | 59 | 107 |
| Crop factor | 1 | 2.1 |
| Screen | ||
| Range of display | Fixed Type | Tilting |
| Display size | 2.5 inch | 3 inch |
| Resolution of display | 230 thousand dot | 1,037 thousand dot |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch function | ||
| Display tech | TFT color LCD | - |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder | Optical (rangefinder) | Electronic |
| Viewfinder resolution | - | 2,360 thousand dot |
| Viewfinder coverage | - | 100% |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.68x | 0.74x |
| Features | ||
| Minimum shutter speed | 4 seconds | 60 seconds |
| Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000 seconds | 1/8000 seconds |
| Continuous shutter speed | 2.0 frames per second | 10.0 frames per second |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Manual exposure | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
| Set WB | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Built-in flash | ||
| Flash distance | no built-in flash | no built-in flash |
| Flash settings | Front Curtain, Rear Curtain, Slow sync | Flash Auto, Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (2nd curtain), Manual |
| External flash | ||
| AEB | ||
| White balance bracketing | ||
| Fastest flash sync | - | 1/320 seconds |
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment exposure | ||
| Average exposure | ||
| Spot exposure | ||
| Partial exposure | ||
| AF area exposure | ||
| Center weighted exposure | ||
| Video features | ||
| Supported video resolutions | - | 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
| Max video resolution | None | 1920x1080 |
| Video format | - | H.264, Motion JPEG |
| Microphone jack | ||
| Headphone jack | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | None | Built-In |
| Bluetooth | ||
| NFC | ||
| HDMI | ||
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| GPS | None | None |
| Physical | ||
| Environment seal | ||
| Water proofing | ||
| Dust proofing | ||
| Shock proofing | ||
| Crush proofing | ||
| Freeze proofing | ||
| Weight | 600 gr (1.32 pounds) | 497 gr (1.10 pounds) |
| Physical dimensions | 139 x 80 x 37mm (5.5" x 3.1" x 1.5") | 130 x 94 x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO Overall rating | 68 | 73 |
| DXO Color Depth rating | 22.5 | 23.0 |
| DXO Dynamic range rating | 11.6 | 12.7 |
| DXO Low light rating | 854 | 757 |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | 350 photographs | 350 photographs |
| Form of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
| Battery ID | - | BLN-1 |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 12 secs, custom) |
| Time lapse feature | ||
| Storage media | SD/SDHC card | SD/SDHC/SDXC |
| Storage slots | Single | Single |
| Pricing at release | $7,995 | $799 |