Leica M9-P vs Sony A7R III
78 Imaging
64 Features
30 Overall
50


63 Imaging
77 Features
93 Overall
83
Leica M9-P vs Sony A7R III Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 18MP - Full frame Sensor
- 2.5" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 2500
- No Anti-Alias Filter
- No Video
- Leica M Mount
- 600g - 139 x 80 x 37mm
- Introduced June 2011
- Earlier Model is Leica M9
(Full Review)
- 42MP - Full frame Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 100 - 32000 (Boost to 102400)
- Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
- No Anti-Alias Filter
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 3840 x 2160 video
- Sony E Mount
- 657g - 127 x 96 x 74mm
- Introduced October 2017
- Succeeded the Sony A7R II
- Renewed by Sony A7R IV

Leica M9-P vs Sony A7R III Overview
Here is a in depth comparison of the Leica M9-P and Sony A7R III, both Pro Mirrorless digital cameras by competitors Leica and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the M9-P (18MP) and A7R III (42MP) but they use the same exact sensor dimensions (Full frame).

The M9-P was launched 7 years before the A7R III and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Leica M9-P being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A7R III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.
Before diving through a detailed comparison, below is a concise summary of how the M9-P matches up vs the A7R III in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Leica M9-P vs Sony A7R III Gallery
Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Leica M9-P & Sony Alpha A7R III. The complete galleries are viewable at Leica M9-P Gallery & Sony A7R III Gallery.
Reasons to pick Leica M9-P over the Sony A7R III
M9-P | A7R III |
---|
Reasons to pick Sony A7R III over the Leica M9-P
A7R III | M9-P | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | October 2017 | ![]() | June 2011 | Fresher by 77 months |
Display type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting display |
Display sizing | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Larger display (+0.5") |
Display resolution | 1440k | ![]() | 230k | Clearer display (+1210k dot) |
Touch friendly display | ![]() | Easily navigate |
Common features in the Leica M9-P and Sony A7R III
M9-P | A7R III | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual focus | ![]() | Dial exact focusing | ||
Selfie screen | ![]() | No selfie screen |
Leica M9-P vs Sony A7R III Physical Comparison
For those who are intending to carry your camera, you will need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Leica M9-P has got external measurements of 139mm x 80mm x 37mm (5.5" x 3.1" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 600 grams (1.32 lbs) while the Sony A7R III has measurements of 127mm x 96mm x 74mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.9") accompanied by a weight of 657 grams (1.45 lbs).
See the Leica M9-P and Sony A7R III in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you use during that time. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the M9-P against the A7R III.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the M9-P and A7R III is 78 and 63 respectively.

Leica M9-P vs Sony A7R III Sensor Comparison
In many cases, it can be hard to see the contrast between sensor sizing only by going over a spec sheet. The graphic below might provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the M9-P and A7R III.
Clearly, both of these cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing but not the same MP. You can expect to see the Sony A7R III to offer you greater detail utilizing its extra 24 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images a little more aggressively. The older M9-P is going to be behind in sensor tech.

Leica M9-P vs Sony A7R III Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Leica M9-P vs Sony A7R III Specifications
Leica M9-P | Sony Alpha A7R III | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Make | Leica | Sony |
Model type | Leica M9-P | Sony Alpha A7R III |
Category | Pro Mirrorless | Pro Mirrorless |
Introduced | 2011-06-21 | 2017-10-25 |
Physical type | Rangefinder-style mirrorless | SLR-style mirrorless |
Sensor Information | ||
Chip | - | Bionz X |
Sensor type | CCD | BSI-CMOS |
Sensor size | Full frame | Full frame |
Sensor measurements | 36 x 24mm | 35.9 x 24mm |
Sensor area | 864.0mm² | 861.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 18 megapixels | 42 megapixels |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Full resolution | 5212 x 3472 | 7952 x 5304 |
Max native ISO | 2500 | 32000 |
Max boosted ISO | - | 102400 |
Lowest native ISO | 80 | 100 |
RAW support | ||
Lowest boosted ISO | - | 50 |
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focusing | ||
Touch focus | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Autofocus center weighted | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detection autofocus | ||
Contract detection autofocus | ||
Phase detection autofocus | ||
Total focus points | - | 425 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Leica M | Sony E |
Amount of lenses | 59 | 121 |
Crop factor | 1 | 1 |
Screen | ||
Screen type | Fixed Type | Tilting |
Screen size | 2.5 inch | 3 inch |
Resolution of screen | 230 thousand dots | 1,440 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch display | ||
Screen tech | TFT color LCD | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (rangefinder) | Electronic |
Viewfinder resolution | - | 3,686 thousand dots |
Viewfinder coverage | - | 100% |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.68x | 0.78x |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 4 secs | 30 secs |
Highest shutter speed | 1/4000 secs | 1/8000 secs |
Continuous shooting rate | 2.0 frames per second | 10.0 frames per second |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Change white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash distance | no built-in flash | no built-in flash |
Flash options | Front Curtain, Rear Curtain, Slow sync | Off, Auto, Fill-flash, Slow Sync, Rear Sync, Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p) |
Max video resolution | None | 3840x2160 |
Video file format | - | MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S |
Microphone port | ||
Headphone port | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Built-In |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 3.1 Gen 1(5 GBit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 600g (1.32 pounds) | 657g (1.45 pounds) |
Dimensions | 139 x 80 x 37mm (5.5" x 3.1" x 1.5") | 127 x 96 x 74mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.9") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 68 | 100 |
DXO Color Depth rating | 22.5 | 26.0 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 11.6 | 14.7 |
DXO Low light rating | 854 | 3523 |
Other | ||
Battery life | 350 images | 650 images |
Battery type | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | - | NP-FZ100 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures)) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Storage type | SD/SDHC card | Two SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II support on one) |
Card slots | Single | Dual |
Cost at launch | $7,995 | $2,800 |