Leica M9-P vs Sony NEX-5
78 Imaging
63 Features
30 Overall
49


89 Imaging
54 Features
58 Overall
55
Leica M9-P vs Sony NEX-5 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
- Released June 2011
- Earlier Model is Leica M9
(Full Review)
- 14MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 200 - 12800
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Sony E Mount
- 287g - 111 x 59 x 38mm
- Launched June 2010
- Renewed by Sony NEX-5N

Leica M9-P vs Sony NEX-5 Overview
Let's look more closely at the Leica M9-P versus Sony NEX-5, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Leica and Sony. There is a substantial difference between the image resolutions of the M9-P (18MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the M9-P (Full frame) and NEX-5 (APS-C) come with different sensor measurements.

The M9-P was released 13 months after the NEX-5 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both the cameras offer the identical body type (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).
Before going straight into a in depth comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the M9-P scores versus the NEX-5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Leica M9-P vs Sony NEX-5 Gallery
This is a sample of the gallery pics for Leica M9-P & Sony Alpha NEX-5. The complete galleries are available at Leica M9-P Gallery & Sony NEX-5 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Leica M9-P over the Sony NEX-5
M9-P | NEX-5 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Launched | June 2011 | ![]() | June 2010 | Newer by 13 months |
Reasons to pick Sony NEX-5 over the Leica M9-P
NEX-5 | M9-P | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Display type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting display |
Display sizing | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Larger display (+0.5") |
Display resolution | 920k | ![]() | 230k | Crisper display (+690k dot) |
Common features in the Leica M9-P and Sony NEX-5
M9-P | NEX-5 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | Very exact focusing | ||
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither comes with selfie screen | ||
Touch display | ![]() | Neither comes with Touch display |
Leica M9-P vs Sony NEX-5 Physical Comparison
For those who are intending to travel with your camera often, you will have to think about its weight and size. The Leica M9-P comes with outer measurements of 139mm x 80mm x 37mm (5.5" x 3.1" x 1.5") along with a weight of 600 grams (1.32 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5 has specifications of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).
Contrast the Leica M9-P versus Sony NEX-5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are using at that moment. Below is the front view physical size comparison of the M9-P against the NEX-5.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the M9-P and NEX-5 is 78 and 89 respectively.

Leica M9-P vs Sony NEX-5 Sensor Comparison
Generally, it's tough to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions only by going over technical specs. The picture underneath might provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the M9-P and NEX-5.
As you have seen, each of the cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The M9-P due to its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Leica M9-P will offer you greater detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop pics far more aggressively. The more modern M9-P provides a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.

Leica M9-P vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Leica M9-P vs Sony NEX-5 Specifications
Leica M9-P | Sony Alpha NEX-5 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand Name | Leica | Sony |
Model type | Leica M9-P | Sony Alpha NEX-5 |
Category | Pro Mirrorless | Entry-Level Mirrorless |
Released | 2011-06-21 | 2010-06-07 |
Physical type | Rangefinder-style mirrorless | Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | - | Bionz |
Sensor type | CCD | CMOS |
Sensor size | Full frame | APS-C |
Sensor measurements | 36 x 24mm | 23.4 x 15.6mm |
Sensor area | 864.0mm² | 365.0mm² |
Sensor resolution | 18 megapixels | 14 megapixels |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Max resolution | 5212 x 3472 | 4592 x 3056 |
Max native ISO | 2500 | 12800 |
Min native ISO | 80 | 200 |
RAW photos | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focusing | ||
Touch to focus | ||
Continuous autofocus | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Autofocus center weighted | ||
Autofocus multi area | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detect autofocus | ||
Contract detect autofocus | ||
Phase detect autofocus | ||
Total focus points | - | 25 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Leica M | Sony E |
Total lenses | 59 | 121 |
Crop factor | 1 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Type of display | Fixed Type | Tilting |
Display sizing | 2.5 inch | 3 inch |
Resolution of display | 230 thousand dots | 920 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch operation | ||
Display tech | TFT color LCD | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | Optical (rangefinder) | None |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.68x | - |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 4 seconds | 30 seconds |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000 seconds | 1/4000 seconds |
Continuous shutter rate | 2.0fps | 7.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Set white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash distance | no built-in flash | 12.00 m |
Flash settings | Front Curtain, Rear Curtain, Slow sync | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in |
External flash | ||
AEB | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Fastest flash synchronize | - | 1/160 seconds |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
Max video resolution | None | 1920x1080 |
Video file format | - | AVCHD |
Microphone support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 600g (1.32 lbs) | 287g (0.63 lbs) |
Dimensions | 139 x 80 x 37mm (5.5" x 3.1" x 1.5") | 111 x 59 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall rating | 68 | 69 |
DXO Color Depth rating | 22.5 | 22.2 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 11.6 | 12.2 |
DXO Low light rating | 854 | 796 |
Other | ||
Battery life | 350 images | 330 images |
Battery style | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | - | NPFW50 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images)) |
Time lapse feature | ||
Storage type | SD/SDHC card | SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
Card slots | 1 | 1 |
Retail price | $7,995 | $599 |