Leica M9 vs Olympus E-M1X

Its time to take a closer look at the Leica M9 and Olympus E-M1X, both Pro Mirrorless cameras by competitors Leica and Olympus. The sensor resolution of the M9 (18MP) and the E-M1X (20MP) is relatively close but the M9 (Full frame) and E-M1X (Four Thirds) offer different sensor size.

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The M9 was revealed 10 years prior to the E-M1X which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Leica M9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus E-M1X being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving into a in depth comparison, here is a short view of how the M9 scores versus the E-M1X in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Leica M9 & Olympus OM-D E-M1X. The full galleries are provided at Leica M9 Gallery & Olympus E-M1X Gallery.

If you're planning to travel with your camera regularly, you have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Leica M9 provides external measurements of 139mm x 80mm x 37mm (5.5" x 3.1" x 1.5") along with a weight of 585 grams (1.29 lbs) while the Olympus E-M1X has proportions of 144mm x 147mm x 75mm (5.7" x 5.8" x 3.0") having a weight of 997 grams (2.20 lbs).

See the Leica M9 and Olympus E-M1X in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose at that time. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the M9 and the E-M1X.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the M9 and E-M1X is 79 and 54 respectively.

Quite often, it's difficult to imagine the gap in sensor dimensions simply by researching technical specs. The pic here might provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the M9 and E-M1X.

As you can tell, each of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The M9 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-M1X will render more detail because of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more aged M9 will be behind in sensor innovation.