The website Dpreview, the “original” internet hangout for camera geeks and enthusiasts, has a useful studio scene comparison tool that allows one to pit camera against camera.   I was using it today to compare Sony‘s new RX1R (the new AA filter-less version of the RX1) vs. the old trusty Leica M9.  For fun, I also included two current cameras that have generated much enthusiast interest: the Fuji X100s and the Nikon D800E (admittedly, the Fuji X100s is the only camera of the bunch that doesn’t use a full frame sensor, so it’s sort of the oddball in this sensor grouping but, to me, it’s relevant as a portable and formidable photographic tool).

Here is the overall studio scene, as seen on Dpreview:

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And here are the (left) side 100% crops of the above scene, from each camera, focusing on the label of the Martini bottle (see the red arrow above):

(please click on this image to view at MAXIMUM size and sharpness)

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(Note: the crops above vary in size, depending on the megapixel count of each sensor.)

See anything, possibly unexpected here, regarding sharpness?

Finally, here are the centre 100% crops , focusing on the Queen of Hearts card in the original scene:

(please click on this image to view at MAXIMUM size and sharpness)

Using the Dpreview comparison tool, one can obviously pick and choose other portions of the scene to make comparisons about sharpness, texture rendering, etc.  I’ve chosen two areas that I believe are representative of lens sharpness performance (corner vs. central) with respect to these cameras (the feathers in the far right of the scene are also worth checking out).

—Peter.

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If you haven’t already done so, please consider signing my open letter to Leica.

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Related posts:

• About the M240… the image quality is a step down.
• The M9 and CCD sensor.
• Leica M9 vs. M240
• M240: More Thoughts
• Leica M240: Final Verdict
• My camera of the year for 2013

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Something happened this week that compelled me to write this.

A well-known Leica guru and ambassador published a review of the Leica M240 and — unsurprisingly — praised most things about it: the new features, the new CMOS sensor, and (gasp!) even the EVF add-on.

The thing is, as I was looking at his sample images, my honest reaction was:  his previous Leica M9 photographs looked better.

My visitor statistics on Prosophos.com tell me one of my more popular posts this year is:  M240: More Thoughts.   Moreover, if I type the search “Leica M240 vs CCD” on Google, that same post and my Leica M240: Final Verdict post are currently the top two search results.   In fact, any combination of the search terms “Leica M240/CMOS vs. M9/CCD” on Google will yield one of my posts on either page 1 or 2.

I realized all this today, and wondered:  Why?

My best guess is that many of you see what I see, that the Leica M9 beats the M240 in the only thing that counts: image quality.

And no amount of cheer-leading for the latest and greatest will change that.

So I’ll keep photographing with my antiquated M9 until the successor to the M240 arrives.  And when that happens, if Leica sticks with a CMOS sensor (which they most certainly will), hopefully they’ll have enough sense to strike a deal with Sony.

—Peter.

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If you haven’t already done so, please consider signing my open letter to Leica.

___

Related posts:

• About the M240… the image quality is a step down.
• The M9 and CCD sensor.
• Leica M9 vs. M240
• M240: More Thoughts
• Leica M240: Final Verdict
• Leica M9 sharpness vs. Sony RX1R, Nikon D800E, Fuji X100s
• My camera of the year for 2013