[Comparison] Leica M11 vs Sony A7RIII (with Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH)

[neonvoid]

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Just got the M11 and was curious to see the differences sensor-wise. Sharing in case someone else finds it useful.

• The Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH was used on both cameras (with the Voigtlander VM-E adapter on the Sony)
• Cameras were mounted on a tripod and focus acquired via live view.

[Left] A7RIII (42.4 MP) - f/1.4 | 1/160s | ISO 100
[Right] M11 (60 MP) - f/1.4 | 1/250s | ISO 160

Raw | No sharpening | 100% zoom

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Raw | Sony - default Lightroom sharpening (40), Leica - sharpened to match the Sony (70) | 100% zoom

JPG without any tweaks | 100% zoom

Edited April 13, 2023 by neonvoid

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[neonvoid]

Full size | WB/Exposure/Contrast adjusted slightly on the Leica to match Sony | 2000 pixels on the long edge | Sharpened for screen
 

Leica M11

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Sony A7RIII

Edited April 13, 2023 by neonvoid

[SrMi]

4 hours ago, neonvoid said:

Just got the M11 and was curious to see the differences sensor-wise. Sharing in case someone else finds it useful.

• The Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH was used on both cameras (with the Voigtlander VM-E adapter on the Sony)
• Cameras were mounted on a tripod and focus acquired via live view.

[Left] A7RIII (42.4 MP) - f/1.4 | 1/160s | ISO 100
[Right] M11 (60 MP) - f/1.4 | 1/250s | ISO 160

Why did you use lower exposure with M11?

[neonvoid]

16 minutes ago, SrMi said:

Why did you use lower exposure with M11?

Wasn’t intentional, that’s the aperture priority mode and auto ISO doing its thing.

Edited April 13, 2023 by neonvoid

[SrMi]

34 minutes ago, neonvoid said:

Wasn’t intentional, that’s the aperture priority mode and auto ISO doing its thing.

OK. When comparing two cameras, you should strive to have the same exposure.

[Photoworks]

What is the point of this test?

[neonvoid]

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12 minutes ago, Photoworks said:

What is the point of this test?

The Leica DNGs seemed a bit soft so I needed to confirm that I'm not imagining it.
They are softer compared to Sony RAW files, not sure why. It has little effect on the end result though, after a bit of sharpening the files are almost identical.

[Tailwagger]

21 minutes ago, neonvoid said:

The Leica DNGs seemed a bit soft

As always, AWB is far more noticeable than anything else. 

Regardless, you need to equalize the file sizes to make a fair comparison. After that, I'd suggest you place the target in one of the extreme corners. There's not a lot of bend with the 50mm 'lux***, but likely enough to see some effects of thicker cover glass vs. thinner + microlensing.  Center frame, no refraction effects will be evident, but the corners are another matter. Try a 28mm and you'll see an obvious difference.  

*** [edit] especially at close focus distances where the lens is further from the sensor. 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Tailwagger