M11 Monochromvs Nikon Z9
Leica
M11 Monochrom (2023)
Starting from £8300 new
Best for Black & White Photography
View M11 Monochrom
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Black & White Photography — M11 Monochrom (2023): The M11 Monochrom is the finest black-and-white camera in the world. A 60MP sensor with no colour filter array produces sharpness and tonal depth no colour camera can match — combined with extended high-ISO performance. Manual focus, no video, and an extraordinary price make it a specialist instrument, but for dedicated B&W photographers it is unmatched.
Professional Sports & Wildlife — Nikon Z9 (2021): The Z9 redefined what professional mirrorless could be — no mechanical shutter, 45MP stacked BSI, and 8K RAW in the most rugged Z body.
Who should buy what
M11 Monochrom (2023)
- Dedicated black-and-white photographers who demand the finest possible monochrome files
- Fine art and documentary photographers who work exclusively in B&W
- Leica M system users who want maximum monochrome image quality
- Astrophotographers — monochrome sensors excel at capturing fine star detail
Nikon Z9 (2021)
- Professional sports, wildlife and photojournalism photographers
- Nikon D6 or D850 users making the final switch to mirrorless
- Those who need the fastest, most reliable AF Nikon has ever made
- Professionals who need a flagship body with no mechanical shutter
Quick take: The m11 monochrom has the highest resolution at 60mp; the nikon z9 is the most affordable; only the nikon z9 is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | M11 Monochrom (2023) | Nikon Z9 (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £8,300 | £5,499 |
| Sensor | 60.3MP Full-Frame Monochrome BSI CMOS (no colour filter array) | 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS |
| Resolution | 60.3MP | 45.7MP |
| Video | — | 8K/30p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW |
| Autofocus | Manual focus rangefinder (no autofocus) | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect |
| Stabilisation | — | 6-stop IBIS |
| Burst Rate | 5fps | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG |
| Battery Life | ~700 shots (CIPA) | 740 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 530g (body only) | 1340g body only |
| Dimensions | 138.6 × 80.0 × 38.5mm | 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Optical rangefinder, 0.73× magnification | 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps |
| Screen | 2.3" touchscreen LCD, 2.33M dots | 3.2" tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Leica M-mount | Nikon Z-mount |
| Memory Cards | Single SD UHS-II slot + 64GB internal storage | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD |
| Connectivity | USB-C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | USB-C 3.2, HDMI full-size, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, LAN |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | M11 Monochrom | Nikon Z9 |
|---|---|---|
| Street | — | |
| Portrait | — | |
| Landscape | ||
| Astrophotography | — | |
| Travel | ||
| Casual | — | |
| Sports & Action | ||
| Vlogging & Video | ||
| Wildlife | — | |
| Photojournalism | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
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