M11 Monochromvs A1
Leica
M11 Monochrom (2023)
Starting from £8300 new
Best for Black & White Photography
View M11 Monochrom
Sony
A1 (2021)
Starting from £5999 new
Best for Professional sport, wildlife, portrait & hybrid shooting
View A1
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 Sport, Wildlife, Portrait & Hybrid Shooting — A1 (2021): 50MP, 30fps, 8K — the Sony A1 is the most complete professional camera ever made.
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
A1 (2021)
- Professional photographers who need resolution and speed without compromise
- Sports and wildlife photographers demanding the absolute fastest Sony
- Studio and fashion photographers who also shoot sport or events
- A9 III or A7R V owners who want a single body that does everything
Quick take: The m11 monochrom has the highest resolution at 60mp; the a1 is the most affordable; only the a1 is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | M11 Monochrom (2023) | A1 (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £8,300 | £5,999 |
| Sensor | 60.3MP Full-Frame Monochrome BSI CMOS (no colour filter array) | 50.1MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Exmor RS |
| Resolution | 60.3MP | 50.1MP |
| Video | — | 8K/30p, 4K/120p, 1080p/240p |
| Autofocus | Manual focus rangefinder (no autofocus) | Real-time Tracking, AI subject recognition — 759 phase-detect points |
| Stabilisation | — | IBIS — up to 5.5 stops |
| Burst Rate | 5fps | 30fps electronic with full AF/AE |
| Battery Life | ~700 shots (CIPA) | ~430 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 530g (body only) | 737g (with battery) |
| Dimensions | 138.6 × 80.0 × 38.5mm | 128.9 × 96.9 × 80.8mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Optical rangefinder, 0.73× magnification | EVF, 9.44M dots, 0.90× magnification, 240fps |
| Screen | 2.3" touchscreen LCD, 2.33M dots | 3.0" fully tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Leica M-mount | Sony FE mount (full-frame E-mount) |
| Memory Cards | Single SD UHS-II slot + 64GB internal storage | Dual CFexpress Type A / SD UHS-II |
| Connectivity | USB-C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | USB-C, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth, Ethernet, HDMI |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | M11 Monochrom | A1 |
|---|---|---|
| Street | — | |
| Portrait | ||
| Landscape | ||
| Astrophotography | — | |
| Travel | — | |
| Casual | — | |
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | ||
| Sports | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Wedding | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with M11 Monochrom
Camera family history