MP 0.72vs Nikon Z9
Leica
MP 0.72 (2003)
Starting from £4850 new
Best for Street, Documentary & Reportage Film Photography
View MP 0.72
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Street, Documentary & Reportage Film Photography — MP 0.72 (2003): The purist's Leica — a fully mechanical 35mm rangefinder with no electronics bar the meter. Still built by hand in Wetzlar. The most honest camera ever made.
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
MP 0.72 (2003)
- Serious film photographers who want the finest rangefinder ever made
- Street and documentary photographers who shoot Kodak Tri-X or HP5
- Leica M-mount collectors and long-term lens owners
- Photographers who value mechanical precision over electronic convenience
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 mp 0.72 is the most affordable; only the nikon z9 is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | MP 0.72 (2003) | Nikon Z9 (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,850 | £5,499 |
| Sensor | 35mm film | 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS |
| Resolution | — | 45.7MP |
| Video | — | 8K/30p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW |
| Autofocus | Manual focus rangefinder — coupled 0.72× viewfinder | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect |
| Stabilisation | — | 6-stop IBIS |
| Burst Rate | ~1fps (manual film advance) | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG |
| Battery Life | Effectively unlimited — battery powers meter only | 740 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 600g (body only) | 1340g body only |
| Dimensions | 138 × 77 × 38mm | 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm |
| Weather Sealed | No | Yes |
| Viewfinder | Optical rangefinder, 0.72× magnification, 28–135mm framelines | 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps |
| Screen | None | 3.2" tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Leica M-mount | Nikon Z-mount |
| Memory Cards | 35mm film (ISO 25–3200 recommended) | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD |
| Connectivity | None | USB-C 3.2, HDMI full-size, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, LAN |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | MP 0.72 | Nikon Z9 |
|---|---|---|
| Street | — | |
| Travel | ||
| Portrait | — | |
| Landscape | ||
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Wildlife | — | |
| Photojournalism | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
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Camera family history