What is the crop factor of the Leica M8?

The Leica M8 is equipped with an APS-H sensor, whose diagonal measures 32.4mm. The sensor has a crop factor (or format factor, or focal length multiplier) of 1.3.

The crop factor is defined as the ratio of the 35mm full-frame film diagonal to the diagonal of a digital sensor. This number indicates how a lens behaves in relation to the size of the image sensor.

Sensor size comparison with a film slide

With a crop factor of 1.3, the sensor in the Leica M8 is smaller than the receptor area of a 35mm film slide or negative. As a result, a lens that is attached to the Leica M8 will offer a narrower angle of view and provide deeper depth of field than a lens of similar focal length and aperture on a film camera. The equivalent focal length is obtained by multiplying the actual focal length of the lens with the crop factor. For example, a 38mm lens on the Leica M8 will provide the same angle of view and depth of field as a 50mm normal lens on a film camera (38mm * 1.3 = 50mm).

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Leica M8 to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better), covering color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape), and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

#		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Leica M8	APS-H	10.4	3936	2630	none	21.1	11.3	663	59
2.		Canon 1100D	APS-C	12.2	4272	2848	720/30p	21.9	11.0	755	62
3.		Canon 400D	APS-C	10.1	3888	2592	none	22.1	11.0	664	62
4.		Leica M10	Full Frame	23.8	5952	3992	none	24.4	13.2	2133	86
5.		Leica M Typ 262	Full Frame	23.7	5952	3976	none	24.8	13.7	2478	90
6.		Leica M9	Full Frame	18.1	5212	3472	none	22.5	11.7	884	69
7.		Nikon D3000	APS-C	10.0	3872	2592	none	22.3	11.1	563	62
8.		Nikon D5000	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	720/24p	22.7	12.5	868	72
9.		Nikon D40X	APS-C	10.0	3872	2592	none	22.4	11.4	516	63
10.		Nikon D80	APS-C	10.0	3872	2592	none	22.1	11.2	524	61
11.		Panasonic L10	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.3	10.8	429	55
Note: DXO values in italics represent estimates based on sensor size and age.

In the United States, the M8 was initially launched in September 2006 at a price of $5,499.

Check M8 offers at
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Camera to camera comparisons

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