Canon G16 has a
12.0MP 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Digic 6 processor. On the other hand, Canon M3 has a
24.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features DIGIC 6 processor.
Canon M3's sensor provides 12MP more than Canon G16's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the G16 and M3 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Canon M3 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Canon G16. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Canon G16 and Canon M3 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that M3 has a better overall score of 72, 18 points higher compared to G16's score of 54.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Canon G16 |
54 |
21.0 bits |
11.7 Evs |
230 ISO |
Canon M3 |
72 |
22.8 bits |
11.8 Evs |
1169 ISO |