Nikon D3 has a
12.0MP Full frame (36 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed processor. On the other hand, Canon 1D MIII has a
10.0MP APS-H (28.7 x 18.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Below you can see the D3 and 1D MIII sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D3 has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Canon 1D MIII. 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
Both Nikon D3 and Canon 1D MIII sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark 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. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, D3 has scored 81, 10 points higher than 1D MIII.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon D3 |
81 |
23.5 bits |
12.2 Evs |
2290 ISO |
Canon 1D MIII |
71 |
22.7 bits |
11.7 Evs |
1078 ISO |