Nikon D3100 has a
14.0MP APS-C (23.1 x 15.4 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 2 processor. On the other hand, Canon M5 has a
24.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 7 processor.
Canon M5's sensor provides 10MP more than Nikon D3100'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 D3100 and M5 sensor size comparison.
Nikon D3100 and Canon M5 have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the 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. Nikon D3100 and Canon M5 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that M5 has a better overall score of 77, 10 points higher compared to D3100's score of 67.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon D3100 |
67 |
22.5 bits |
11.3 Evs |
919 ISO |
Canon M5 |
77 |
23.4 bits |
12.4 Evs |
1262 ISO |