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, Nikon D90 has a
12.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Below you can see the D3100 and D90 sensor size comparison.
Nikon D3100 and Nikon D90 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 Nikon D90 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that D90 has a better overall score of 73, 6 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 |
Nikon D90 |
73 |
22.7 bits |
12.5 Evs |
977 ISO |