Panasonic FZ70 has a
16.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine 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 8MP more than Panasonic FZ70'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 FZ70 and M3 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Canon M3 has a 11.8x Larger sensor area than Panasonic FZ70. 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. Panasonic FZ70 and Canon M3 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that M3 has a better overall score of 72, 31 points higher compared to FZ70's score of 41.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Panasonic FZ70 |
41 |
19.4 bits |
10.8 Evs |
171 ISO |
Canon M3 |
72 |
22.8 bits |
11.8 Evs |
1169 ISO |