Canon 1200D has a
18.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 4 processor. On the other hand, Nikon D3000 has a
10.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Expeed processor.
Canon 1200D's sensor provides 8MP more than Nikon D3000'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 1200D and D3000 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D3000 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon 1200D. 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 Canon 1200D and Nikon D3000 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, 1200D has scored 63, 1 points higher than D3000.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Canon 1200D |
63 |
21.9 bits |
11.3 Evs |
724 ISO |
Nikon D3000 |
62 |
22.3 bits |
11.1 Evs |
563 ISO |