Both Canon 1D MIV and Panasonic ZS35 have 16.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon 1D MIV's sensor is APS-H (27.9 x 18.6 mm ) and Panasonic ZS35's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ).
Since Canon 1D MIV's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Panasonic ZS35.
Below you can see the 1D MIV and ZS35 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 1D MIV and Panasonic ZS35 Cameras
As seen above, Canon 1D MIV has a 18.7x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS35. 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.
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Canon 1D MIV
or the
Panasonic ZS35 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-H versus 1/2.3-inch),
so compare them at the same framing rather than the same focal length.
Put the same focal length on the smaller sensor and it will show less depth of
field, not more, because it also crops tighter. The calculator shows the
full frame equivalent focal length for each body so you can match the framing.
