Canon 400D has a 10.0MP APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Sony A850 has a 25.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.
Sony A850's sensor provides 15MP more than Canon 400D'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 400D and A850 sensor size comparison.
![Canon 400D vs Sony A850 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 400D and Sony A850 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A850 has a 2.6x Larger sensor area than Canon 400D. 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. Canon 400D and Sony A850 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A850 has a better overall score of 79, 17 points higher compared to 400D's score of 62.
| Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
|
Canon 400D |
62 |
22.1 bits |
11.0 Evs |
664 ISO |
|
Sony A850 |
79 |
23.8 bits |
12.2 Evs |
1415 ISO |