Canon 500D has a
15.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 4 processor. On the other hand, Nikon D70 has a
6.0MP APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm ) sized CCD sensor .
Canon 500D's sensor provides 9MP more than Nikon D70'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 500D and D70 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 500D and Nikon D70 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D70 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon 500D. 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 500D and Nikon D70 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, 500D has scored 63, 13 points higher than D70.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon 500D
63
21.7 bits
11.5 Evs
663 ISO
Nikon D70
50
20.4 bits
10.3 Evs
529 ISO
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 500D
or the
Nikon D70 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
