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 D90 has a
12.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Below you can see the 500D and D90 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 500D and Nikon D90 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D90 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
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 500D and Nikon D90 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that D90 has a better overall score of 73, 10 points higher compared to 500D's score of 63.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon 500D
63
21.7 bits
11.5 Evs
663 ISO
Nikon D90
73
22.7 bits
12.5 Evs
977 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 D90 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
