Canon 5D MII has a
21.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 4 processor. On the other hand, Sony A580 has a
16.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.
Canon 5D MII's sensor provides 5MP more than Sony A580'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 5D MII and A580 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 5D MII and Sony A580 Cameras
As seen above, Canon 5D MII has a 2.4x Larger sensor area than Sony A580. 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 5D MII and Sony A580 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A580 has a better overall score of 80, 1 points higher compared to 5D MII's score of 79.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon 5D MII
79
23.7 bits
11.9 Evs
1815 ISO
Sony A580
80
23.8 bits
13.3 Evs
1121 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 5D MII
or the
Sony A580 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Full frame versus APS-C),
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.
