Canon 5D has a
13.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic II processor. On the other hand, Panasonic S1 has a
24.0MP Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor.
Panasonic S1's sensor provides 11MP more than Canon 5D'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.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Panasonic S1's sensor doesn't have an anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the 5D and S1 sensor size comparison.
Canon 5D and Panasonic S1 have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the 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 and Panasonic S1 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that S1 has a better overall score of 95, 24 points higher compared to 5D's score of 71.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Canon 5D |
71 |
22.9 bits |
11.1 Evs |
1368 ISO |
Panasonic S1 |
95 |
25.2 bits |
14.5 Evs |
3333 ISO |