Both Canon 80D and Nikon D610 have 24.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon 80D's sensor is APS-C (22.5 x 15 mm ) and Nikon D610's sensor is Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ).
Since Nikon D610's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Canon 80D.
Below you can see the 80D and D610 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 80D and Nikon D610 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D610 has a 2.6x Larger sensor area than Canon 80D. 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 80D and Nikon D610 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that D610 has a better overall score of 94, 15 points higher compared to 80D's score of 79.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon 80D
79
23.6 bits
13.2 Evs
1135 ISO
Nikon D610
94
25.1 bits
14.4 Evs
2925 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 80D
or the
Nikon D610 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-C versus Full frame),
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.
