Canon M100 has a
24.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features DIGIC 7 processor. On the other hand, Nikon 1 J5 has a
21.0MP 1' (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5A processor.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Nikon 1 J5'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 M100 and J5 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon M100 and Nikon 1 J5 Cameras
As seen above, Canon M100 has a 2.9x Larger sensor area than Nikon 1 J5. 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 M100 and Nikon 1 J5 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, M100 has scored 79, 14 points higher than J5.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon M100
79
23.5 bits
13.0 Evs
1272 ISO
Nikon 1 J5
65
22.1 bits
12.0 Evs
479 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 M100
or the
Nikon 1 J5 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-C versus 1'),
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.
