Canon M3 has a
24.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features DIGIC 6 processor. On the other hand, Sony A230 has a
10.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Bionz processor.
Canon M3's sensor provides 14MP more than Sony A230'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 M3 and A230 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Sony A230 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon M3. 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 M3 and Sony A230 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, M3 has scored 72, 9 points higher than A230.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Canon M3 |
72 |
22.8 bits |
11.8 Evs |
1169 ISO |
Sony A230 |
63 |
22.3 bits |
11.4 Evs |
531 ISO |