Canon R3 has a
24.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized Stacked CMOS sensor and features Digic X processor. On the other hand, Panasonic S1R has a
47.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor.
Panasonic S1R's sensor provides 23MP more than Canon R3'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 S1R'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 R3 and S1R sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon R3 and Panasonic S1R Cameras
Canon R3 and Panasonic S1R have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Canon R3 has 100% larger pixel area compared to Panasonic S1R, it has potential to collect more light on pixel level hence have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
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 R3 and Panasonic S1R sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that S1R has a better overall score of 100, 4 points higher compared to R3's score of 96.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon R3
96
25.0 bits
14.7 Evs
4086 ISO
Panasonic S1R
100
26.4 bits
14.1 Evs
3525 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 R3
or the
Panasonic S1R ,
including hyperfocal distance.
