Both Canon A3400 IS and Panasonic GH4 have 16.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon A3400 IS's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Panasonic GH4's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).
Since Panasonic GH4'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 A3400 IS.
Below you can see the A3400 IS and GH4 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon A3400 IS and Panasonic GH4 Cameras
As seen above, Panasonic GH4 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Canon A3400 IS. 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.
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 A3400 IS
or the
Panasonic GH4 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3-inch versus Four Thirds),
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.
