Both Canon 170 IS and Sony RX100 VI have 20.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon 170 IS's sensor is 1/2.3' (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Sony RX100 VI's sensor is 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm ).
Since Sony RX100 VI'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 170 IS.
Below you can see the 170 IS and RX100 VI sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 170 IS and Sony RX100 VI Cameras
As seen above, Sony RX100 VI has a 4.1x Larger sensor area than Canon 170 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 170 IS
or the
Sony RX100 VI ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3' 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.
