Both Canon S100 and Nikon L110 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon S100's sensor is 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) and Nikon L110's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ).
Since Canon S100'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 Nikon L110.
Below you can see the S100 and L110 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon S100 and Nikon L110 Cameras
As seen above, Canon S100 has a 1.5x Larger sensor area than Nikon L110. 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 S100
or the
Nikon L110 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/1.7-inch versus 1/2.3-inch),
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.
