Both Canon S120 and Panasonic ZS50 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon S120's sensor is 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) and Panasonic ZS50's sensor is
Since Canon S120'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 Panasonic ZS50.
Below you can see the S120 and ZS50 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon S120 and Panasonic ZS50 Cameras
As seen above, Canon S120 has a 1.5x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS50. 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 S120 and Panasonic ZS50 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, S120 has scored 56, 12 points higher than ZS50.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon S120
56
21.3 bits
11.9 Evs
246 ISO
Panasonic ZS50
44
20.0 bits
11.2 Evs
138 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 S120
or the
Panasonic ZS50 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/1.7-inch versus ),
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.
