Canon S120 has a
12.0MP 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Digic 6 processor. On the other hand, Sony RX100 VII has a
20.0MP 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized Stacked BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor.
Sony RX100 VII's sensor provides 8MP more than Canon S120'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.
Below you can see the S120 and RX100 VII sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon S120 and Sony RX100 VII Cameras
As seen above, Sony RX100 VII has a 2.8x Larger sensor area than Canon S120. 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
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 S120 and Sony RX100 VII sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that RX100 VII has a better overall score of 63, 7 points higher compared to S120's score of 56.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon S120
56
21.3 bits
11.9 Evs
246 ISO
Sony RX100 VII
63
21.8 bits
12.4 Evs
418 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
Sony RX100 VII ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/1.7-inch 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.
