Both Canon SX210 IS and Sony A560 have 14.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon SX210 IS's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Sony A560's sensor is APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ).
Since Sony A560'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 SX210 IS.
Below you can see the SX210 IS and A560 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon SX210 IS and Sony A560 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A560 has a 13.1x Larger sensor area than Canon SX210 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 SX210 IS
or the
Sony A560 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3-inch versus APS-C),
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.
