Both Canon SX60 HS and Sony NEX-5R have 16.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon SX60 HS's sensor is 1/2.3 (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Sony NEX-5R's sensor is APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ).
Since Sony NEX-5R'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 SX60 HS.
Below you can see the SX60 HS and NEX-5R sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon SX60 HS and Sony NEX-5R Cameras
As seen above, Sony NEX-5R has a 13.0x Larger sensor area than Canon SX60 HS. 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 SX60 HS and Sony NEX-5R sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that NEX-5R has a better overall score of 78, 39 points higher compared to SX60 HS's score of 39.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon SX60 HS
39
19.2 bits
10.1 Evs
127 ISO
Sony NEX-5R
78
23.7 bits
13.1 Evs
910 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 SX60 HS
or the
Sony NEX-5R ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3 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.
