Both Fujifilm X10 and Canon S100 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Fujifilm X10's sensor is 2/3-inch (8.8 x 6.6 mm ) and Canon S100's sensor is 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ).
Since Fujifilm X10'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 S100.
Below you can see the X10 and S100 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Fujifilm X10 and Canon S100 Cameras
As seen above, Fujifilm X10 has a 1.4x Larger sensor area than Canon S100. 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
At Camera Decision, we also look at Dxo Mark sensors when available as we think it is a good indicator of image quality.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Fujifilm X10
50
20.5 bits
11.3 Evs
245 ISO
Canon S100
50
20.7 bits
11.6 Evs
153 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
Fujifilm X10
or the
Canon S100 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(2/3-inch versus 1/1.7-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.
