Nikon 1 J3 has a
14.0MP 1-inch (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Canon 50D has a
15.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 4 processor.
Below you can see the 1 J3 and 50D sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Canon 50D has a 2.9x Larger sensor area than Nikon 1 J3. 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. Nikon 1 J3 and Canon 50D sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that 50D has a better overall score of 63, 11 points higher compared to 1 J3's score of 52.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon 1 J3 |
52 |
20.4 bits |
11.0 Evs |
420 ISO |
Canon 50D |
63 |
21.8 bits |
11.4 Evs |
696 ISO |