Both Nikon D200 and Panasonic FS42 have 10.0 MP resolution sensors but Nikon D200's sensor is APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) and Panasonic FS42's sensor is 1/2.5-inch (5.744 x 4.308 mm ).
Since Nikon D200'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 Panasonic FS42.
Below you can see the D200 and FS42 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D200 and Panasonic FS42 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D200 has a 15.1x Larger sensor area than Panasonic FS42. 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
Nikon D200
or the
Panasonic FS42 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-C versus 1/2.5-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.
