Nikon D3 has a
12.0MP Full frame (36 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed processor. On the other hand, Sony NEX-7 has a
24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.
Sony NEX-7's sensor provides 12MP more than Nikon D3's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the D3 and NEX-7 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D3 has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Sony NEX-7. 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 |
Nikon D3 |
81 |
23.5 bits |
12.2 Evs |
2290 ISO |
Sony NEX-7 |
81 |
24.1 bits |
13.4 Evs |
1016 ISO |