Nikon D300S has a
12.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed processor. On the other hand, Canon 5D MIV has a
30.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 6+ processor.
Canon 5D MIV's sensor provides 18MP more than Nikon D300S'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 D300S and 5D MIV sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Canon 5D MIV has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Nikon D300S. 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 D300S and Canon 5D MIV sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that 5D MIV has a better overall score of 91, 21 points higher compared to D300S's score of 70.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon D300S |
70 |
22.5 bits |
12.2 Evs |
787 ISO |
Canon 5D MIV |
91 |
24.8 bits |
13.6 Evs |
2995 ISO |