Both Nikon D300S and Panasonic GF3 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Nikon D300S's sensor is APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) and Panasonic GF3's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).
Since Nikon D300S'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 GF3.
Below you can see the D300S and GF3 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D300S and Panasonic GF3 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D300S has a 1.7x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GF3. 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
Both Nikon D300S and Panasonic GF3 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark 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. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, D300S has scored 70, 20 points higher than GF3.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Nikon D300S
70
22.5 bits
12.2 Evs
787 ISO
Panasonic GF3
50
20.6 bits
10.1 Evs
459 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
Nikon D300S
or the
Panasonic GF3 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-C versus Four Thirds),
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.
