Nikon D3S has a
12.0MP Full frame (36 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed processor. On the other hand, Sony A7R III has a
42.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor.
Sony A7R III's sensor provides 30MP more than Nikon D3S'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.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Sony A7R III's sensor doesn't have an anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the D3S and A7R III sensor size comparison.
Nikon D3S and Sony A7R III have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the 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 D3S and Sony A7R III sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A7R III has a better overall score of 100, 18 points higher compared to D3S's score of 82.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon D3S |
82 |
23.5 bits |
12.0 Evs |
3253 ISO |
Sony A7R III |
100 |
26.0 bits |
14.7 Evs |
3523 ISO |