Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon D5 and Canon S120. Canon S120 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 60mm narrower, 100mm shorter and 63mm thinner than Nikon D5. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Canon S120 has a built-in lens but Nikon D5 doesn't. Once you put a lens on D5, its thickness will increase significantly.
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon D5 and Canon S120.
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Canon S120 is significantly lighter (1198g ) than the Nikon D5 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on D5, the total kit will weigh much higher.
Nikon D5 has a 21.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor. On the other hand, Canon S120 has a 12.0MP 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Digic 6 processor. Nikon D5's sensor provides 9MP more than Canon S120'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 D5 and S120 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D5 has a 20.6x Larger sensor area than Canon S120. 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.
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon D5 and Canon S120 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.
Nikon D5 for Portrait Photography
Canon S120 for Portrait Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) sensor
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Nikon D5 for Street Photography
Canon S120 for Street Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fast Lens at Wide: f1.80
24 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) sensor
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Nikon D5 for Sports Photography
Canon S120 for Sports Photography
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 14.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
99 Cross Type Focus sensors
153 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 3780 shots
Good Low Light ISO
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Fast Continuous Shooting: 12.0fps
Wireless Connection
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
120 mm Tele Lens
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Poor Battery Life: 230 shots
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.70
Read the details
Nikon D5 for Daily Photography
Canon S120 for Daily Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
1415g
Body Thickness 92mm
Read the details
Compact Body
217g
5X Optical Zoom
Small 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) sensor
Read the details
Nikon D5 for Landscape Photography
Canon S120 for Landscape Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
24 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon D5 and Canon S120, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.
Here is a summary of how Nikon D5 and Canon S120 scores compare:
Nikon D5
Ranked
#2 out of 10 in Large SLR cameras
Ranked
#25 out of 1150 in all Cameras
Canon S120
Ranked
#11 out of 468 in Compact cameras
Ranked
#253 out of 1150 in all Cameras
Nikon D5 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Canon S120 in all criterias except one: Portability. Canon S120 is significantly smaller than Nikon D5. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Canon S120. Otherwise, Nikon D5 is the better camera overall.
| General |
Nikon D5 |
Canon PowerShot S120 |
| Brand |
Nikon |
Canon |
| Announced |
2016-01-05 |
2013-11-26 |
| Body Type |
Large SLR |
Compact |
| Price |
$6,496.95 |
$893.98 |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
BSI-CMOS |
| Size |
Full frame |
1/1.7" |
| Dimensions |
35.8 x 23.9 mm |
7.44 x 5.58 mm |
| Area |
855.62mm2 |
41.52mm2 |
| Megapixels |
21 megapixels |
12 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5588 x 3712 |
4000 x 3000 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
102,400 ISO |
12,800 ISO |
| Max Boosted Light Sensitivity |
3280000 ISO |
- |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
100 ISO |
80 ISO |
| RAW Support |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
| AF Touch |
|
|
| AF Continuous |
|
|
| AF Single |
|
|
| AF Tracking |
|
|
| AF Selective |
|
|
| AF Center |
|
|
| AF Multi Area |
|
|
| AF Live View |
|
|
| AF Face Detection |
|
|
| AF Contrast Detection |
|
|
| AF Phase Detection |
|
|
| Number of Focus Points |
153 |
9 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Nikon F |
fixed lens |
| Number of Available Lenses |
287 |
n/a |
| Lens Focal Range |
no lens |
24-120 mm (5×) |
| Max Aperture |
no lens |
F1.8-5.7 |
| Macro Focus Range |
no lens |
3cm |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fixed type |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3.2″ |
3″ |
| Resolution |
2,359k dots |
922k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Optical (pentaprism) |
None |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
n/a |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.72 |
n/a |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Shutter Speed |
1/8000s |
1/2000s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
Optical |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
no built-in flash |
7.00 m |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
14.0 fps |
12.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
3840 x 2160 |
1920 x 1080 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Optional |
Built-In |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
1415g |
217g |
| Dimensions |
160 x 158.5 x 92mm |
100 x 59 x 29mm |
| Battery Life |
3780 shots |
230 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
Optional |
Optional |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
88 |
56 |
| DxO Color Depth |
25.1 |
21.3 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
12.3 |
11.9 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
2434 |
246 |
|
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