Nikon D500 has a
21.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor. On the other hand, Canon SL3 has a
24.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features DIGIC 8 processor.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Nikon D500's sensor lacks 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 D500 and SL3 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D500 and Canon SL3 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D500 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon SL3. 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.
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 D500
or the
Canon SL3 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
