Nikon D5500 has a
24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 4 processor. On the other hand, Canon 6D has a
20.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 5+ processor.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Nikon D5500'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 D5500 and 6D sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Canon 6D has a 2.4x Larger sensor area than Nikon D5500. 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 D5500 and Canon 6D 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, D5500 has scored 84, 2 points higher than 6D.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon D5500 |
84 |
24.1 bits |
14.0 Evs |
1438 ISO |
Canon 6D |
82 |
23.8 bits |
12.1 Evs |
2340 ISO |