Both Nikon D600 and Sony a5100 have 24.0 MP resolution sensors but Nikon D600's sensor is Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) and Sony a5100's sensor is APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ).
Since Nikon D600'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 Sony a5100.
Below you can see the D600 and a5100 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D600 and Sony a5100 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D600 has a 2.4x Larger sensor area than Sony a5100. 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 D600 and Sony a5100 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, D600 has scored 94, 14 points higher than a5100.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Nikon D600
94
25.1 bits
14.2 Evs
2980 ISO
Sony a5100
80
23.8 bits
12.7 Evs
1347 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 D600
or the
Sony a5100 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Full frame versus APS-C),
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.
