Both Nikon D80 and Canon G12 have 10.0 MP resolution sensors but Nikon D80's sensor is APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) and Canon G12's sensor is 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ).
Since Nikon D80'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 Canon G12.
Below you can see the D80 and G12 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Canon G12 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D80 has a 9.0x Larger sensor area than Canon G12. 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 D80 and Canon G12 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, D80 has scored 61, 14 points higher than G12.
| Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
|
Nikon D80 |
61 |
22.1 bits |
11.2 Evs |
524 ISO |
|
Canon G12 |
47 |
20.4 bits |
11.2 Evs |
161 ISO |