Nikon D80 has a
10.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Panasonic G3 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine FHD processor.
Panasonic G3's sensor provides 6MP more than Nikon D80'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 D80 and G3 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D80 has a 1.7x Larger sensor area than Panasonic G3. 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 Panasonic G3 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, 5 points higher than G3.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Nikon D80 |
61 |
22.1 bits |
11.2 Evs |
524 ISO |
Panasonic G3 |
56 |
21.0 bits |
10.6 Evs |
667 ISO |