Nikon Z6 has a
24.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Expeed 6 processor. On the other hand, Nikon D7500 has a
21.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Nikon D7500's sensor doesn't have an 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 Z6 and D7500 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon Z6 and Nikon D7500 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon Z6 has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Nikon D7500. 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 Z6 and Nikon D7500 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, Z6 has scored 95, 9 points higher than D7500.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Nikon Z6
95
25.3 bits
14.3 Evs
3299 ISO
Nikon D7500
86
24.3 bits
14.0 Evs
1483 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 Z6
or the
Nikon D7500 ,
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.
