Olympus PEN-F has a
20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VII processor. On the other hand, Sony A290 has a
14.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Bionz processor.
Olympus PEN-F's sensor provides 6MP more than Sony A290'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 PEN-F and A290 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus PEN-F and Sony A290 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A290 has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Olympus PEN-F. 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 Olympus PEN-F and Sony A290 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, PEN-F has scored 74, 8 points higher than A290.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Olympus PEN-F
74
23.1 bits
12.4 Evs
894 ISO
Sony A290
66
22.6 bits
11.5 Evs
615 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
Olympus PEN-F
or the
Sony A290 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Four Thirds 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.
