Both Olympus VG-120 and Nikon 1 AW1 have 14.0 MP resolution sensors but Olympus VG-120's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Nikon 1 AW1's sensor is 1-inch (13.2 x 8.8 mm ).
Since Nikon 1 AW1'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 Olympus VG-120.
Below you can see the VG-120 and 1 AW1 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus VG-120 and Nikon 1 AW1 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon 1 AW1 has a 4.1x Larger sensor area than Olympus VG-120. 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.
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 VG-120
or the
Nikon 1 AW1 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3-inch versus 1-inch),
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.
