Panasonic S1R has a
47.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor. On the other hand, Canon R3 has a
24.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized Stacked CMOS sensor and features Digic X processor.
Panasonic S1R's sensor provides 23MP more than Canon R3'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.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Panasonic S1R's sensor lacks 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 S1R and R3 sensor size comparison.
Panasonic S1R and Canon R3 have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Canon R3 has 100% larger pixel area (36.00µm2 vs 18.00µm2) compared to Panasonic S1R, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Panasonic S1R and Canon R3 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, S1R has scored 100, 4 points higher than R3.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Panasonic S1R |
100 |
26.4 bits |
14.1 Evs |
3525 ISO |
Canon R3 |
96 |
25.0 bits |
14.7 Evs |
4086 ISO |