Panasonic S1R has a
47.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor. On the other hand, Sony a5100 has a
24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor.
Panasonic S1R's sensor provides 23MP more than Sony a5100'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 a5100 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Panasonic S1R has a 2.4x Larger sensor area than Sony a5100. 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 Panasonic S1R and Sony a5100 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, 20 points higher than a5100.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Panasonic S1R |
100 |
26.4 bits |
14.1 Evs |
3525 ISO |
Sony a5100 |
80 |
23.8 bits |
12.7 Evs |
1347 ISO |