Both Panasonic FH20 and Sony A450 have 14.0 MP resolution sensors but Panasonic FH20's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) and Sony A450's sensor is APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ).
Since Sony A450'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 Panasonic FH20.
Below you can see the FH20 and A450 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic FH20 and Sony A450 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A450 has a 13.2x Larger sensor area than Panasonic FH20. 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
Panasonic FH20
or the
Sony A450 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3-inch 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.
