Both Panasonic FP3 and Nikon D3100 have 14.0 MP resolution sensors but Panasonic FP3's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) and Nikon D3100's sensor is APS-C (23.1 x 15.4 mm ).
Since Nikon D3100'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 FP3.
Below you can see the FP3 and D3100 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic FP3 and Nikon D3100 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D3100 has a 12.8x Larger sensor area than Panasonic FP3. 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 FP3
or the
Nikon D3100 ,
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.
