Panasonic G10 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine HD II processor. On the other hand, Nikon D3000 has a
10.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Expeed processor.
Below you can see the G10 and D3000 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic G10 and Nikon D3000 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D3000 has a 1.7x Larger sensor area than Panasonic G10. 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
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It 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. Panasonic G10 and Nikon D3000 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that D3000 has a better overall score of 62, 10 points higher compared to G10's score of 52.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Panasonic G10
52
21.2 bits
10.1 Evs
411 ISO
Nikon D3000
62
22.3 bits
11.1 Evs
563 ISO
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 G10
or the
Nikon D3000 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Four Thirds 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.
