Panasonic G85 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Nikon D40X has a
10.0MP APS-C (23.7 x 15.6 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Expeed processor.
Panasonic G85's sensor provides 6MP more than Nikon D40X'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 G85'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 G85 and D40X sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D40X has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Panasonic G85. 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 G85 and Nikon D40X 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, G85 has scored 71, 8 points higher than D40X.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Panasonic G85 |
71 |
22.8 bits |
12.5 Evs |
656 ISO |
Nikon D40X |
63 |
22.4 bits |
11.4 Evs |
516 ISO |