Both Panasonic ZS50 and Nikon P330 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Panasonic ZS50's sensor is 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ).
Since Nikon P330'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 ZS50.
Below you can see the ZS50 and P330 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic ZS50 and Nikon P330 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon P330 has a 1.5x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS50. 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 ZS50 and Nikon P330 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that P330 has a better overall score of 54, 10 points higher compared to ZS50's score of 44.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Panasonic ZS50
44
20.0 bits
11.2 Evs
138 ISO
Nikon P330
54
21.0 bits
11.7 Evs
213 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 ZS50
or the
Nikon P330 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
( versus 1/1.7-inch),
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.
