Pentax K20D has a
15.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Nikon 1 V1 has a
10.0MP 1-inch (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Pentax K20D's sensor provides 5MP more than Nikon 1 V1'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.
Below you can see the K20D and 1 V1 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Pentax K20D has a 3.1x Larger sensor area than Nikon 1 V1. 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 Pentax K20D and Nikon 1 V1 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, K20D has scored 65, 11 points higher than 1 V1.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K20D |
65 |
22.9 bits |
11.1 Evs |
639 ISO |
Nikon 1 V1 |
54 |
21.3 bits |
11.0 Evs |
346 ISO |