Sigma DP3 Merrill has a
15.0MP APS-C (24 x 16 mm ) sized CMOS (Foveon X3) sensor and features Dual TRUE II engine processor. On the other hand, Sony RX100 VA has a
20.0MP 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized Stacked BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor.
Sony RX100 VA's sensor provides 5MP more than Sigma DP3 Merrill'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 DP3 Merrill and RX100 VA sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sigma DP3 Merrill and Sony RX100 VA Cameras
As seen above, Sigma DP3 Merrill has a 3.3x Larger sensor area than Sony RX100 VA. 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
Sigma DP3 Merrill
or the
Sony RX100 VA ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-C versus 1″ ),
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.
