Both Sony A7S II and Canon S100 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Sony A7S II's sensor is Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm ) and Canon S100's sensor is 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ).
Since Sony A7S II'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 Canon S100.
Below you can see the A7S II and S100 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S II and Canon S100 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A7S II has a 20.4x Larger sensor area than Canon S100. 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 Sony A7S II and Canon S100 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, A7S II has scored 85, 35 points higher than S100.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Sony A7S II
85
23.6 bits
13.3 Evs
2993 ISO
Canon S100
50
20.7 bits
11.6 Evs
153 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
Sony A7S II
or the
Canon S100 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Full frame 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.
