Sony A100 has a 10.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Nikon D800E has a 36.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 3 processor.
Nikon D800E's sensor provides 26MP more than Sony A100'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.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Nikon D800E's sensor doesn't have an 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 moire occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the A100 and D800E sensor size comparison.
![Sony A100 vs Nikon D800E Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A100 and Nikon D800E Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D800E has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Sony A100. 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. Sony A100 and Nikon D800E sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that D800E has a better overall score of 96, 35 points higher compared to A100's score of 61.
| Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
|
Sony A100 |
61 |
22.0 bits |
11.2 Evs |
476 ISO |
|
Nikon D800E |
96 |
25.6 bits |
14.3 Evs |
2979 ISO |