Sony A100 has a 10.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Sony A580 has a 16.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.
Sony A580's sensor provides 6MP 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.
Below you can see the A100 and A580 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A100 and Sony A580 Cameras
Sony A100 and Sony A580 have almost the same sensor size so none of them has any significant advantage over other in providing control over depth of field when used with 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 Sony A580 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A580 has a better overall score of 80, 19 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 |
|
Sony A580 |
80 |
23.8 bits |
13.3 Evs |
1121 ISO |