Both Sony A390 and Olympus VG-160 have 14.0 MP resolution sensors but Sony A390's sensor is APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) and Olympus VG-160's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ).
Since Sony A390'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 Olympus VG-160.
Below you can see the A390 and VG-160 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A390 and Olympus VG-160 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A390 has a 13.1x Larger sensor area than Olympus VG-160. 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
Sony A390
or the
Olympus VG-160 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-C versus 1/2.3-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.
