Sony A850 has a
25.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor. On the other hand, Nikon D5 has a
21.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor.
Below you can see the A850 and D5 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A850 and Nikon D5 Cameras
Sony A850 and Nikon D5 have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the 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 A850 and Nikon D5 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that D5 has a better overall score of 88, 9 points higher compared to A850's score of 79.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Sony A850
79
23.8 bits
12.2 Evs
1415 ISO
Nikon D5
88
25.1 bits
12.3 Evs
2434 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 A850
or the
Nikon D5 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
