Sony NEX-3 has a
14.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor. On the other hand, Nikon D4 has a
16.0MP Full frame (36 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 3 processor.
Below you can see the NEX-3 and D4 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Nikon D4 has a 2.4x Larger sensor area than Sony NEX-3. 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 NEX-3 and Nikon D4 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that D4 has a better overall score of 89, 21 points higher compared to NEX-3's score of 68.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Sony NEX-3 |
68 |
22.1 bits |
12.0 Evs |
830 ISO |
Nikon D4 |
89 |
24.7 bits |
13.1 Evs |
2965 ISO |