Canon A3100 IS vs Nikon D800E

Let's look a little more in depth at the Canon A3100 IS and Nikon D800E, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Canon and Nikon. There exists a crucial gap among the resolutions of the A3100 IS (12MP) and D800E (36MP) and the A3100 IS (1/2.3") and D800E (Full frame) feature totally different sensor sizes.

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The A3100 IS was manufactured 3 years before the D800E and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Canon A3100 IS being a Compact camera and the Nikon D800E being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go through a complete comparison, below is a brief overview of how the A3100 IS grades vs the D800E in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Canon PowerShot A3100 IS and Nikon D800E. The entire galleries are viewable at Canon A3100 IS Gallery and Nikon D800E Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and proportions. The Canon A3100 IS provides external dimensions of 97mm x 58mm x 28mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 165 grams (0.36 lbs) while the Nikon D800E has measurements of 146mm x 123mm x 82mm (5.7" x 4.8" x 3.2") with a weight of 900 grams (1.98 lbs).

Take a look at the Canon A3100 IS and Nikon D800E in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you select during that time. Following is the front view proportions comparison of the A3100 IS versus the D800E.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A3100 IS and D800E is 94 and 54 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to envision the difference in sensor measurements merely by looking through technical specs. The visual here should give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the A3100 IS and D800E.

As you can tell, each of these cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The A3100 IS because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallower DOF harder and the Nikon D800E will result in greater detail due to its extra 24 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older A3100 IS will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.