A sensor is the heart of a digital camera. Composed of millions of small pixels, it records an image when you take a picture. The size of a sensor pixel has a strong influence on its ability to detect and record light accurately.

For most, sensor size is not a concern when buying a digital camera. And it really shouldn’t be of concern unless you take a lot of photos in low light, require high shutter speeds for subjects such as wildlife and action photography, or if you intend to do a lot of cropping.

Large sensor, less noise

A larger pixel records more light. Because of the way the electrical connections are designed, a larger sensor, which records larger pixels, produces less noise.

Unlike digital single lens reflex cameras, compact digital cameras have small sensors. Photo quality produced by a compact camera can sometimes  rival those taken with a DSLR…if photos are taken in very good light.

However, the image quality of most compact digital cameras begins to degrade once the sensitivity is set above ISO 200. At the same time, sensors and the way compact  cameras internally handle noise have improved quite a lot during the last few years.

Improvements in sensors of compact digital cameras

Thankfully, other manufactures are responding to the needs of photographers desiring a compact that performs well in low light. They offer high end compacts that have relatively large sensors designed with high sensitivity. They also have brighter lenses than found on other compact cameras, allowing more light to hit the sensor especially at wider angles. Two examples are the highly regarded Canon s90 and Panasonic LX3.

The bottom line

If you take a lot of low light photos, get a compact camera with a larger sensor or Super CCD. For even better low light performance, consider a Micro Four-Thirds camera. Currently, digital Single Reflex Cameras offer the best high ISO performance.