Question: Online reviews have indicated that NEX F3 is a superior device because it has a larger sensor, and therefore it would perform better under low light condition. However, today I tested both cameras. Surprisingly, the Nikon came out on top when it comes to image quality under low light condition. I believe I have almost the same setting on both cameras. I hope to keep the NEX F3, but given the performance Nikon 1 J1 gives, I get the impression that Nikon 1 J1 is superior. I'm new to digital photography, can you help me on what's going on? If F3 is superior why am I getting a more ideal image under low light condition with the Nikon? Is it because I do not have the F3 settings configured correctly? What can I do to make it shown that F3 images are indeed superior(superior meaning it's able to capture more detail under the same lighting condition)?

SONY NEX F3 (Intelligent Auto mode shutter speed:1/6 Aperture: 2.8 ISO:3200 lens:16mm color:sRGB DRO AUTO WB:Auto Then there's one that says: std

Nikon 1 J1 (Auto mode shutter speed:1/4 Aperture: 3.5 ISO:3200 lens:10mm WB:Auto Color:sRGB Then there are two icons i don't know what they're for: one of them says SD like these ![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NA7of.png))

Now under good lighting condition Nikon image seems more vibrant(in terms of colors) just ever so slightly...
Nikon
![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/37WsI.jpg)

Sony
![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qqSmc.jpg)

Answer: 
The NEX F3 *should* be superior to the 1 J1 in low-light due to its larger sensors. Now you say, you see the opposite but have not mentioned how you determine *superior*.

The F3 has a much larger pixel count than the J1, so if you look at 100% view, it wont look as good as expect per-pixel. However if you display or print to the same size, the F3 would normally come out on top given the same *image brightness*.

In you example you have one image darker than the other. This of course makes noise stand out more on the darker image since noise appears as a *signal-to-noise* ratio. This means that the darker the image, the more noise is apparent.

The two icons are see are for Standard color rendition and Adaptive D-Lighting. This is Nikon's equivalent of Sony's Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO). If you want the best quality, you need to turns this off on both cameras. What they do is boost the dark parts of the image to make them brighter, but this amplifies noise. Depending on which setting, you get different amplification. In my *opinion* it also makes *most* images look worse because it reduces contrast.

Of course letting more light in improves the image quality of any camera and so shooting with a larger aperture is better if that gives you the shot you need. If on one camera you can afford a lens with a brighter aperture that will influence your perception of results.
Your test is far from scientific, but given that you mention being a beginner and are able to get better results with the nikon...i'd forget theory and go for practical results.

Metering is bound to be different in both cameras, and get slightly different results. This explains your different exposures. For an accurate test, all exposure values should be equal, and in-camera software corrections should be turned off.

But that would not get you a correct assessment of what you can do with the camera. Why don't you try both cameras in several different common situations, and go from there?