Canon EOS Rebel T3i vs. Sony Alpha SLT-A37

Comparison

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EOS Rebel T3i image
vs
Alpha SLT-A37 image
Canon EOS Rebel T3i Sony Alpha SLT-A37
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Megapixels
18.00
16.10
Max. image resolution
5184 x 3456
4912 x 3264

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
22.3 x 14.9 mm
23.5 x 15.6 mm
Sensor resolution
5196 x 3464
4930 x 3265
Diagonal
26.82 mm
28.21 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
1 : 1.1
(ratio)
Canon EOS Rebel T3i Sony Alpha SLT-A37
Surface area:
332.27 mm² vs 366.60 mm²
Difference: 34.33 mm² (10%)
Alpha SLT-A37 sensor is approx. 1.1x bigger than Rebel T3i sensor.
Pixel pitch
4.29 µm
4.77 µm
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Difference: 0.48 µm (11%)
Pixel pitch of Alpha SLT-A37 is approx. 11% higher than pixel pitch of Rebel T3i.
Pixel area
18.4 µm²
22.75 µm²
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 4.35 µm² (24%)
A pixel on Sony Alpha SLT-A37 sensor is approx. 24% bigger than a pixel on Canon Rebel T3i.
Pixel density
5.43 MP/cm²
4.4 MP/cm²
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Difference: 1.03 µm (23%)
Canon Rebel T3i has approx. 23% higher pixel density than Sony Alpha SLT-A37.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon Rebel T3i
Sony Alpha SLT-A37
Crop factor
1.61
1.53
Total megapixels
18.70
16.70
Effective megapixels
18.00
16.10
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, (12800 with boost)
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot, Partial
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
Electronic
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
3"
2.6"
Screen resolution
1,040,000 dots
230,400 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-Ion
Rechargeable NP-FW50 battery
Weight
570 g
506 g
Dimensions
133.1 x 99.5 x 79.7 mm
124 x 92 x 85 mm
Year
2011
2012




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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Canon Rebel T3i diagonal

w = 22.30 mm
h = 14.90 mm
Diagonal =  22.30² + 14.90²   = 26.82 mm

Sony Alpha SLT-A37 diagonal

w = 23.50 mm
h = 15.60 mm
Diagonal =  23.50² + 15.60²   = 28.21 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

Rebel T3i sensor area

Width = 22.30 mm
Height = 14.90 mm

Surface area = 22.30 × 14.90 = 332.27 mm²

Alpha SLT-A37 sensor area

Width = 23.50 mm
Height = 15.60 mm

Surface area = 23.50 × 15.60 = 366.60 mm²


Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel pitch =   sensor width in mm  × 1000
sensor resolution width in pixels

Rebel T3i pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.30  × 1000  = 4.29 µm
5196

Alpha SLT-A37 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4930 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.50  × 1000  = 4.77 µm
4930


Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area =   sensor surface area in mm²
effective megapixels

Rebel T3i pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.29 µm

Pixel area = 4.29² = 18.4 µm²

Alpha SLT-A37 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.77 µm

Pixel area = 4.77² = 22.75 µm²


Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel density =  ( sensor resolution width in pixels )² / 1000000
sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:
Pixel density =   effective megapixels × 1000000  / 10000
sensor surface area in mm²

Rebel T3i pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Sensor width = 2.23 cm

Pixel density = (5196 / 2.23)² / 1000000 = 5.43 MP/cm²

Alpha SLT-A37 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4930 pixels
Sensor width = 2.35 cm

Pixel density = (4930 / 2.35)² / 1000000 = 4.4 MP/cm²


Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000    →   
X =  effective megapixels × 1000000
r
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

Rebel T3i sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor height = 14.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.00
r = 22.30/14.90 = 1.5
X =  18.00 × 1000000  = 3464
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3464 × 1.5 = 5196
Resolution vertical: X = 3464

Sensor resolution = 5196 x 3464

Alpha SLT-A37 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
r = 23.50/15.60 = 1.51
X =  16.10 × 1000000  = 3265
1.51
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3265 × 1.51 = 4930
Resolution vertical: X = 3265

Sensor resolution = 4930 x 3265


Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
Crop factor =   43.27 mm
sensor diagonal in mm


Rebel T3i crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 26.82 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.61
26.82

Alpha SLT-A37 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.21 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.53
28.21

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

Rebel T3i equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon Rebel T3i, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon Rebel T3i is 1.61

Alpha SLT-A37 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Sony Alpha SLT-A37, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Sony Alpha SLT-A37 is 1.53

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