Canon PowerShot A2500 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W530

Comparison

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PowerShot A2500 image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-W530 image
Canon PowerShot A2500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W530
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Megapixels
16.00
14.10
Max. image resolution
4608 x 3456
4320 x 3240

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
4612 x 3468
4330 x 3256
Diagonal
7.70 mm
7.70 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
(ratio)
Canon PowerShot A2500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W530
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
A2500 and W530 sensors are the same size.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Canon A2500 (2013) and Sony W530 (2011). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.34 µm
1.42 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: 0.08 µm (6%)
Pixel pitch of W530 is approx. 6% higher than pixel pitch of A2500.
Pixel area
1.8 µm²
2.02 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: 0.22 µm² (12%)
A pixel on Sony W530 sensor is approx. 12% bigger than a pixel on Canon A2500.
Pixel density
56.06 MP/cm²
49.41 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: 6.65 µm (13%)
Canon A2500 has approx. 13% higher pixel density than Sony W530.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon A2500
Sony W530
Crop factor
5.62
5.62
Total megapixels
16.60
Effective megapixels
16.00
Optical zoom
5x
4x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
5 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 140 mm
26 - 104 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f6.9
f2.7 - f5.7
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f15.7 - f38.8
f15.2 - f32
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
49-zone Multi-pattern, Centre weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
1 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
2.7"
2.7"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
230,400 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery NB-11L
Lithium-Ion NP-BN1 battery
Weight
125 g
113 g
Dimensions
97.7 x 56 x 20.9 mm
93 x 52 x 19 mm
Year
2013
2011




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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 A2500 diagonal

The diagonal of A2500 sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
Diagonal = √  6.16² + 4.62²   = 7.70 mm

Sony W530 diagonal

The diagonal of W530 sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
Diagonal = √  6.16² + 4.62²   = 7.70 mm


Surface area

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

A2500 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

W530 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 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

A2500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.34 µm
4612

W530 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.42 µm
4330


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

A2500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.34 µm

Pixel area = 1.34² = 1.8 µm²

W530 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.42 µm

Pixel area = 1.42² = 2.02 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

A2500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4612 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 56.06 MP/cm²

W530 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4330 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.41 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

A2500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  16.00 × 1000000  = 3468
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3468 × 1.33 = 4612
Resolution vertical: X = 3468

Sensor resolution = 4612 x 3468

W530 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  14.10 × 1000000  = 3256
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3256 × 1.33 = 4330
Resolution vertical: X = 3256

Sensor resolution = 4330 x 3256


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


A2500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

W530 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

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).

A2500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.8 - f6.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f6.9) × 5.62 = f15.7 - f38.8

W530 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.7 - f5.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f5.7) × 5.62 = f15.2 - f32

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