Nikon D40 vs. Olympus PEN E-PL5
Comparison
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| Nikon D40 | Olympus PEN E-PL5 | ||||
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Megapixels
6.10
16.10
Max. image resolution
3008 x 2000
4608 x 3456
Sensor
Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
23.7 x 15.6 mm
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 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 »
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 »
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| Nikon D40 | Olympus PEN E-PL5 | |
Surface area:
| 369.72 mm² | vs | 224.90 mm² |
Difference: 144.82 mm² (64%)
D40 sensor is approx. 1.64x bigger than PEN E-PL5 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations.
There is a gap of 6 years between Nikon D40 (2006) and Olympus PEN E-PL5 (2012).
Six years is a lot of time in terms
of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more
efficient than the older ones.
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.
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.
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.
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: 46.54 µm² (333%)
A pixel on Nikon D40 sensor is approx. 333% bigger than a pixel on Olympus PEN E-PL5.
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.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers,
click here.
Specs
Nikon D40
Olympus PEN E-PL5
Total megapixels
6.24
17.20
Effective megapixels
6.10
16.10
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 200 - 1600 (plus 3200 with boost)
Auto, 200 - 25600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Metering
3D Matrix, Centre weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentamirror)
Electronic (optional)
White balance presets
6
8
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p)
Storage types
Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Nikon EN-EL9 Lithium-Ion included
Lithium-Ion BLS-5 rechargeable battery
Weight
522 g
325 g
Dimensions
126 x 64 x 94 mm
110.5 x 63.7 x 38.2 mm
Year
2006
2012
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Popular comparisons:
Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Nikon D40 diagonal
w = 23.70 mm
h = 15.60 mm
h = 15.60 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 23.70² + 15.60² | = 28.37 mm |
Olympus PEN E-PL5 diagonal
w = 17.30 mm
h = 13.00 mm
h = 13.00 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 17.30² + 13.00² | = 21.64 mm |
Surface area
Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.
D40 sensor area
Width = 23.70 mm
Height = 15.60 mm
Surface area = 23.70 × 15.60 = 369.72 mm²
Height = 15.60 mm
Surface area = 23.70 × 15.60 = 369.72 mm²
PEN E-PL5 sensor area
Width = 17.30 mm
Height = 13.00 mm
Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 mm²
Height = 13.00 mm
Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 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 |
D40 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 23.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3045 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 3045 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 23.70 | × 1000 | = 7.78 µm |
| 3045 |
PEN E-PL5 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 17.30 | × 1000 | = 3.74 µm |
| 4627 |
Pixel area
The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
| Pixel area = | sensor surface area in mm² |
| effective megapixels |
D40 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 7.78 µm
Pixel area = 7.78² = 60.53 µm²
Pixel area = 7.78² = 60.53 µm²
PEN E-PL5 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 3.74 µm
Pixel area = 3.74² = 13.99 µm²
Pixel area = 3.74² = 13.99 µm²
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
One could also use this 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 |
D40 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 3045 pixels
Sensor width = 2.37 cm
Pixel density = (3045 / 2.37)² / 1000000 = 1.65 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 2.37 cm
Pixel density = (3045 / 2.37)² / 1000000 = 1.65 MP/cm²
PEN E-PL5 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Sensor width = 1.73 cm
Pixel density = (4627 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 7.15 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 1.73 cm
Pixel density = (4627 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 7.15 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:
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
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 → |
|
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
D40 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 23.70 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.10
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2003 × 1.52 = 3045
Resolution vertical: X = 2003
Sensor resolution = 3045 x 2003
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.10
| r = 23.70/15.60 = 1.52 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 2003
Sensor resolution = 3045 x 2003
PEN E-PL5 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3479 × 1.33 = 4627
Resolution vertical: X = 3479
Sensor resolution = 4627 x 3479
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
| r = 17.30/13.00 = 1.33 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 3479
Sensor resolution = 4627 x 3479
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 |
D40 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.37 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1.53 |
| 28.37 |
PEN E-PL5 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 21.64 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 2 |
| 21.64 |
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).
D40 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
Nikon D40, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Crop factor for Nikon D40 is 1.53
Crop factor for Nikon D40 is 1.53
PEN E-PL5 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
Olympus PEN E-PL5, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Crop factor for Olympus PEN E-PL5 is 2
Crop factor for Olympus PEN E-PL5 is 2
More comparisons of Nikon D40:
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