Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 vs. Olympus FE-5010

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-LC1 image
vs
FE-5010 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 Olympus FE-5010
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Megapixels
4.90
12.00
Max. image resolution
2560 x 1920
3968 x 2976

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
2/3" (~ 8.8 x 6.6 mm)
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
Sensor resolution
2552 x 1919
3995 x 3004
Diagonal
11.00 mm
7.60 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
2.1 : 1
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 Olympus FE-5010
Surface area:
58.08 mm² vs 27.72 mm²
Difference: 30.36 mm² (110%)
LC1 sensor is approx. 2.1x bigger than FE-5010 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Panasonic LC1 (2004) and Olympus FE-5010 (2009). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
3.45 µm
1.52 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: 1.93 µm (127%)
Pixel pitch of LC1 is approx. 127% higher than pixel pitch of FE-5010.
Pixel area
11.9 µm²
2.31 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: 9.59 µm² (415%)
A pixel on Panasonic LC1 sensor is approx. 415% bigger than a pixel on Olympus FE-5010.
Pixel density
8.41 MP/cm²
43.17 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: 34.76 µm (413%)
Olympus FE-5010 has approx. 413% higher pixel density than Panasonic LC1.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic LC1
Olympus FE-5010
Crop factor
3.93
5.69
Total megapixels
5.20
Effective megapixels
4.90
12.00
Optical zoom
3.2x
5x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
100, 200, 400
Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
60 cm
60 cm
Macro focus range
30 cm
3 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 90 mm
36 - 180 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f2.0 - f2.4
f3.5 - f5.6
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f7.9 - f9.4
f19.9 - f31.9
Metering
Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot
ESP Digital
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
8 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
None
White balance presets
7
7
Screen size
2.5"
2.7"
Screen resolution
211,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
MultiMedia, Secure Digital
xD Picture card
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion 1400 mAh supplied
Li-ion Rechargeable Battery (LI-42B)
Weight
702 g
130 g
Dimensions
135 x 82 x 102 mm
96.1 x 56.6 x 20.6 mm
Year
2004
2009




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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

Panasonic LC1 diagonal

The diagonal of LC1 sensor is not 2/3 or 0.67" (16.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 11 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 8.80 mm
h = 6.60 mm
Diagonal =  8.80² + 6.60²   = 11.00 mm

Olympus FE-5010 diagonal

The diagonal of FE-5010 sensor is not 1/2.33 or 0.43" (10.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.08 mm
h = 4.56 mm
Diagonal =  6.08² + 4.56²   = 7.60 mm


Surface area

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

LC1 sensor area

Width = 8.80 mm
Height = 6.60 mm

Surface area = 8.80 × 6.60 = 58.08 mm²

FE-5010 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 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

LC1 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 8.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2552 pixels
Pixel pitch =   8.80  × 1000  = 3.45 µm
2552

FE-5010 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3995 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.52 µm
3995


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

LC1 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.45 µm

Pixel area = 3.45² = 11.9 µm²

FE-5010 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.52 µm

Pixel area = 1.52² = 2.31 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

LC1 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2552 pixels
Sensor width = 0.88 cm

Pixel density = (2552 / 0.88)² / 1000000 = 8.41 MP/cm²

FE-5010 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3995 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (3995 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 43.17 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

LC1 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 8.80 mm
Sensor height = 6.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 4.90
r = 8.80/6.60 = 1.33
X =  4.90 × 1000000  = 1919
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1919 × 1.33 = 2552
Resolution vertical: X = 1919

Sensor resolution = 2552 x 1919

FE-5010 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.00
r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33
X =  12.00 × 1000000  = 3004
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3004 × 1.33 = 3995
Resolution vertical: X = 3004

Sensor resolution = 3995 x 3004


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


LC1 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 11.00 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 3.93
11.00

FE-5010 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.60 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.69
7.60

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).

LC1 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 3.93
Aperture = f2.0 - f2.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f2.4) × 3.93 = f7.9 - f9.4

FE-5010 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.5 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f5.6) × 5.69 = f19.9 - f31.9

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