Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P30

Comparison

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P30

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Megapixels

4.90

1.30

Max. image resolution

2560 x 1920

1280 x 960

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

2/3" (~ 8.8 x 6.6 mm)

1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)

Sensor resolution

2552 x 1919

1315 x 989

Diagonal

11.00 mm

6.66 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
2.72	:	1
(ratio)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1		Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P30

Surface area:

58.08 mm²

21.32 mm²

Difference: 36.76 mm² (172%)

LC1 sensor is approx. 2.72x bigger than P30 sensor.

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Panasonic LC1 (2004) and Sony P30 (2001). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

3.45 µm

4.05 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: 0.6 µm (17%)

Pixel pitch of P30 is approx. 17% higher than pixel pitch of LC1.

Pixel area

11.9 µm²

16.4 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:

Pixel area difference: 4.5 µm² (38%)

A pixel on Sony P30 sensor is approx. 38% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic LC1.

Pixel density

8.41 MP/cm²

6.09 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: 2.32 µm (38%)

Panasonic LC1 has approx. 38% higher pixel density than Sony P30.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Panasonic LC1

Sony P30

Crop factor

3.93

6.5

Total megapixels

5.20

Effective megapixels

4.90

Optical zoom

3.2x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

100, 200, 400

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

60 cm

50 cm

Macro focus range

30 cm

3 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

28 - 90 mm

41 - 123 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.0 - f2.4

f3.8

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f7.9 - f9.4

f24.7

Metering

Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot

Centre weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

8 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/4000 sec

1/725 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Electronic

Optical (tunnel)

White balance presets

Screen size

2.5"

1.5"

Screen resolution

211,000 dots

123,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

MultiMedia, Secure Digital

Memory Stick

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

USB 1.0

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Lithium-Ion 1400 mAh supplied

AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)

Weight

702 g

250 g

Dimensions

135 x 82 x 102 mm

143 x 103 x 79 mm

Year

2004

2001

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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

Sony P30 diagonal

The diagonal of P30 sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm

Diagonal = √

5.33² + 4.00²

= 6.66 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

P30 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 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

P30 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1315 pixels

Pixel pitch =	5.33	× 1000	= 4.05 µm
	1315

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

P30 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.05 µm

Pixel area = 4.05² = 16.4 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

P30 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1315 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1315 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 6.09 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

P30 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.30

r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33

X = √	1.30 × 1000000	= 989
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 989 × 1.33 = 1315
Resolution vertical: X = 989

Sensor resolution = 1315 x 989

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

P30 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 6.5
	6.66

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

P30 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f3.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.8) × 6.5 = f24.7

More comparisons of Panasonic LC1:

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