Sigma SD1 vs. Sigma SD10

Comparison

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SD1 image
vs
SD10 image
Sigma SD1 Sigma SD10
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Megapixels
15.40
3.40
Max. image resolution
4800 x 3200 x 3
2268 x 1512 x 3
Note: Both Sigma SD1 and Sigma SD10 use Foveon X3 image sensor, which is a new type of sensor that has 3 layers of photoelements stacked together in 1 pixel location. Traditional CCD/CMOS sensors have 1 pixel for 1 color, whereas Foveon sensor captures all 3 colors (blue, green, and red) at every pixel.

Sensor

Sensor type
Foveon
Foveon
Sensor size
24 x 16 mm
20.7 x 13.8 mm
Sensor resolution
4806 x 3204
2259 x 1506
Diagonal
28.84 mm
24.88 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
1.34 : 1
(ratio)
Sigma SD1 Sigma SD10
Surface area:
384.00 mm² vs 285.66 mm²
Difference: 98.34 mm² (34%)
SD1 sensor is approx. 1.34x bigger than SD10 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 7 years between Sigma SD1 (2010) and Sigma SD10 (2003). Seven years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
4.99 µm
9.16 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: 4.17 µm (84%)
Pixel pitch of SD10 is approx. 84% higher than pixel pitch of SD1.
Pixel area
24.9 µm²
83.91 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: 59.01 µm² (237%)
A pixel on Sigma SD10 sensor is approx. 237% bigger than a pixel on Sigma SD1.
Pixel density
4.01 MP/cm²
1.19 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: 2.82 µm (237%)
Sigma SD1 has approx. 237% higher pixel density than Sigma SD10.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sigma SD1
Sigma SD10
Crop factor
1.5
1.74
Total megapixels
15.40
3.40
Effective megapixels
15.40
3.40
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
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, Average
Centre weighted, Evaluative
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/6000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
6
8
Screen size
3"
1.8"
Screen resolution
460,000 dots
130,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Compact Flash (Type I, UDMA compatible)
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
280 g
950 g
Dimensions
145.5 x 112.5 x 80.0 mm
152 x 120 x 79 mm
Year
2010
2003




Choose cameras to compare

vs

Diagonal

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

Sigma SD1 diagonal

w = 24.00 mm
h = 16.00 mm
Diagonal =  24.00² + 16.00²   = 28.84 mm

Sigma SD10 diagonal

w = 20.70 mm
h = 13.80 mm
Diagonal =  20.70² + 13.80²   = 24.88 mm


Surface area

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

SD1 sensor area

Width = 24.00 mm
Height = 16.00 mm

Surface area = 24.00 × 16.00 = 384.00 mm²

SD10 sensor area

Width = 20.70 mm
Height = 13.80 mm

Surface area = 20.70 × 13.80 = 285.66 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

SD1 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 24.00 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4806 pixels
Pixel pitch =   24.00  × 1000  = 4.99 µm
4806

SD10 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 20.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2259 pixels
Pixel pitch =   20.70  × 1000  = 9.16 µm
2259


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

SD1 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.99 µm

Pixel area = 4.99² = 24.9 µm²

SD10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 9.16 µm

Pixel area = 9.16² = 83.91 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

SD1 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4806 pixels
Sensor width = 2.4 cm

Pixel density = (4806 / 2.4)² / 1000000 = 4.01 MP/cm²

SD10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2259 pixels
Sensor width = 2.07 cm

Pixel density = (2259 / 2.07)² / 1000000 = 1.19 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

SD1 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 24.00 mm
Sensor height = 16.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 15.40
r = 24.00/16.00 = 1.5
X =  15.40 × 1000000  = 3204
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3204 × 1.5 = 4806
Resolution vertical: X = 3204

Sensor resolution = 4806 x 3204

SD10 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 20.70 mm
Sensor height = 13.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.40
r = 20.70/13.80 = 1.5
X =  3.40 × 1000000  = 1506
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1506 × 1.5 = 2259
Resolution vertical: X = 1506

Sensor resolution = 2259 x 1506


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


SD1 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.84 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.5
28.84

SD10 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 24.88 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.74
24.88

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).

SD1 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 Sigma SD1, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Sigma SD1 is 1.5

SD10 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 Sigma SD10, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Sigma SD10 is 1.74

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