Canon Digital IXUS 300 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T30

Comparison

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Digital IXUS 300 image
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Cyber-shot DSC-T30 image
Canon Digital IXUS 300 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T30
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Megapixels
2.02
7.20
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
3072 x 2304

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
Sensor resolution
1639 x 1232
3095 x 2327
Diagonal
6.66 mm
7.19 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 : 1.17
(ratio)
Canon Digital IXUS 300 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T30
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 24.84 mm²
Difference: 3.52 mm² (17%)
T30 sensor is approx. 1.17x bigger than IXUS 300 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Canon IXUS 300 (2001) and Sony T30 (2006). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
3.25 µm
1.86 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: 1.39 µm (75%)
Pixel pitch of IXUS 300 is approx. 75% higher than pixel pitch of T30.
Pixel area
10.56 µm²
3.46 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: 7.1 µm² (205%)
A pixel on Canon IXUS 300 sensor is approx. 205% bigger than a pixel on Sony T30.
Pixel density
9.46 MP/cm²
28.97 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: 19.51 µm (206%)
Sony T30 has approx. 206% higher pixel density than Canon IXUS 300.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon IXUS 300
Sony T30
Crop factor
6.5
6.02
Total megapixels
2.11
Effective megapixels
2.02
Optical zoom
3x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
100
Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
76 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
16 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 105 mm
38 - 114 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.7 - f4.7
f3.5 - f4.3
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f17.6 - f30.6
f21.1 - f25.9
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, Multi-pattern, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
1 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1500 sec
1/1000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
5
6
Screen size
1.5"
3"
Screen resolution
120,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Compact Flash (Type I)
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Canon NB-L1 680 mAh Lithium-Ion
InfoLithium (NP-FR1)
Weight
270 g
169 g
Dimensions
95 x 63 x 30 mm
95.0 x 56.5 x 23.3 mm
Year
2001
2006




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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 IXUS 300 diagonal

The diagonal of IXUS 300 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

Sony T30 diagonal

The diagonal of T30 sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
Diagonal = √  5.75² + 4.32²   = 7.19 mm


Surface area

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

IXUS 300 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

T30 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 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

IXUS 300 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1639 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 3.25 µm
1639

T30 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3095 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.86 µm
3095


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

IXUS 300 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.25 µm

Pixel area = 3.25² = 10.56 µm²

T30 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.86 µm

Pixel area = 1.86² = 3.46 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

IXUS 300 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1639 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1639 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 9.46 MP/cm²

T30 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3095 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3095 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 28.97 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

IXUS 300 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.02
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X = √  2.02 × 1000000  = 1232
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1232 × 1.33 = 1639
Resolution vertical: X = 1232

Sensor resolution = 1639 x 1232

T30 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 7.20
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X = √  7.20 × 1000000  = 2327
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2327 × 1.33 = 3095
Resolution vertical: X = 2327

Sensor resolution = 3095 x 2327


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


IXUS 300 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

T30 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

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).

IXUS 300 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.7 - f4.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f4.7) × 6.5 = f17.6 - f30.6

T30 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f3.5 - f4.3

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f4.3) × 6.02 = f21.1 - f25.9

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