Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS vs. Canon PowerShot G15

Comparison

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Digital IXUS 850 IS image
vs
PowerShot G15 image
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS Canon PowerShot G15
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Megapixels
7.10
12.10
Max. image resolution
3072 x 2304
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/1.7" (~ 7.53 x 5.64 mm)
Sensor resolution
3072 x 2310
4027 x 3005
Diagonal
7.19 mm
9.41 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 : 1.71
(ratio)
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS Canon PowerShot G15
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 42.47 mm²
Difference: 17.63 mm² (71%)
G15 sensor is approx. 1.71x bigger than IXUS 850 IS sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Canon IXUS 850 IS (2006) and Canon G15 (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
1.87 µm
1.87 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 µm (0%)
IXUS 850 IS and G15 have the same pixel pitch.
Pixel area
3.5 µm²
3.5 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: 0 µm² (0%)
Canon IXUS 850 IS and Canon G15 have the same pixel area.
Pixel density
28.54 MP/cm²
28.6 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: 0.060000000000002 µm (0.2%)
Canon G15 has approx. 0.2% higher pixel density than Canon IXUS 850 IS.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon IXUS 850 IS
Canon G15
Crop factor
6.02
4.6
Total megapixels
13.30
Effective megapixels
7.10
12.10
Optical zoom
3.8x
5x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80 ,100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 80 - 12800
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
45 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 105 mm
28 - 140 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.8
f1.8 - f2.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f34.9
f8.3 - f12.9
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1600 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
5
7
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
207,000 dots
922,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/MMC card
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NB-5L battery
Lithium-Ion NB-10L rechargeable battery
Weight
195 g
352 g
Dimensions
90 x 58 x 25 mm
106.6 x 75.9 x 40.1 mm
Year
2006
2012




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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 850 IS diagonal

The diagonal of IXUS 850 IS 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

Canon G15 diagonal

The diagonal of G15 sensor is not 1/1.7 or 0.59" (14.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 9.41 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.53 mm
h = 5.64 mm
Diagonal =  7.53² + 5.64²   = 9.41 mm


Surface area

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

IXUS 850 IS sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

G15 sensor area

Width = 7.53 mm
Height = 5.64 mm

Surface area = 7.53 × 5.64 = 42.47 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 850 IS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3072 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.87 µm
3072

G15 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4027 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.53  × 1000  = 1.87 µm
4027


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 850 IS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.87 µm

Pixel area = 1.87² = 3.5 µm²

G15 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.87 µm

Pixel area = 1.87² = 3.5 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 850 IS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3072 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3072 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 28.54 MP/cm²

G15 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4027 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

Pixel density = (4027 / 0.753)² / 1000000 = 28.6 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 850 IS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 7.10
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  7.10 × 1000000  = 2310
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2310 × 1.33 = 3072
Resolution vertical: X = 2310

Sensor resolution = 3072 x 2310

G15 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor height = 5.64 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 7.53/5.64 = 1.34
X =  12.10 × 1000000  = 3005
1.34
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3005 × 1.34 = 4027
Resolution vertical: X = 3005

Sensor resolution = 4027 x 3005


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 850 IS crop factor

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

G15 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.41 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.6
9.41

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 850 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.8) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f34.9

G15 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.6
Aperture = f1.8 - f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f1.8 - f2.8) × 4.6 = f8.3 - f12.9

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