Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX99

Comparison

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Digital IXUS 850 IS image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-HX99 image
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX99
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Megapixels
7.10
18.20
Max. image resolution
3072 x 2304
4896 x 3672

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
3072 x 2310
4920 x 3699
Diagonal
7.19 mm
7.70 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 : 1.15
(ratio)
Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX99
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
HX99 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than IXUS 850 IS sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 12 years between Canon IXUS 850 IS (2006) and Sony HX99 (2018). Twelve years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
1.87 µm
1.25 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: 0.62 µm (50%)
Pixel pitch of IXUS 850 IS is approx. 50% higher than pixel pitch of HX99.
Pixel area
3.5 µm²
1.56 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: 1.94 µm² (124%)
A pixel on Canon IXUS 850 IS sensor is approx. 124% bigger than a pixel on Sony HX99.
Pixel density
28.54 MP/cm²
63.79 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: 35.25 µm (124%)
Sony HX99 has approx. 124% higher pixel density than Canon IXUS 850 IS.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon IXUS 850 IS
Sony HX99
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
Effective megapixels
7.10
18.20
Optical zoom
3.8x
30x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80 ,100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 80-12800
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
45 cm
5 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 105 mm
24 - 720 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.8
f3.5 - f6.4
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f34.9
f19.7 - f36
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
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1600 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Electronic
White balance presets
5
8
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
207,000 dots
921,600 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
3840x2160 (30p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/MMC card
SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NB-5L battery
Rechargeable Battery Pack NP-BX1
Weight
195 g
242 g
Dimensions
90 x 58 x 25 mm
102 x 58.1 x 35.5 mm
Year
2006
2018




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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

Sony HX99 diagonal

The diagonal of HX99 sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
Diagonal =  6.16² + 4.62²   = 7.70 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

HX99 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 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

HX99 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4920 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.25 µm
4920


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

HX99 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.25 µm

Pixel area = 1.25² = 1.56 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

HX99 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4920 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4920 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 63.79 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

HX99 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.20
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  18.20 × 1000000  = 3699
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3699 × 1.33 = 4920
Resolution vertical: X = 3699

Sensor resolution = 4920 x 3699


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

HX99 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

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

HX99 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.5 - f6.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f6.4) × 5.62 = f19.7 - f36

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