Canon Digital IXUS II vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300

Comparison

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Digital IXUS II image
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Cyber-shot DSC-T300 image
Canon Digital IXUS II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300
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Megapixels
3.10
10.10
Max. image resolution
2048 x 1536
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
2031 x 1527
3665 x 2756
Diagonal
6.66 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 : 1.33
(ratio)
Canon Digital IXUS II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 7.14 mm² (33%)
T300 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than IXUS II sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Canon IXUS II (2003) and Sony T300 (2008). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
2.62 µm
1.68 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: 0.94 µm (56%)
Pixel pitch of IXUS II is approx. 56% higher than pixel pitch of T300.
Pixel area
6.86 µm²
2.82 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: 4.04 µm² (143%)
A pixel on Canon IXUS II sensor is approx. 143% bigger than a pixel on Sony T300.
Pixel density
14.52 MP/cm²
35.4 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: 20.88 µm (144%)
Sony T300 has approx. 144% higher pixel density than Canon IXUS II.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon IXUS II
Sony T300
Crop factor
6.5
5.62
Total megapixels
3.30
Effective megapixels
3.10
Optical zoom
2x
5x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 100 - 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
47 cm
80 cm
Macro focus range
10 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 70 mm
33 - 165 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f3.9
f3.5 - f4.4
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2 - f25.4
f19.7 - f24.7
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
1 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1500 sec
1/1000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
6
10
Screen size
1.5"
3.5"
Screen resolution
118,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SD/MMC card
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Canon Lithium-Ion
Lithium-Ion (NP-BD1)
Weight
185 g
175 g
Dimensions
85 x 56 x 24 mm
94 x 59 x 21 mm
Year
2003
2008




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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 II diagonal

The diagonal of IXUS II 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 T300 diagonal

The diagonal of T300 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 II sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

T300 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 II pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 2.62 µm
2031

T300 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.68 µm
3665


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 II pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.62 µm

Pixel area = 2.62² = 6.86 µm²

T300 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.68 µm

Pixel area = 1.68² = 2.82 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 II pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (2031 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 14.52 MP/cm²

T300 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (3665 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 35.4 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 II sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.10
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X = √  3.10 × 1000000  = 1527
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1527 × 1.33 = 2031
Resolution vertical: X = 1527

Sensor resolution = 2031 x 1527

T300 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  10.10 × 1000000  = 2756
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2756 × 1.33 = 3665
Resolution vertical: X = 2756

Sensor resolution = 3665 x 2756


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 II crop factor

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

T300 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 II equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8 - f3.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f3.9) × 6.5 = f18.2 - f25.4

T300 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.5 - f4.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f4.4) × 5.62 = f19.7 - f24.7

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