Canon Digital IXUS v2 vs. Nikon Coolpix 5200

Comparison

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Digital IXUS v2 image
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Coolpix 5200 image
Canon Digital IXUS v2 Nikon Coolpix 5200
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Megapixels
2.00
5.00
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
2592 x 1944

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Sensor resolution
1631 x 1226
2579 x 1939
Diagonal
6.66 mm
8.89 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 : 1.78
(ratio)
Canon Digital IXUS v2 Nikon Coolpix 5200
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 37.90 mm²
Difference: 16.58 mm² (78%)
5200 sensor is approx. 1.78x bigger than IXUS v2 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Canon IXUS v2 (2002) and Nikon 5200 (2004). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
3.27 µm
2.76 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: 0.51 µm (18%)
Pixel pitch of IXUS v2 is approx. 18% higher than pixel pitch of 5200.
Pixel area
10.69 µm²
7.62 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: 3.07 µm² (40%)
A pixel on Canon IXUS v2 sensor is approx. 40% bigger than a pixel on Nikon 5200.
Pixel density
9.36 MP/cm²
13.16 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: 3.8 µm (41%)
Nikon 5200 has approx. 41% higher pixel density than Canon IXUS v2.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon IXUS v2
Nikon 5200
Crop factor
6.5
4.87
Total megapixels
2.10
5.20
Effective megapixels
2.00
5.00
Optical zoom
2x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
57 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
10 cm
4 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 70 mm
38 - 114 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.0
f2.8 - f4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2 - f26
f13.6 - f23.9
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Average
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
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1500 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
6
7
Screen size
1.5"
1.5"
Screen resolution
118,000 dots
110,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Compact Flash (Type I)
SD/MMC card, Internal
USB
USB 1.0
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Canon Lithium-Ion
Nikon EN-EL5 Lithium-Ion included
Weight
250 g
180 g
Dimensions
87 x 57 x 27 mm
88 x 60 x 37 mm
Year
2002
2004




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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 v2 diagonal

The diagonal of IXUS v2 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

Nikon 5200 diagonal

The diagonal of 5200 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm
Diagonal = √  7.11² + 5.33²   = 8.89 mm


Surface area

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

IXUS v2 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

5200 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 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 v2 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1631 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 3.27 µm
1631

5200 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 2.76 µm
2579


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 v2 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.27 µm

Pixel area = 3.27² = 10.69 µm²

5200 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.76 µm

Pixel area = 2.76² = 7.62 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 v2 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1631 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1631 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 9.36 MP/cm²

5200 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 13.16 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 v2 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.00
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X = √  2.00 × 1000000  = 1226
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1226 × 1.33 = 1631
Resolution vertical: X = 1226

Sensor resolution = 1631 x 1226

5200 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X = √  5.00 × 1000000  = 1939
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1939 × 1.33 = 2579
Resolution vertical: X = 1939

Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939


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 v2 crop factor

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

5200 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

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 v2 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.0

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.0) × 6.5 = f18.2 - f26

5200 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.9) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f23.9

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