Canon EOS 1100D vs. Canon EOS 500D

Comparison

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EOS 1100D image
vs
EOS 500D image
Canon EOS 1100D Canon EOS 500D
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Megapixels
12.20
15.10
Max. image resolution
4272 x 2848
4752 x 3168

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
22.2 x 14.8 mm
22.3 x 14.9 mm
Sensor resolution
4278 x 2852
4760 x 3173
Diagonal
26.68 mm
26.82 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 : 1.01
(ratio)
Canon EOS 1100D Canon EOS 500D
Surface area:
328.56 mm² vs 332.27 mm²
Difference: 3.71 mm² (1%)
500D sensor is slightly bigger than 1100D sensor (only 1% difference).
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Canon 1100D (2011) and Canon 500D (2009). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
5.19 µm
4.68 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: 0.51 µm (11%)
Pixel pitch of 1100D is approx. 11% higher than pixel pitch of 500D.
Pixel area
26.94 µm²
21.9 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: 5.04 µm² (23%)
A pixel on Canon 1100D sensor is approx. 23% bigger than a pixel on Canon 500D.
Pixel density
3.71 MP/cm²
4.56 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: 0.85 µm (23%)
Canon 500D has approx. 23% higher pixel density than Canon 1100D.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon 1100D
Canon 500D
Crop factor
1.62
1.61
Total megapixels
12.60
15.50
Effective megapixels
12.20
15.10
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (6400-12800 with boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Partial
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
Optical (pentamirror)
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
2.7"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
920,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1280x720 (30p/25p)
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion LP-E10 rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion LP-E5 rechargeable battery
Weight
495 g
520 g
Dimensions
129.9 x 99.7 x 77.9 mm
129 x 98 x 62 mm
Year
2011
2009




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vs

Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Canon 1100D diagonal

w = 22.20 mm
h = 14.80 mm
Diagonal =  22.20² + 14.80²   = 26.68 mm

Canon 500D diagonal

w = 22.30 mm
h = 14.90 mm
Diagonal =  22.30² + 14.90²   = 26.82 mm


Surface area

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

1100D sensor area

Width = 22.20 mm
Height = 14.80 mm

Surface area = 22.20 × 14.80 = 328.56 mm²

500D sensor area

Width = 22.30 mm
Height = 14.90 mm

Surface area = 22.30 × 14.90 = 332.27 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

1100D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4278 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.20  × 1000  = 5.19 µm
4278

500D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4760 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.30  × 1000  = 4.68 µm
4760


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

1100D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.19 µm

Pixel area = 5.19² = 26.94 µm²

500D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.68 µm

Pixel area = 4.68² = 21.9 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

1100D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4278 pixels
Sensor width = 2.22 cm

Pixel density = (4278 / 2.22)² / 1000000 = 3.71 MP/cm²

500D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4760 pixels
Sensor width = 2.23 cm

Pixel density = (4760 / 2.23)² / 1000000 = 4.56 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

1100D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor height = 14.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.20
r = 22.20/14.80 = 1.5
X =  12.20 × 1000000  = 2852
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2852 × 1.5 = 4278
Resolution vertical: X = 2852

Sensor resolution = 4278 x 2852

500D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor height = 14.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 15.10
r = 22.30/14.90 = 1.5
X =  15.10 × 1000000  = 3173
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3173 × 1.5 = 4760
Resolution vertical: X = 3173

Sensor resolution = 4760 x 3173


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


1100D crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 26.68 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.62
26.68

500D crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 26.82 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.61
26.82

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).

1100D equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon 1100D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 1100D is 1.62

500D equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon 500D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 500D is 1.61

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