Canon EOS 20D vs. Nikon D100

Comparison

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EOS 20D image
vs
D100 image
Canon EOS 20D Nikon D100
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Megapixels
8.20
6.00
Max. image resolution
3504 x 2336
3008 x 2000

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CCD
Sensor size
22.5 x 15 mm
23.7 x 15.5 mm
Sensor resolution
3507 x 2338
3029 x 1980
Diagonal
27.04 mm
28.32 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 : 1.09
(ratio)
Canon EOS 20D Nikon D100
Surface area:
337.50 mm² vs 367.35 mm²
Difference: 29.85 mm² (9%)
D100 sensor is approx. 1.09x bigger than 20D sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Canon 20D (2004) and Nikon D100 (2002). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
6.42 µm
7.82 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: 1.4 µm (22%)
Pixel pitch of D100 is approx. 22% higher than pixel pitch of 20D.
Pixel area
41.22 µm²
61.15 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: 19.93 µm² (48%)
A pixel on Nikon D100 sensor is approx. 48% bigger than a pixel on Canon 20D.
Pixel density
2.43 MP/cm²
1.63 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: 0.8 µm (49%)
Canon 20D has approx. 49% higher pixel density than Nikon D100.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon 20D
Nikon D100
Crop factor
1.6
1.53
Total megapixels
8.50
6.31
Effective megapixels
8.20
6.00
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (H)
Auto, 200-1600, 3200, 6400
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, Spot
3D Matrix, Centre weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
Bulb+30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/8000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
6
7
Screen size
1.8"
1.8"
Screen resolution
118,000 dots
118,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Compact Flash (Type I or II)
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Canon Lithium-Ion
Nikon EN-EL2 Lithium-Ion included
Weight
770 g
730 g
Dimensions
144 x 106 x 72 mm
116 x 144 x 81 mm
Year
2004
2002




Choose cameras to compare

vs

Diagonal

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

Canon 20D diagonal

w = 22.50 mm
h = 15.00 mm
Diagonal =  22.50² + 15.00²   = 27.04 mm

Nikon D100 diagonal

w = 23.70 mm
h = 15.50 mm
Diagonal =  23.70² + 15.50²   = 28.32 mm


Surface area

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

20D sensor area

Width = 22.50 mm
Height = 15.00 mm

Surface area = 22.50 × 15.00 = 337.50 mm²

D100 sensor area

Width = 23.70 mm
Height = 15.50 mm

Surface area = 23.70 × 15.50 = 367.35 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

20D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3507 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.50  × 1000  = 6.42 µm
3507

D100 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3029 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.70  × 1000  = 7.82 µm
3029


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

20D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 6.42 µm

Pixel area = 6.42² = 41.22 µm²

D100 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.82 µm

Pixel area = 7.82² = 61.15 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

20D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3507 pixels
Sensor width = 2.25 cm

Pixel density = (3507 / 2.25)² / 1000000 = 2.43 MP/cm²

D100 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3029 pixels
Sensor width = 2.37 cm

Pixel density = (3029 / 2.37)² / 1000000 = 1.63 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

20D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.50 mm
Sensor height = 15.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.20
r = 22.50/15.00 = 1.5
X =  8.20 × 1000000  = 2338
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2338 × 1.5 = 3507
Resolution vertical: X = 2338

Sensor resolution = 3507 x 2338

D100 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.70 mm
Sensor height = 15.50 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00
r = 23.70/15.50 = 1.53
X =  6.00 × 1000000  = 1980
1.53
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1980 × 1.53 = 3029
Resolution vertical: X = 1980

Sensor resolution = 3029 x 1980


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


20D crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 27.04 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.6
27.04

D100 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.32 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.53
28.32

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).

20D 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 20D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 20D is 1.6

D100 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 Nikon D100, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Nikon D100 is 1.53

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