Canon EOS 300D vs. Nikon D300

Comparison

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Canon EOS 300D

Nikon D300

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Megapixels

6.30

12.30

Max. image resolution

3072 x 2048

4288 x 2848

Sensor

Sensor type

CMOS

Sensor size

22.7 x 15.1 mm

23.6 x 15.8 mm

Sensor resolution

3074 x 2049

4281 x 2873

Diagonal

27.26 mm

28.40 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 300D		Nikon D300

Surface area:

342.77 mm²

372.88 mm²

Difference: 30.11 mm² (9%)

D300 sensor is approx. 1.09x bigger than 300D sensor.

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Canon 300D (2003) and Nikon D300 (2007). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

7.38 µm

5.51 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: 1.87 µm (34%)

Pixel pitch of 300D is approx. 34% higher than pixel pitch of D300.

Pixel area

54.46 µm²

30.36 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:

Pixel area difference: 24.1 µm² (79%)

A pixel on Canon 300D sensor is approx. 79% bigger than a pixel on Nikon D300.

Pixel density

1.83 MP/cm²

3.29 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: 1.46 µm (80%)

Nikon D300 has approx. 80% higher pixel density than Canon 300D.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Canon 300D

Nikon D300

Crop factor

1.59

1.52

Total megapixels

6.34

13.10

Effective megapixels

6.30

12.30

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600

200 - 3200 in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps (100 - 6400 with boost)

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

Macro focus range

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

n/a

Metering

Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot

3D Matrix metering II, Centre weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

30 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/4000 sec

1/8000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (pentamirror)

Optical (pentaprism)

White balance presets

Screen size

1.8"

Screen resolution

118,000 dots

920,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive

USB

USB 1.0

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Canon 1100mAh Li-Ion

Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e rechargeable battery

Weight

645 g

925 g

Dimensions

142 x 99 x 73 mm

147 x 114 x 74 mm

Year

2003

2007

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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 300D diagonal

w = 22.70 mm
h = 15.10 mm

Diagonal = √

22.70² + 15.10²

= 27.26 mm

Nikon D300 diagonal

w = 23.60 mm
h = 15.80 mm

Diagonal = √

23.60² + 15.80²

= 28.40 mm

Surface area

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

300D sensor area

Width = 22.70 mm
Height = 15.10 mm

Surface area = 22.70 × 15.10 = 342.77 mm²

D300 sensor area

Width = 23.60 mm
Height = 15.80 mm

Surface area = 23.60 × 15.80 = 372.88 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

300D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3074 pixels

Pixel pitch =	22.70	× 1000	= 7.38 µm
	3074

D300 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels

Pixel pitch =	23.60	× 1000	= 5.51 µm
	4281

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

300D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.38 µm

Pixel area = 7.38² = 54.46 µm²

D300 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.51 µm

Pixel area = 5.51² = 30.36 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

300D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3074 pixels
Sensor width = 2.27 cm

Pixel density = (3074 / 2.27)² / 1000000 = 1.83 MP/cm²

D300 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels
Sensor width = 2.36 cm

Pixel density = (4281 / 2.36)² / 1000000 = 3.29 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

300D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.70 mm
Sensor height = 15.10 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.30

r = 22.70/15.10 = 1.5

X = √	6.30 × 1000000	= 2049
	1.5

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2049 × 1.5 = 3074
Resolution vertical: X = 2049

Sensor resolution = 3074 x 2049

D300 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor height = 15.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.30

r = 23.60/15.80 = 1.49

X = √	12.30 × 1000000	= 2873
	1.49

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2873 × 1.49 = 4281
Resolution vertical: X = 2873

Sensor resolution = 4281 x 2873

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

300D crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 27.26 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 1.59
	27.26

D300 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.40 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 1.52
	28.40

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).

300D 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 300D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 300D is 1.59

D300 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 D300, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Nikon D300 is 1.52

More comparisons of Canon 300D:

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