Canon EOS 550D vs. Canon EOS 1000D

Comparison

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EOS 550D image
vs
EOS 1000D image
Canon EOS 550D Canon EOS 1000D
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Megapixels
18.00
10.10
Max. image resolution
5184 x 3456
3888 x 2592

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
22.3 x 14.9 mm
22.2 x 14.8 mm
Sensor resolution
5196 x 3464
3893 x 2595
Diagonal
26.82 mm
26.68 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
1.01 : 1
(ratio)
Canon EOS 550D Canon EOS 1000D
Surface area:
332.27 mm² vs 328.56 mm²
Difference: 3.71 mm² (1%)
550D sensor is slightly bigger than 1000D sensor (only 1% difference).
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Canon 550D (2010) and Canon 1000D (2008). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
4.29 µm
5.7 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: 1.41 µm (33%)
Pixel pitch of 1000D is approx. 33% higher than pixel pitch of 550D.
Pixel area
18.4 µm²
32.49 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: 14.09 µm² (77%)
A pixel on Canon 1000D sensor is approx. 77% bigger than a pixel on Canon 550D.
Pixel density
5.43 MP/cm²
3.08 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: 2.35 µm (76%)
Canon 550D has approx. 76% higher pixel density than Canon 1000D.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon 550D
Canon 1000D
Crop factor
1.61
1.62
Total megapixels
18.70
10.50
Effective megapixels
18.00
10.10
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800 (with boost)
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
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
63-zone Evaluative, Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Centre weighted, Evaluative 35-zone SPC
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
Bulb+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
3"
2.5"
Screen resolution
1,040,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p/25p/24p)
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
Li-Ion
Lithium-Ion BP-511A rechargeable battery
Weight
530 g
502 g
Dimensions
128.8 x 97.5 x 75.3 mm
126 x 98 x 62 mm
Year
2010
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 550D diagonal

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

Canon 1000D diagonal

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


Surface area

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

550D sensor area

Width = 22.30 mm
Height = 14.90 mm

Surface area = 22.30 × 14.90 = 332.27 mm²

1000D sensor area

Width = 22.20 mm
Height = 14.80 mm

Surface area = 22.20 × 14.80 = 328.56 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

550D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.30  × 1000  = 4.29 µm
5196

1000D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3893 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.20  × 1000  = 5.7 µm
3893


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

550D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.29 µm

Pixel area = 4.29² = 18.4 µm²

1000D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.7 µm

Pixel area = 5.7² = 32.49 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

550D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Sensor width = 2.23 cm

Pixel density = (5196 / 2.23)² / 1000000 = 5.43 MP/cm²

1000D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3893 pixels
Sensor width = 2.22 cm

Pixel density = (3893 / 2.22)² / 1000000 = 3.08 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

550D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor height = 14.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.00
r = 22.30/14.90 = 1.5
X =  18.00 × 1000000  = 3464
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3464 × 1.5 = 5196
Resolution vertical: X = 3464

Sensor resolution = 5196 x 3464

1000D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor height = 14.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.10
r = 22.20/14.80 = 1.5
X =  10.10 × 1000000  = 2595
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2595 × 1.5 = 3893
Resolution vertical: X = 2595

Sensor resolution = 3893 x 2595


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


550D crop factor

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

1000D crop factor

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

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).

550D 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 550D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 550D is 1.61

1000D 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 1000D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 1000D is 1.62

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