Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT vs. Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

Comparison

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EOS Digital Rebel XT image
vs
PowerShot SX10 IS image
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
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Megapixels
8.00
10.00
Max. image resolution
3456 x 2304
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CCD
Sensor size
22.2 x 14.8 mm
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
3464 x 2309
3647 x 2742
Diagonal
26.68 mm
7.70 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
11.54 : 1
(ratio)
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Surface area:
328.56 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 300.1 mm² (1054%)
Digital Rebel XT sensor is approx. 11.54x bigger than SX10 IS sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Canon Digital Rebel XT (2005) and Canon SX10 IS (2008). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
6.41 µm
1.69 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: 4.72 µm (279%)
Pixel pitch of Digital Rebel XT is approx. 279% higher than pixel pitch of SX10 IS.
Pixel area
41.09 µm²
2.86 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: 38.23 µm² (1337%)
A pixel on Canon Digital Rebel XT sensor is approx. 1337% bigger than a pixel on Canon SX10 IS.
Pixel density
2.43 MP/cm²
35.05 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: 32.62 µm (1342%)
Canon SX10 IS has approx. 1342% higher pixel density than Canon Digital Rebel XT.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon Digital Rebel XT
Canon SX10 IS
Crop factor
1.62
5.62
Total megapixels
8.20
Effective megapixels
8.00
10.00
Optical zoom
20x
Digital zoom
No
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 560 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.7
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
f15.7 - f32
Metering
Centre weighted, Evaluative, Multi-pattern
Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
Bulb+30 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/3200 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentamirror)
Electronic
White balance presets
6
7
Screen size
1.8"
2.5"
Screen resolution
115,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NB-3L battery
AA batteries (NiMH recommended)
Weight
540 g
560 g
Dimensions
126.5 x 94.2 x 64 mm
124 x 88 x 87 mm
Year
2005
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 Digital Rebel XT diagonal

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

Canon SX10 IS diagonal

The diagonal of SX10 IS sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
Diagonal =  6.16² + 4.62²   = 7.70 mm


Surface area

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

Digital Rebel XT sensor area

Width = 22.20 mm
Height = 14.80 mm

Surface area = 22.20 × 14.80 = 328.56 mm²

SX10 IS sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 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

Digital Rebel XT pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3464 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.20  × 1000  = 6.41 µm
3464

SX10 IS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.69 µm
3647


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

Digital Rebel XT pixel area

Pixel pitch = 6.41 µm

Pixel area = 6.41² = 41.09 µm²

SX10 IS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.69 µm

Pixel area = 1.69² = 2.86 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

Digital Rebel XT pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3464 pixels
Sensor width = 2.22 cm

Pixel density = (3464 / 2.22)² / 1000000 = 2.43 MP/cm²

SX10 IS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (3647 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 35.05 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

Digital Rebel XT sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor height = 14.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.00
r = 22.20/14.80 = 1.5
X =  8.00 × 1000000  = 2309
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2309 × 1.5 = 3464
Resolution vertical: X = 2309

Sensor resolution = 3464 x 2309

SX10 IS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  10.00 × 1000000  = 2742
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2742 × 1.33 = 3647
Resolution vertical: X = 2742

Sensor resolution = 3647 x 2742


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


Digital Rebel XT crop factor

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

SX10 IS crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

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).

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

Crop factor for Canon Digital Rebel XT is 1.62

SX10 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.7) × 5.62 = f15.7 - f32

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