Canon EOS Rebel T3i vs. Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Comparison

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EOS Rebel T3i image
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EOS 5D Mark II image
Canon EOS Rebel T3i Canon EOS 5D Mark II
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Megapixels
18.00
21.00
Max. image resolution
5184 x 3456
5616 x 3744

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
22.3 x 14.9 mm
36 x 24 mm
Sensor resolution
5196 x 3464
5613 x 3742
Diagonal
26.82 mm
43.27 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 : 2.6
(ratio)
Canon EOS Rebel T3i Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Surface area:
332.27 mm² vs 864.00 mm²
Difference: 531.73 mm² (160%)
5D Mark II sensor is approx. 2.6x bigger than Rebel T3i sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Canon Rebel T3i (2011) and Canon 5D Mark II (2008). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
4.29 µm
6.41 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: 2.12 µm (49%)
Pixel pitch of 5D Mark II is approx. 49% higher than pixel pitch of Rebel T3i.
Pixel area
18.4 µm²
41.09 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: 22.69 µm² (123%)
A pixel on Canon 5D Mark II sensor is approx. 123% bigger than a pixel on Canon Rebel T3i.
Pixel density
5.43 MP/cm²
2.43 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: 3 µm (123%)
Canon Rebel T3i has approx. 123% higher pixel density than Canon 5D Mark II.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon Rebel T3i
Canon 5D Mark II
Crop factor
1.61
1
Total megapixels
18.70
22.00
Effective megapixels
18.00
21.00
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, (12800 with boost)
Auto, 100 - 6400 in 1/3 stops, plus 50, 12800, 25600 as option
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, 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
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
1,040,000 dots
920,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
Compact Flash (Type I or II), UDMA, Microdrive
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-Ion
Lithium-Ion LP-E6 rechargeable battery
Weight
570 g
850 g
Dimensions
133.1 x 99.5 x 79.7 mm
152 x 114 x 75 mm
Year
2011
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 Rebel T3i diagonal

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

Canon 5D Mark II diagonal

w = 36.00 mm
h = 24.00 mm
Diagonal =  36.00² + 24.00²   = 43.27 mm


Surface area

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

Rebel T3i sensor area

Width = 22.30 mm
Height = 14.90 mm

Surface area = 22.30 × 14.90 = 332.27 mm²

5D Mark II sensor area

Width = 36.00 mm
Height = 24.00 mm

Surface area = 36.00 × 24.00 = 864.00 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

Rebel T3i pixel pitch

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

5D Mark II pixel pitch

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5613 pixels
Pixel pitch =   36.00  × 1000  = 6.41 µm
5613


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

Rebel T3i pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.29 µm

Pixel area = 4.29² = 18.4 µm²

5D Mark II pixel area

Pixel pitch = 6.41 µm

Pixel area = 6.41² = 41.09 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

Rebel T3i pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Sensor width = 2.23 cm

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

5D Mark II pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5613 pixels
Sensor width = 3.6 cm

Pixel density = (5613 / 3.6)² / 1000000 = 2.43 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

Rebel T3i 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

5D Mark II sensor resolution

Sensor width = 36.00 mm
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 21.00
r = 36.00/24.00 = 1.5
X =  21.00 × 1000000  = 3742
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3742 × 1.5 = 5613
Resolution vertical: X = 3742

Sensor resolution = 5613 x 3742


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


Rebel T3i crop factor

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

5D Mark II crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.27 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1
43.27

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).

Rebel T3i 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 Rebel T3i, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon Rebel T3i is 1.61

5D Mark II 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 5D Mark II, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Since crop factor for Canon 5D Mark II is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.

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