Canon IXY DIGITAL 300 vs. Canon IXY DIGITAL 500

Comparison

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IXY DIGITAL 300 image
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IXY DIGITAL 500 image
Canon IXY DIGITAL 300 Canon IXY DIGITAL 500
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Megapixels
2.02
5.00
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
2592 x 1944

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Sensor resolution
1639 x 1232
2579 x 1939
Diagonal
6.66 mm
8.89 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 : 1.78
(ratio)
Canon IXY DIGITAL 300 Canon IXY DIGITAL 500
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 37.90 mm²
Difference: 16.58 mm² (78%)
IXY DIGITAL 500 sensor is approx. 1.78x bigger than IXY DIGITAL 300 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Canon IXY DIGITAL 300 (2001) and Canon IXY DIGITAL 500 (2004). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
3.25 µm
2.76 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: 0.49 µm (18%)
Pixel pitch of IXY DIGITAL 300 is approx. 18% higher than pixel pitch of IXY DIGITAL 500.
Pixel area
10.56 µm²
7.62 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: 2.94 µm² (39%)
A pixel on Canon IXY DIGITAL 300 sensor is approx. 39% bigger than a pixel on Canon IXY DIGITAL 500.
Pixel density
9.46 MP/cm²
13.16 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: 3.7 µm (39%)
Canon IXY DIGITAL 500 has approx. 39% higher pixel density than Canon IXY DIGITAL 300.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon IXY DIGITAL 300
Canon IXY DIGITAL 500
Crop factor
6.5
4.87
Total megapixels
2.11
5.20
Effective megapixels
2.02
5.00
Optical zoom
3x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
100
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
76 cm
46 cm
Macro focus range
16 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 105 mm
36 - 108 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.7 - f4.7
f2.8 - f4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f17.6 - f30.6
f13.6 - f23.9
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
1 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1500 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
1.5"
1.5"
Screen resolution
120,000 dots
118,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Compact Flash (Type I)
Compact Flash (Type I)
USB
USB 1.0
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Canon NB-L1 680 mAh Lithium-Ion
Lithium-Ion NB-1LH Battery
Weight
270 g
215 g
Dimensions
95 x 63 x 30 mm
87 x 57 x 28 mm
Year
2001
2004




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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 IXY DIGITAL 300 diagonal

The diagonal of IXY DIGITAL 300 sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal =  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm

Canon IXY DIGITAL 500 diagonal

The diagonal of IXY DIGITAL 500 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm
Diagonal =  7.11² + 5.33²   = 8.89 mm


Surface area

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

IXY DIGITAL 300 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

IXY DIGITAL 500 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 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

IXY DIGITAL 300 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1639 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 3.25 µm
1639

IXY DIGITAL 500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 2.76 µm
2579


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

IXY DIGITAL 300 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.25 µm

Pixel area = 3.25² = 10.56 µm²

IXY DIGITAL 500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.76 µm

Pixel area = 2.76² = 7.62 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

IXY DIGITAL 300 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1639 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1639 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 9.46 MP/cm²

IXY DIGITAL 500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 13.16 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

IXY DIGITAL 300 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.02
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X =  2.02 × 1000000  = 1232
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1232 × 1.33 = 1639
Resolution vertical: X = 1232

Sensor resolution = 1639 x 1232

IXY DIGITAL 500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X =  5.00 × 1000000  = 1939
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1939 × 1.33 = 2579
Resolution vertical: X = 1939

Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939


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


IXY DIGITAL 300 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

IXY DIGITAL 500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

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).

IXY DIGITAL 300 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.7 - f4.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f4.7) × 6.5 = f17.6 - f30.6

IXY DIGITAL 500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.9) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f23.9

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