Canon PowerShot A1100 IS vs. Nikon D7100

Comparison

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PowerShot A1100 IS image
vs
D7100 image
Canon PowerShot A1100 IS Nikon D7100
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Megapixels
12.10
24.10
Max. image resolution
4000 x 3000
6000 x 4000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
23.5 x 15.6 mm
Sensor resolution
4011 x 3016
6032 x 3995
Diagonal
7.70 mm
28.21 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 : 12.88
(ratio)
Canon PowerShot A1100 IS Nikon D7100
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 366.60 mm²
Difference: 338.14 mm² (1188%)
D7100 sensor is approx. 12.88x bigger than A1100 IS sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Canon A1100 IS (2009) and Nikon D7100 (2013). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.54 µm
3.9 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: 2.36 µm (153%)
Pixel pitch of D7100 is approx. 153% higher than pixel pitch of A1100 IS.
Pixel area
2.37 µm²
15.21 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: 12.84 µm² (542%)
A pixel on Nikon D7100 sensor is approx. 542% bigger than a pixel on Canon A1100 IS.
Pixel density
42.4 MP/cm²
6.59 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: 35.81 µm (543%)
Canon A1100 IS has approx. 543% higher pixel density than Nikon D7100.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon A1100 IS
Nikon D7100
Crop factor
5.62
1.53
Total megapixels
24.71
Effective megapixels
12.10
24.10
Optical zoom
4x
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 100 - 6400, Hi-1 (ISO 12800), Hi-2 (ISO 25600)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
46 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 140 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.7 - f5.6
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f15.2 - f31.5
n/a
Metering
Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1600 sec
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
5
12
Screen size
2.5"
3.2"
Screen resolution
115,000 dots
1,228,800 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60i/50i/30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC x 2
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
2 x AA Alkaline or NiMH Batteries (Alkalines supplied)
Lithium-Ion EN-EL15 rechargeable battery
Weight
155 g
675 g
Dimensions
95.4 x 62.4 x 31.0 mm
135.5 x 106.5 x 76 mm
Year
2009
2013




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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 A1100 IS diagonal

The diagonal of A1100 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

Nikon D7100 diagonal

w = 23.50 mm
h = 15.60 mm
Diagonal =  23.50² + 15.60²   = 28.21 mm


Surface area

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

A1100 IS sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

D7100 sensor area

Width = 23.50 mm
Height = 15.60 mm

Surface area = 23.50 × 15.60 = 366.60 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

A1100 IS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.54 µm
4011

D7100 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6032 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.50  × 1000  = 3.9 µm
6032


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

A1100 IS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.54 µm

Pixel area = 1.54² = 2.37 µm²

D7100 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.9 µm

Pixel area = 3.9² = 15.21 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

A1100 IS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4011 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.4 MP/cm²

D7100 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 6032 pixels
Sensor width = 2.35 cm

Pixel density = (6032 / 2.35)² / 1000000 = 6.59 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

A1100 IS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  12.10 × 1000000  = 3016
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3016 × 1.33 = 4011
Resolution vertical: X = 3016

Sensor resolution = 4011 x 3016

D7100 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.10
r = 23.50/15.60 = 1.51
X =  24.10 × 1000000  = 3995
1.51
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3995 × 1.51 = 6032
Resolution vertical: X = 3995

Sensor resolution = 6032 x 3995


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


A1100 IS crop factor

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

D7100 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.21 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.53
28.21

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).

A1100 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.7 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f5.6) × 5.62 = f15.2 - f31.5

D7100 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 D7100, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Nikon D7100 is 1.53

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