Canon PowerShot A200 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W610

Comparison

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Canon PowerShot A200

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W610

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Megapixels

1.90

14.50

Max. image resolution

1600 x 1200

4320 x 3240

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/3.2" (~ 4.5 x 3.37 mm)

1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)

Sensor resolution

1596 x 1191

4392 x 3302

Diagonal

5.62 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
1	:	1.88
(ratio)

Canon PowerShot A200		Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W610

Surface area:

15.17 mm²

28.46 mm²

Difference: 13.29 mm² (88%)

W610 sensor is approx. 1.88x bigger than A200 sensor.

Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 10 years between Canon A200 (2002) and Sony W610 (2012). Ten years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.

Pixel pitch

2.82 µm

1.4 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: 1.42 µm (101%)

Pixel pitch of A200 is approx. 101% higher than pixel pitch of W610.

Pixel area

7.95 µm²

1.96 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:

Pixel area difference: 5.99 µm² (306%)

A pixel on Canon A200 sensor is approx. 306% bigger than a pixel on Sony W610.

Pixel density

12.58 MP/cm²

50.84 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: 38.26 µm (304%)

Sony W610 has approx. 304% higher pixel density than Canon A200.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Canon A200

Sony W610

Crop factor

7.7

5.62

Total megapixels

2.10

Effective megapixels

1.90

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400

Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

20 cm

50 cm

Macro focus range

5 cm

4 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

39 mm

26 - 105 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f2.8

f2.8 - f5.9

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f21.6

f15.7 - f33.2

Metering

Evaluative

Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

1 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2000 sec

1/1600 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

None

White balance presets

Screen size

1.5"

2.7"

Screen resolution

120,000 dots

230,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

CompactFlash type I

Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital

USB

USB 1.0

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)

Lithium-Ion NP-BN battery

Weight

175 g

113 g

Dimensions

110 x 58 x 36.6 mm

92.9 x 52.4 x 19.3 mm

Year

2002

2012

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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 A200 diagonal

The diagonal of A200 sensor is not 1/3.2 or 0.31" (7.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 5.62 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.50 mm
h = 3.37 mm

Diagonal = √

4.50² + 3.37²

= 5.62 mm

Sony W610 diagonal

The diagonal of W610 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.

A200 sensor area

Width = 4.50 mm
Height = 3.37 mm

Surface area = 4.50 × 3.37 = 15.17 mm²

W610 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

A200 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1596 pixels

Pixel pitch =	4.50	× 1000	= 2.82 µm
	1596

W610 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4392 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.16	× 1000	= 1.4 µm
	4392

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

A200 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.82 µm

Pixel area = 2.82² = 7.95 µm²

W610 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.4 µm

Pixel area = 1.4² = 1.96 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

A200 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1596 pixels
Sensor width = 0.45 cm

Pixel density = (1596 / 0.45)² / 1000000 = 12.58 MP/cm²

W610 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4392 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4392 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 50.84 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

A200 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.50 mm
Sensor height = 3.37 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.90

r = 4.50/3.37 = 1.34

X = √	1.90 × 1000000	= 1191
	1.34

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1191 × 1.34 = 1596
Resolution vertical: X = 1191

Sensor resolution = 1596 x 1191

W610 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.50

r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33

X = √	14.50 × 1000000	= 3302
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3302 × 1.33 = 4392
Resolution vertical: X = 3302

Sensor resolution = 4392 x 3302

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

A200 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 5.62 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 7.7
	5.62

W610 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).

A200 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 7.7
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 7.7 = f21.6

W610 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f15.7 - f33.2

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