Canon PowerShot A400 vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690

Comparison

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Canon PowerShot A400

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690

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Megapixels

3.10

16.10

Max. image resolution

2048 x 1536

4608 x 3456

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

2038 x 1521

4627 x 3479

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 A400		Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690

Surface area:

15.17 mm²

28.46 mm²

Difference: 13.29 mm² (88%)

W690 sensor is approx. 1.88x bigger than A400 sensor.

Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 8 years between Canon A400 (2004) and Sony W690 (2012). Eight years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.

Pixel pitch

2.21 µm

1.33 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: 0.88 µm (66%)

Pixel pitch of A400 is approx. 66% higher than pixel pitch of W690.

Pixel area

4.88 µm²

1.77 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: 3.11 µm² (176%)

A pixel on Canon A400 sensor is approx. 176% bigger than a pixel on Sony W690.

Pixel density

20.51 MP/cm²

56.42 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: 35.91 µm (175%)

Sony W690 has approx. 175% higher pixel density than Canon A400.

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

Specs

Canon A400

Sony W690

Crop factor

7.7

5.62

Total megapixels

3.30

Effective megapixels

3.10

Optical zoom

2.2x

10x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400

Auto

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

Macro focus range

5 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

45 - 100 mm

25 - 250 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f4.9

f3.3 - f5.9

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f21.6 - f37.7

f18.5 - f33.2

Metering

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

1 sec

30 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/1500 sec

1/1600 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

None

White balance presets

Screen size

1.5"

Screen resolution

115,000 dots

230,400 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

SD/MMC card

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

255 g

142 g

Dimensions

107 x 53 x 37 mm

94 x 56 x 22 mm

Year

2004

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 A400 diagonal

The diagonal of A400 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 W690 diagonal

The diagonal of W690 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.

A400 sensor area

Width = 4.50 mm
Height = 3.37 mm

Surface area = 4.50 × 3.37 = 15.17 mm²

W690 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

A400 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2038 pixels

Pixel pitch =	4.50	× 1000	= 2.21 µm
	2038

W690 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.16	× 1000	= 1.33 µm
	4627

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

A400 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.21 µm

Pixel area = 2.21² = 4.88 µm²

W690 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.33 µm

Pixel area = 1.33² = 1.77 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

A400 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2038 pixels
Sensor width = 0.45 cm

Pixel density = (2038 / 0.45)² / 1000000 = 20.51 MP/cm²

W690 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4627 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 56.42 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

A400 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.50 mm
Sensor height = 3.37 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.10

r = 4.50/3.37 = 1.34

X = √	3.10 × 1000000	= 1521
	1.34

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1521 × 1.34 = 2038
Resolution vertical: X = 1521

Sensor resolution = 2038 x 1521

W690 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10

r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33

X = √	16.10 × 1000000	= 3479
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3479 × 1.33 = 4627
Resolution vertical: X = 3479

Sensor resolution = 4627 x 3479

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

A400 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 5.62 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 7.7
	5.62

W690 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).

A400 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 7.7
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.9) × 7.7 = f21.6 - f37.7

W690 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f18.5 - f33.2

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