Canon PowerShot A430 vs. Canon PowerShot A450

Comparison

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Canon PowerShot A430

Canon PowerShot A450

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Megapixels

4.00

5.00

Max. image resolution

2272 x 1704

2592 x 1944

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/3" (~ 4.8 x 3.6 mm)

Sensor resolution

2306 x 1734

2579 x 1939

Diagonal

6.00 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
(ratio)

Canon PowerShot A430		Canon PowerShot A450

Surface area:

17.28 mm²

Difference: 0 mm² (0%)

A430 and A450 sensors are the same size.

Pixel pitch

2.08 µm

1.86 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: 0.22 µm (12%)

Pixel pitch of A430 is approx. 12% higher than pixel pitch of A450.

Pixel area

4.33 µm²

3.46 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: 0.87 µm² (25%)

A pixel on Canon A430 sensor is approx. 25% bigger than a pixel on Canon A450.

Pixel density

23.08 MP/cm²

28.87 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: 5.79 µm (25%)

Canon A450 has approx. 25% higher pixel density than Canon A430.

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

Specs

Canon A430

Canon A450

Crop factor

7.21

Total megapixels

4.10

5.20

Effective megapixels

4.00

5.00

Optical zoom

3.2x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400

Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

47 cm

45 cm

Macro focus range

1 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

39 - 156 mm

38 - 122 mm

Aperture priority

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f5.8

f2.8 - f5.1

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f20.2 - f41.8

f20.2 - f36.8

Metering

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Min. shutter speed

1 sec

15 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

White balance presets

Screen size

1.8"

Screen resolution

77,000 dots

86,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

SD/MMC card

Secure Digital

USB

USB 1.0

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)

Weight

210 g

165 g

Dimensions

103 x 52 x 40 mm

106 x 51.8 x 40.2 mm

Year

2006

2007

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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 A430 diagonal

The diagonal of A430 sensor is not 1/3 or 0.33" (8.5 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.80 mm
h = 3.60 mm

Diagonal = √

4.80² + 3.60²

= 6.00 mm

Canon A450 diagonal

The diagonal of A450 sensor is not 1/3 or 0.33" (8.5 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.80 mm
h = 3.60 mm

Diagonal = √

4.80² + 3.60²

= 6.00 mm

Surface area

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

A430 sensor area

Width = 4.80 mm
Height = 3.60 mm

Surface area = 4.80 × 3.60 = 17.28 mm²

A450 sensor area

Width = 4.80 mm
Height = 3.60 mm

Surface area = 4.80 × 3.60 = 17.28 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

A430 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2306 pixels

Pixel pitch =	4.80	× 1000	= 2.08 µm
	2306

A450 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels

Pixel pitch =	4.80	× 1000	= 1.86 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

A430 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.08 µm

Pixel area = 2.08² = 4.33 µm²

A450 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.86 µm

Pixel area = 1.86² = 3.46 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

A430 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2306 pixels
Sensor width = 0.48 cm

Pixel density = (2306 / 0.48)² / 1000000 = 23.08 MP/cm²

A450 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.48 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.48)² / 1000000 = 28.87 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

A430 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor height = 3.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 4.00

r = 4.80/3.60 = 1.33

X = √	4.00 × 1000000	= 1734
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1734 × 1.33 = 2306
Resolution vertical: X = 1734

Sensor resolution = 2306 x 1734

A450 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor height = 3.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00

r = 4.80/3.60 = 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

A430 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.00 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 7.21
	6.00

A450 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.00 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 7.21
	6.00

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).

A430 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 7.21
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.8) × 7.21 = f20.2 - f41.8

A450 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 7.21
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.1

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.1) × 7.21 = f20.2 - f36.8

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