Canon PowerShot ELPH 500 HS vs. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50

Comparison

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PowerShot ELPH 500 HS image
vs
Cyber-shot DSC-W50 image
Canon PowerShot ELPH 500 HS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50
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Megapixels
12.10
6.00
Max. image resolution
4000 x 3000
2816 x 2112

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
Sensor resolution
4011 x 3016
2825 x 2124
Diagonal
7.70 mm
7.19 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
1.15 : 1
(ratio)
Canon PowerShot ELPH 500 HS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 24.84 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
ELPH 500 HS sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than W50 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Canon ELPH 500 HS (2011) and Sony W50 (2006). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.54 µm
2.04 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: 0.5 µm (32%)
Pixel pitch of W50 is approx. 32% higher than pixel pitch of ELPH 500 HS.
Pixel area
2.37 µm²
4.16 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: 1.79 µm² (76%)
A pixel on Sony W50 sensor is approx. 76% bigger than a pixel on Canon ELPH 500 HS.
Pixel density
42.4 MP/cm²
24.14 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: 18.26 µm (76%)
Canon ELPH 500 HS has approx. 76% higher pixel density than Sony W50.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon ELPH 500 HS
Sony W50
Crop factor
5.62
6.02
Total megapixels
Effective megapixels
12.10
Optical zoom
4.4x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 125 - 3200
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
40 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
2 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
24 - 105 mm
38 - 114 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.0 - f5.8
f2.8 - f5.2
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f11.2 - f32.6
f16.9 - f31.3
Metering
Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Multi-pattern, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
1 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1600 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
3.2"
2.5"
Screen resolution
461,000 dots
115,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NB-6L rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion NP-BG1 rechargeable
Weight
185 g
127 g
Dimensions
100.6 x 55.4 x 25.0 mm
89 x 57 x 23 mm
Year
2011
2006




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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 ELPH 500 HS diagonal

The diagonal of ELPH 500 HS 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

Sony W50 diagonal

The diagonal of W50 sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
Diagonal =  5.75² + 4.32²   = 7.19 mm


Surface area

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

ELPH 500 HS sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

W50 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 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

ELPH 500 HS pixel pitch

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

W50 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.04 µm
2825


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

ELPH 500 HS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.54 µm

Pixel area = 1.54² = 2.37 µm²

W50 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.04 µm

Pixel area = 2.04² = 4.16 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

ELPH 500 HS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

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

W50 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2825 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 24.14 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

ELPH 500 HS 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

W50 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  6.00 × 1000000  = 2124
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2124 × 1.33 = 2825
Resolution vertical: X = 2124

Sensor resolution = 2825 x 2124


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


ELPH 500 HS crop factor

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

W50 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

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).

ELPH 500 HS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.0 - f5.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f5.8) × 5.62 = f11.2 - f32.6

W50 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.2

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.2) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f31.3

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