Canon PowerShot G1 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150

Comparison

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PowerShot G1 image
vs
Lumix DMC-FZ150 image
Canon PowerShot G1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150
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Megapixels
3.10
12.10
Max. image resolution
2048 x 1536
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
Sensor resolution
2031 x 1527
4011 x 3016
Diagonal
8.89 mm
7.60 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
1.37 : 1
(ratio)
Canon PowerShot G1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150
Surface area:
37.90 mm² vs 27.72 mm²
Difference: 10.18 mm² (37%)
G1 sensor is approx. 1.37x bigger than FZ150 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 11 years between Canon G1 (2000) and Panasonic FZ150 (2011). Eleven years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
3.5 µm
1.52 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: 1.98 µm (130%)
Pixel pitch of G1 is approx. 130% higher than pixel pitch of FZ150.
Pixel area
12.25 µm²
2.31 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: 9.94 µm² (430%)
A pixel on Canon G1 sensor is approx. 430% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FZ150.
Pixel density
8.16 MP/cm²
43.52 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: 35.36 µm (433%)
Panasonic FZ150 has approx. 433% higher pixel density than Canon G1.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon G1
Panasonic FZ150
Crop factor
4.87
5.69
Total megapixels
3.30
12.50
Effective megapixels
3.10
12.10
Optical zoom
3x
24x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 100 - 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
70 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
6 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
34 - 102 mm
25 - 600 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.0 - f2.5
f2.8 - f5.2
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f9.7 - f12.2
f15.9 - f29.6
Metering
Centre weighted, Spot
Intelligent Multiple
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
8 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Electronic
White balance presets
6
8
Screen size
1.8"
3"
Screen resolution
113,578 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Canon Lithium-Ion
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
490 g
528 g
Dimensions
120 x 77 x 64 mm
124 x 82 x 95 mm
Year
2000
2011




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vs

Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Canon G1 diagonal

The diagonal of G1 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm
Diagonal =  7.11² + 5.33²   = 8.89 mm

Panasonic FZ150 diagonal

The diagonal of FZ150 sensor is not 1/2.33 or 0.43" (10.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.08 mm
h = 4.56 mm
Diagonal =  6.08² + 4.56²   = 7.60 mm


Surface area

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

G1 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

FZ150 sensor area

Width = 6.08 mm
Height = 4.56 mm

Surface area = 6.08 × 4.56 = 27.72 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

G1 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 3.5 µm
2031

FZ150 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.52 µm
4011


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

G1 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.5 µm

Pixel area = 3.5² = 12.25 µm²

FZ150 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.52 µm

Pixel area = 1.52² = 2.31 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

G1 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2031 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 8.16 MP/cm²

FZ150 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (4011 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 43.52 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

G1 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.10
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X =  3.10 × 1000000  = 1527
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1527 × 1.33 = 2031
Resolution vertical: X = 1527

Sensor resolution = 2031 x 1527

FZ150 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 6.08/4.56 = 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


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


G1 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

FZ150 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.60 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.69
7.60

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).

G1 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.0 - f2.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f2.5) × 4.87 = f9.7 - f12.2

FZ150 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.2

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.2) × 5.69 = f15.9 - f29.6

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