Canon PowerShot G12 vs. Nikon Coolpix P7700

Comparison

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Canon PowerShot G12

Nikon Coolpix P7700

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Megapixels

10.00

12.20

Max. image resolution

3648 x 2736

4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

CMOS

Sensor size

1/1.7" (~ 7.53 x 5.64 mm)

Sensor resolution

3661 x 2732

4043 x 3017

Diagonal

9.41 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 G12		Nikon Coolpix P7700

Surface area:

42.47 mm²

Difference: 0 mm² (0%)

G12 and P7700 sensors are the same size.

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Canon G12 (2010) and Nikon P7700 (2012). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

2.06 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: 0.2 µm (11%)

Pixel pitch of G12 is approx. 11% higher than pixel pitch of P7700.

Pixel area

4.24 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: 0.78 µm² (23%)

A pixel on Canon G12 sensor is approx. 23% bigger than a pixel on Nikon P7700.

Pixel density

23.64 MP/cm²

28.83 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: 5.19 µm (22%)

Nikon P7700 has approx. 22% higher pixel density than Canon G12.

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

Specs

Canon G12

Nikon P7700

Crop factor

4.6

Total megapixels

10.40

12.80

Effective megapixels

10.00

12.20

Optical zoom

7.1x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 80 - 3200

80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, (3200 and Hi 1=6400)

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

35 cm

50 cm

Macro focus range

1 cm

2 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

28 - 140 mm

28 - 200 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f4.5

f2.0 - f4.0

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f12.9 - f20.7

f9.2 - f18.4

Metering

Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

15 sec

60 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/4000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

None

White balance presets

Screen size

2.8"

Screen resolution

461,000 dots

921,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital

SD/SDHC/SDXC

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Lithium-Ion NB-7L rechargeable battery

Nikon EN-EL14 Lithium-Ion

Weight

355 g

392 g

Dimensions

112 x 76 x 48 mm

118.5 x 72.5 x 50.4 mm

Year

2010

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 G12 diagonal

The diagonal of G12 sensor is not 1/1.7 or 0.59" (14.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 9.41 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.53 mm
h = 5.64 mm

Diagonal = √

7.53² + 5.64²

= 9.41 mm

Nikon P7700 diagonal

The diagonal of P7700 sensor is not 1/1.7 or 0.59" (14.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 9.41 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.53 mm
h = 5.64 mm

Diagonal = √

7.53² + 5.64²

= 9.41 mm

Surface area

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

G12 sensor area

Width = 7.53 mm
Height = 5.64 mm

Surface area = 7.53 × 5.64 = 42.47 mm²

P7700 sensor area

Width = 7.53 mm
Height = 5.64 mm

Surface area = 7.53 × 5.64 = 42.47 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

G12 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3661 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.53	× 1000	= 2.06 µm
	3661

P7700 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4043 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.53	× 1000	= 1.86 µm
	4043

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

G12 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.06 µm

Pixel area = 2.06² = 4.24 µm²

P7700 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

G12 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3661 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

Pixel density = (3661 / 0.753)² / 1000000 = 23.64 MP/cm²

P7700 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4043 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

Pixel density = (4043 / 0.753)² / 1000000 = 28.83 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

G12 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor height = 5.64 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.00

r = 7.53/5.64 = 1.34

X = √	10.00 × 1000000	= 2732
	1.34

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2732 × 1.34 = 3661
Resolution vertical: X = 2732

Sensor resolution = 3661 x 2732

P7700 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor height = 5.64 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.20

r = 7.53/5.64 = 1.34

X = √	12.20 × 1000000	= 3017
	1.34

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3017 × 1.34 = 4043
Resolution vertical: X = 3017

Sensor resolution = 4043 x 3017

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

G12 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.41 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.6
	9.41

P7700 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.41 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.6
	9.41

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).

G12 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.6
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.5) × 4.6 = f12.9 - f20.7

P7700 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.6
Aperture = f2.0 - f4.0

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f4.0) × 4.6 = f9.2 - f18.4

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