Canon PowerShot G7 vs. Canon PowerShot S90

Comparison

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Canon PowerShot G7

Canon PowerShot S90

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Megapixels

10.00

Max. image resolution

3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)

1/1.7" (~ 7.53 x 5.64 mm)

Sensor resolution

3647 x 2742

3661 x 2732

Diagonal

8.89 mm

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	:	1.12
(ratio)

Canon PowerShot G7		Canon PowerShot S90

Surface area:

37.90 mm²

42.47 mm²

Difference: 4.57 mm² (12%)

S90 sensor is approx. 1.12x bigger than G7 sensor.

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Canon G7 (2006) and Canon S90 (2009). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

1.95 µm

2.06 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: 0.11 µm (6%)

Pixel pitch of S90 is approx. 6% higher than pixel pitch of G7.

Pixel area

3.8 µm²

4.24 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: 0.44 µm² (12%)

A pixel on Canon S90 sensor is approx. 12% bigger than a pixel on Canon G7.

Pixel density

26.31 MP/cm²

23.64 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: 2.67 µm (11%)

Canon G7 has approx. 11% higher pixel density than Canon S90.

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

Specs

Canon G7

Canon S90

Crop factor

4.87

4.6

Total megapixels

10.30

10.40

Effective megapixels

10.00

Optical zoom

3.8x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 80 , 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600

Auto, 80-3200

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

Macro focus range

1 cm

5 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

35 - 210 mm

28 - 105 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f4.8

f2.0 - f4.9

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f13.6 - f23.4

f9.2 - f22.5

Metering

Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

15 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2500 sec

1/1600 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

None

White balance presets

Screen size

2.5"

Screen resolution

207,000 dots

461,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

640x480 (30p)

Storage types

Secure Digital

SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus card

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Canon Lithium-Ion

Lithium-Ion NB-6L rechargeable battery

Weight

320 g

195 g

Dimensions

106.4 x 71.9 x 42.5 mm

100 x 58 x 31 mm

Year

2006

2009

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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 G7 diagonal

The diagonal of G7 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

Canon S90 diagonal

The diagonal of S90 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.

G7 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

S90 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

G7 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.11	× 1000	= 1.95 µm
	3647

S90 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3661 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.53	× 1000	= 2.06 µm
	3661

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

G7 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.95 µm

Pixel area = 1.95² = 3.8 µm²

S90 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.06 µm

Pixel area = 2.06² = 4.24 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

G7 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (3647 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 26.31 MP/cm²

S90 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3661 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

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

G7 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.00

r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33

X = √	10.00 × 1000000	= 2742
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2742 × 1.33 = 3647
Resolution vertical: X = 2742

Sensor resolution = 3647 x 2742

S90 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

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

G7 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.87
	8.89

S90 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).

G7 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.8) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f23.4

S90 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.6
Aperture = f2.0 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f4.9) × 4.6 = f9.2 - f22.5

More comparisons of Canon G7:

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