Canon PowerShot G7 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5

Comparison

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PowerShot G7 image
vs
Lumix DMC-FH5 image
Canon PowerShot G7 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5
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Megapixels
10.00
16.10
Max. image resolution
3648 x 2736
4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
1/2.33" (~ 6.08 x 4.56 mm)
Sensor resolution
3647 x 2742
4627 x 3479
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 G7 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5
Surface area:
37.90 mm² vs 27.72 mm²
Difference: 10.18 mm² (37%)
G7 sensor is approx. 1.37x bigger than FH5 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 5 year gap between Canon G7 (2006) and Panasonic FH5 (2011). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
1.95 µm
1.31 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: 0.64 µm (49%)
Pixel pitch of G7 is approx. 49% higher than pixel pitch of FH5.
Pixel area
3.8 µm²
1.72 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: 2.08 µm² (121%)
A pixel on Canon G7 sensor is approx. 121% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FH5.
Pixel density
26.31 MP/cm²
57.92 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: 31.61 µm (120%)
Panasonic FH5 has approx. 120% higher pixel density than Canon G7.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon G7
Panasonic FH5
Crop factor
4.87
5.69
Total megapixels
10.30
16.60
Effective megapixels
10.00
16.10
Optical zoom
6x
4x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80 , 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 - 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 210 mm
28 - 112 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.8
f3.1 - f6.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f13.6 - f23.4
f17.6 - f37
Metering
Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Intelligent Multiple
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
No
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2500 sec
1/1600 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
7
6
Screen size
2.5"
2.7"
Screen resolution
207,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Secure Digital
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Canon Lithium-Ion
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
320 g
121 g
Dimensions
106.4 x 71.9 x 42.5 mm
94.3 x 53.5 x 18.8 mm
Year
2006
2011




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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

Panasonic FH5 diagonal

The diagonal of FH5 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.

G7 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

FH5 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

G7 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3647 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 1.95 µm
3647

FH5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.08  × 1000  = 1.31 µm
4627


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

FH5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.31 µm

Pixel area = 1.31² = 1.72 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

FH5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Sensor width = 0.608 cm

Pixel density = (4627 / 0.608)² / 1000000 = 57.92 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

FH5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.08 mm
Sensor height = 4.56 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
r = 6.08/4.56 = 1.33
X =  16.10 × 1000000  = 3479
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3479 × 1.33 = 4627
Resolution vertical: X = 3479

Sensor resolution = 4627 x 3479


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

FH5 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).

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

FH5 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.69
Aperture = f3.1 - f6.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f6.5) × 5.69 = f17.6 - f37

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