Canon PowerShot G9 vs. Nikon Coolpix P300

Comparison

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Canon PowerShot G9

Nikon Coolpix P300

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Megapixels

12.10

12.00

Max. image resolution

4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

CMOS

Sensor size

1/1.7" (~ 7.53 x 5.64 mm)

1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)

Sensor resolution

4027 x 3005

3995 x 3004

Diagonal

9.41 mm

7.70 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
1.49	:	1
(ratio)

Canon PowerShot G9		Nikon Coolpix P300

Surface area:

42.47 mm²

28.46 mm²

Difference: 14.01 mm² (49%)

G9 sensor is approx. 1.49x bigger than P300 sensor.

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Canon G9 (2007) and Nikon P300 (2011). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

1.87 µm

1.54 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: 0.33 µm (21%)

Pixel pitch of G9 is approx. 21% higher than pixel pitch of P300.

Pixel area

3.5 µm²

2.37 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: 1.13 µm² (48%)

A pixel on Canon G9 sensor is approx. 48% bigger than a pixel on Nikon P300.

Pixel density

28.6 MP/cm²

42.06 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: 13.46 µm (47%)

Nikon P300 has approx. 47% higher pixel density than Canon G9.

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

Specs

Canon G9

Nikon P300

Crop factor

4.6

5.62

Total megapixels

12.40

12.70

Effective megapixels

12.10

12.00

Optical zoom

4.2x

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

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

Auto, 160 - 3200

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

45 cm

30 cm

Macro focus range

1 cm

3 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

35 - 210 mm

24 - 100 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.8 - f4.8

f1.8 - f4.9

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f12.9 - f22.1

f10.1 - f27.5

Metering

Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot

Multi, Center-weighted

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

15 sec

8 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/2500 sec

1/2000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (tunnel)

None

White balance presets

Screen size

Screen resolution

230,000 dots

921,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

Storage types

MultiMedia, SDHC, Secure Digital

SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

Canon Lithium-Ion

Nikon EN-EL12 Lithium-Ion battery

Weight

320 g

190 g

Dimensions

106.4 x 71.9 x 42.5 mm

103.0 x 58.3 x 32.0 mm

Year

2007

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 G9 diagonal

The diagonal of G9 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 P300 diagonal

The diagonal of P300 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

Surface area

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

G9 sensor area

Width = 7.53 mm
Height = 5.64 mm

Surface area = 7.53 × 5.64 = 42.47 mm²

P300 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 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

G9 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4027 pixels

Pixel pitch =	7.53	× 1000	= 1.87 µm
	4027

P300 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3995 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.16	× 1000	= 1.54 µm
	3995

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

G9 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.87 µm

Pixel area = 1.87² = 3.5 µm²

P300 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.54 µm

Pixel area = 1.54² = 2.37 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

G9 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4027 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

Pixel density = (4027 / 0.753)² / 1000000 = 28.6 MP/cm²

P300 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3995 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (3995 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.06 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

G9 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor height = 5.64 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10

r = 7.53/5.64 = 1.34

X = √	12.10 × 1000000	= 3005
	1.34

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3005 × 1.34 = 4027
Resolution vertical: X = 3005

Sensor resolution = 4027 x 3005

P300 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.00

r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33

X = √	12.00 × 1000000	= 3004
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3004 × 1.33 = 3995
Resolution vertical: X = 3004

Sensor resolution = 3995 x 3004

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

G9 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.41 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 4.6
	9.41

P300 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 5.62
	7.70

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).

G9 equivalent aperture

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

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.8) × 4.6 = f12.9 - f22.1

P300 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f1.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f1.8 - f4.9) × 5.62 = f10.1 - f27.5

More comparisons of Canon G9:

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