Canon PowerShot S3 IS vs. Nikon Coolpix L310

Comparison

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Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Nikon Coolpix L310

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Megapixels

6.00

14.10

Max. image resolution

2816 x 2112

4320 x 3240

Sensor

Sensor type

CCD

Sensor size

1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)

1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)

Sensor resolution

2825 x 2124

4330 x 3256

Diagonal

7.19 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	:	1.15
(ratio)

Canon PowerShot S3 IS		Nikon Coolpix L310

Surface area:

24.84 mm²

28.46 mm²

Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)

L310 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than S3 IS sensor.

Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Canon S3 IS (2006) and Nikon L310 (2012). Six years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.

Pixel pitch

2.04 µm

1.42 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: 0.62 µm (44%)

Pixel pitch of S3 IS is approx. 44% higher than pixel pitch of L310.

Pixel area

4.16 µm²

2.02 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: 2.14 µm² (106%)

A pixel on Canon S3 IS sensor is approx. 106% bigger than a pixel on Nikon L310.

Pixel density

24.14 MP/cm²

49.41 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: 25.27 µm (105%)

Nikon L310 has approx. 105% higher pixel density than Canon S3 IS.

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

Specs

Canon S3 IS

Nikon L310

Crop factor

6.02

5.62

Total megapixels

6.20

Effective megapixels

6.00

Optical zoom

12x

Yes

Digital zoom

Yes

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 80 ,100, 200, 400, 800

Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

50 cm

Macro focus range

10 cm

1 cm

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

36 - 432 mm

25 - 525 mm

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

f2.7 - f3.5

f3.1 - f5.8

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

f16.3 - f21.1

f17.4 - f32.6

Metering

Multi, Center-weighted, Spot

256-segment Matrix, Centre weighted, Spot

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

15 sec

4 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/3200 sec

1/4000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Electronic

None

White balance presets

Screen size

Screen resolution

115,000 dots

230,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

1280x720 (30p)

Storage types

SD/SDHC/MMC card

SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended)

4x AA

Weight

510 g

435 g

Dimensions

113 x 78 x 76 mm

109.9 x 76.5 x 78.4 mm

Year

2006

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 S3 IS diagonal

The diagonal of S3 IS sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm

Diagonal = √

5.75² + 4.32²

= 7.19 mm

Nikon L310 diagonal

The diagonal of L310 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.

S3 IS sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

L310 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

S3 IS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels

Pixel pitch =	5.75	× 1000	= 2.04 µm
	2825

L310 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels

Pixel pitch =	6.16	× 1000	= 1.42 µm
	4330

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

S3 IS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.04 µm

Pixel area = 2.04² = 4.16 µm²

L310 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.42 µm

Pixel area = 1.42² = 2.02 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

S3 IS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2825 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 24.14 MP/cm²

L310 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4330 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.41 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

S3 IS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00

r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33

X = √	6.00 × 1000000	= 2124
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2124 × 1.33 = 2825
Resolution vertical: X = 2124

Sensor resolution = 2825 x 2124

L310 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.10

r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33

X = √	14.10 × 1000000	= 3256
	1.33

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3256 × 1.33 = 4330
Resolution vertical: X = 3256

Sensor resolution = 4330 x 3256

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

S3 IS crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 6.02
	7.19

L310 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).

S3 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.7 - f3.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f3.5) × 6.02 = f16.3 - f21.1

L310 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.1 - f5.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f5.8) × 5.62 = f17.4 - f32.6

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