Canon PowerShot S300 DIGITAL ELPH vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

Comparison

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PowerShot S300 DIGITAL ELPH image
vs
Lumix DMC-FZ200 image
Canon PowerShot S300 DIGITAL ELPH Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200
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Megapixels
2.02
12.10
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
1639 x 1232
4011 x 3016
Diagonal
6.66 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 : 1.33
(ratio)
Canon PowerShot S300 DIGITAL ELPH Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 7.14 mm² (33%)
FZ200 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than S300 DIGITAL ELPH sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 11 years between Canon S300 DIGITAL ELPH (2001) and Panasonic FZ200 (2012). Eleven years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
3.25 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: 1.71 µm (111%)
Pixel pitch of S300 DIGITAL ELPH is approx. 111% higher than pixel pitch of FZ200.
Pixel area
10.56 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:
vs
Pixel area difference: 8.19 µm² (346%)
A pixel on Canon S300 DIGITAL ELPH sensor is approx. 346% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic FZ200.
Pixel density
9.46 MP/cm²
42.4 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: 32.94 µm (348%)
Panasonic FZ200 has approx. 348% higher pixel density than Canon S300 DIGITAL ELPH.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon S300 DIGITAL ELPH
Panasonic FZ200
Crop factor
6.5
5.62
Total megapixels
2.11
12.80
Effective megapixels
2.02
12.10
Optical zoom
3x
24x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
100
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, (6400 with boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
76 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
16 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 105 mm
25 - 600 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.7 - f4.7
f2.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f17.6 - f30.6
f15.7
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
1 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1500 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Electronic
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
1.5"
3"
Screen resolution
120,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60p/60i/30p)
Storage types
Compact Flash (Type I)
SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Canon NB-L1 680 mAh Lithium-Ion
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
270 g
588 g
Dimensions
95 x 63 x 30 mm
125 x 87 x 110 mm
Year
2001
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 S300 DIGITAL ELPH diagonal

The diagonal of S300 DIGITAL ELPH sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal =  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm

Panasonic FZ200 diagonal

The diagonal of FZ200 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.

S300 DIGITAL ELPH sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

FZ200 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

S300 DIGITAL ELPH pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1639 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 3.25 µm
1639

FZ200 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.54 µm
4011


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

S300 DIGITAL ELPH pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.25 µm

Pixel area = 3.25² = 10.56 µm²

FZ200 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

S300 DIGITAL ELPH pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1639 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1639 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 9.46 MP/cm²

FZ200 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4011 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4011 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.4 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

S300 DIGITAL ELPH sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.02
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X =  2.02 × 1000000  = 1232
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1232 × 1.33 = 1639
Resolution vertical: X = 1232

Sensor resolution = 1639 x 1232

FZ200 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  12.10 × 1000000  = 3016
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3016 × 1.33 = 4011
Resolution vertical: X = 3016

Sensor resolution = 4011 x 3016


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


S300 DIGITAL ELPH crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

FZ200 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).

S300 DIGITAL ELPH equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.7 - f4.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.7 - f4.7) × 6.5 = f17.6 - f30.6

FZ200 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 5.62 = f15.7

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