Canon PowerShot SD700 IS vs. Canon PowerShot SD550

Comparison

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PowerShot SD700 IS image
vs
PowerShot SD550 image
Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Canon PowerShot SD550
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Megapixels
6.00
7.10
Max. image resolution
2816 x 2112
3072 x 2304

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Sensor resolution
2825 x 2124
3072 x 2310
Diagonal
7.19 mm
8.89 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 : 1.53
(ratio)
Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Canon PowerShot SD550
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 37.90 mm²
Difference: 13.06 mm² (53%)
SD550 sensor is approx. 1.53x bigger than SD700 IS sensor.
Pixel pitch
2.04 µm
2.31 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: 0.27 µm (13%)
Pixel pitch of SD550 is approx. 13% higher than pixel pitch of SD700 IS.
Pixel area
4.16 µm²
5.34 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: 1.18 µm² (28%)
A pixel on Canon SD550 sensor is approx. 28% bigger than a pixel on Canon SD700 IS.
Pixel density
24.14 MP/cm²
18.67 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: 5.47 µm (29%)
Canon SD700 IS has approx. 29% higher pixel density than Canon SD550.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon SD700 IS
Canon SD550
Crop factor
6.02
4.87
Total megapixels
6.20
7.40
Effective megapixels
6.00
7.10
Optical zoom
4x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80 ,100, 200, 400, 800
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
45 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
2 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 140 mm
37 - 111 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.5
f2.8 - f4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f33.1
f13.6 - f23.9
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1600 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
2.5"
2.5"
Screen resolution
173,000 dots
115,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SD/MMC card
SD/MMC card
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NB-5L battery
Lithium-Ion NB-3L battery
Weight
195 g
185 g
Dimensions
90 x 57 x 26 mm
90 x 57 x 27 mm
Year
2006
2005




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vs

Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Canon SD700 IS diagonal

The diagonal of SD700 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

Canon SD550 diagonal

The diagonal of SD550 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


Surface area

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

SD700 IS sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

SD550 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 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

SD700 IS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.04 µm
2825

SD550 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3072 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 2.31 µm
3072


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

SD700 IS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.04 µm

Pixel area = 2.04² = 4.16 µm²

SD550 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.31 µm

Pixel area = 2.31² = 5.34 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

SD700 IS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

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

SD550 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3072 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (3072 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 18.67 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

SD700 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

SD550 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 7.10
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X =  7.10 × 1000000  = 2310
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2310 × 1.33 = 3072
Resolution vertical: X = 2310

Sensor resolution = 3072 x 2310


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


SD700 IS crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

SD550 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

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).

SD700 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.5) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f33.1

SD550 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.9) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f23.9

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