Canon PowerShot SX150 IS vs. Nikon Coolpix S9050

Comparison

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PowerShot SX150 IS image
vs
Coolpix S9050 image
Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Nikon Coolpix S9050
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Megapixels
14.10
12.10
Max. image resolution
4320 x 3240
4000 x 3000

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
4330 x 3256
4011 x 3016
Diagonal
7.70 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
(ratio)
Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Nikon Coolpix S9050
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
SX150 IS and S9050 sensors are the same size.
Pixel pitch
1.42 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: 0.12 µm (8%)
Pixel pitch of S9050 is approx. 8% higher than pixel pitch of SX150 IS.
Pixel area
2.02 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: 0.35 µm² (17%)
A pixel on Nikon S9050 sensor is approx. 17% bigger than a pixel on Canon SX150 IS.
Pixel density
49.41 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: 7.01 µm (17%)
Canon SX150 IS has approx. 17% higher pixel density than Nikon S9050.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon SX150 IS
Nikon S9050
Crop factor
5.62
5.62
Total megapixels
12.75
Effective megapixels
14.10
12.10
Optical zoom
12x
15.5x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80 - 1600
160 - 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
1 cm
4 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 336 mm
25 - 388 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
No
Max. aperture
f3.4 - f5.6
f3.5 - f5.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f19.1 - f31.5
f19.7 - f30.9
Metering
Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot
256-segment matrix, center-weighted
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
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2500 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
5
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
2 x AA batteries (NiMH recommended)
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL12
Weight
306 g
215 g
Dimensions
113 x 73 x 46 mm
62 x 104.8 x 34.6 mm
Year
2011
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 SX150 IS diagonal

The diagonal of SX150 IS 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

Nikon S9050 diagonal

The diagonal of S9050 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.

SX150 IS sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

S9050 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

SX150 IS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.42 µm
4330

S9050 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

SX150 IS pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.42 µm

Pixel area = 1.42² = 2.02 µm²

S9050 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

SX150 IS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4330 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4330 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 49.41 MP/cm²

S9050 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

SX150 IS 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

S9050 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


SX150 IS crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

S9050 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).

SX150 IS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.4 - f5.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.4 - f5.6) × 5.62 = f19.1 - f31.5

S9050 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.5 - f5.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f5.5) × 5.62 = f19.7 - f30.9

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