Casio Exilim EX-ZS30 vs. Canon Digital IXUS 500

Comparison

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Exilim EX-ZS30 image
vs
Digital IXUS 500 image
Casio Exilim EX-ZS30 Canon Digital IXUS 500
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Megapixels
20.10
5.00
Max. image resolution
5152 x 3864
2592 x 1944

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Sensor resolution
5171 x 3888
2579 x 1939
Diagonal
7.70 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

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vs
1 : 1.33
(ratio)
Casio Exilim EX-ZS30 Canon Digital IXUS 500
Surface area:
28.46 mm² vs 37.90 mm²
Difference: 9.44 mm² (33%)
IXUS 500 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than ZS30 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 9 years between Casio ZS30 (2013) and Canon IXUS 500 (2004). Nine years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
1.19 µm
2.76 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: 1.57 µm (132%)
Pixel pitch of IXUS 500 is approx. 132% higher than pixel pitch of ZS30.
Pixel area
1.42 µm²
7.62 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: 6.2 µm² (437%)
A pixel on Canon IXUS 500 sensor is approx. 437% bigger than a pixel on Casio ZS30.
Pixel density
70.47 MP/cm²
13.16 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: 57.31 µm (435%)
Casio ZS30 has approx. 435% higher pixel density than Canon IXUS 500.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Casio ZS30
Canon IXUS 500
Crop factor
5.62
4.87
Total megapixels
20.48
5.20
Effective megapixels
20.10
5.00
Optical zoom
6x
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
46 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
26 - 156 mm
36 - 108 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f3.5 - f6.5
f2.8 - f4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f19.7 - f36.5
f13.6 - f23.9
Metering
Multi pattern, Center weighted
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
4 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
6
5
Screen size
2.7"
1.5"
Screen resolution
230,400 dots
118,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
Compact Flash (Type I)
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Rechargeable lithium ion battery (NP-120)
Lithium-Ion NB-1LH Battery
Weight
146 g
215 g
Dimensions
94.9 x 55.9 x 20.4 mm
87 x 57 x 28 mm
Year
2013
2004




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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

Casio ZS30 diagonal

The diagonal of ZS30 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

Canon IXUS 500 diagonal

The diagonal of IXUS 500 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.

ZS30 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 mm²

IXUS 500 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

ZS30 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.19 µm
5171

IXUS 500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 2.76 µm
2579


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

ZS30 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.19 µm

Pixel area = 1.19² = 1.42 µm²

IXUS 500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.76 µm

Pixel area = 2.76² = 7.62 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

ZS30 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5171 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (5171 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 70.47 MP/cm²

IXUS 500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 13.16 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

ZS30 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  20.10 × 1000000  = 3888
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3888 × 1.33 = 5171
Resolution vertical: X = 3888

Sensor resolution = 5171 x 3888

IXUS 500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X = √  5.00 × 1000000  = 1939
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1939 × 1.33 = 2579
Resolution vertical: X = 1939

Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939


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


ZS30 crop factor

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

IXUS 500 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).

ZS30 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.5 - f6.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f19.7 - f36.5

IXUS 500 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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