Contax i4R vs. Nikon Coolpix S01

Comparison

change cameras »
i4R image
vs
Coolpix S01 image
Contax i4R Nikon Coolpix S01
check price » check price »
Megapixels
4.00
10.10
Max. image resolution
2272 x 1704
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.9" (~ 4.96 x 3.72 mm)
Sensor resolution
2306 x 1734
3665 x 2756
Diagonal
6.66 mm
6.20 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
1.16 : 1
(ratio)
Contax i4R Nikon Coolpix S01
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 18.45 mm²
Difference: 2.87 mm² (16%)
i4R sensor is approx. 1.16x bigger than S01 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 8 years between Contax i4R (2004) and Nikon S01 (2012). Eight years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
2.31 µm
1.35 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: 0.96 µm (71%)
Pixel pitch of i4R is approx. 71% higher than pixel pitch of S01.
Pixel area
5.34 µm²
1.82 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: 3.52 µm² (193%)
A pixel on Contax i4R sensor is approx. 193% bigger than a pixel on Nikon S01.
Pixel density
18.72 MP/cm²
54.6 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: 35.88 µm (192%)
Nikon S01 has approx. 192% higher pixel density than Contax i4R.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Contax i4R
Nikon S01
Crop factor
6.5
6.98
Total megapixels
10.34
Effective megapixels
10.10
Optical zoom
No
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
80-1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
60 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
39 mm
29 - 87 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8
f3.3 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2
f23 - f41.2
Metering
Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
1 sec
1 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
4
Screen size
1.5"
2.5"
Screen resolution
130,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
MultiMedia, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.1
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Li-Ion
Built-in Lithium i-on rechargeable EN-EL11 battery
Weight
90 g
96 g
Dimensions
94 x 39 x 21 mm
77 x 52 x 17 mm
Year
2004
2012




Choose cameras to compare

vs

Diagonal

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

Contax i4R diagonal

The diagonal of i4R 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

Nikon S01 diagonal

The diagonal of S01 sensor is not 1/2.9 or 0.34" (8.8 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.2 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.96 mm
h = 3.72 mm
Diagonal =  4.96² + 3.72²   = 6.20 mm


Surface area

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

i4R sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

S01 sensor area

Width = 4.96 mm
Height = 3.72 mm

Surface area = 4.96 × 3.72 = 18.45 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

i4R pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2306 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 2.31 µm
2306

S01 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.96 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Pixel pitch =   4.96  × 1000  = 1.35 µm
3665


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

i4R pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.31 µm

Pixel area = 2.31² = 5.34 µm²

S01 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.35 µm

Pixel area = 1.35² = 1.82 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

i4R pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2306 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (2306 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 18.72 MP/cm²

S01 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Sensor width = 0.496 cm

Pixel density = (3665 / 0.496)² / 1000000 = 54.6 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

i4R sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 4.00
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X =  4.00 × 1000000  = 1734
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1734 × 1.33 = 2306
Resolution vertical: X = 1734

Sensor resolution = 2306 x 1734

S01 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.96 mm
Sensor height = 3.72 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.10
r = 4.96/3.72 = 1.33
X =  10.10 × 1000000  = 2756
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2756 × 1.33 = 3665
Resolution vertical: X = 2756

Sensor resolution = 3665 x 2756


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


i4R crop factor

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

S01 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.20 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.98
6.20

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).

i4R equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 6.5 = f18.2

S01 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.98
Aperture = f3.3 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.3 - f5.9) × 6.98 = f23 - f41.2

Enter your screen size (diagonal)

My screen size is  inches



Actual size is currently adjusted to screen.

If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.