Epson PhotoPC 500 vs. Sanyo VPC HD1 EX

Comparison

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PhotoPC 500 image
vs
VPC HD1 EX image
Epson PhotoPC 500 Sanyo VPC HD1 EX
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Megapixels
0.30
5.08
Max. image resolution
640 x 480
3680 x 2760

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/3" (~ 4.8 x 3.6 mm)
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
Sensor resolution
632 x 475
2599 x 1954
Diagonal
6.00 mm
7.19 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 : 1.44
(ratio)
Epson PhotoPC 500 Sanyo VPC HD1 EX
Surface area:
17.28 mm² vs 24.84 mm²
Difference: 7.56 mm² (44%)
VPC HD1 EX sensor is approx. 1.44x bigger than 500 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 8 years between Epson 500 (1997) and Sanyo VPC HD1 EX (2005). 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
7.59 µm
2.21 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: 5.38 µm (243%)
Pixel pitch of 500 is approx. 243% higher than pixel pitch of VPC HD1 EX.
Pixel area
57.61 µm²
4.88 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: 52.73 µm² (1081%)
A pixel on Epson 500 sensor is approx. 1081% bigger than a pixel on Sanyo VPC HD1 EX.
Pixel density
1.73 MP/cm²
20.43 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: 18.7 µm (1081%)
Sanyo VPC HD1 EX has approx. 1081% higher pixel density than Epson 500.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Epson 500
Sanyo VPC HD1 EX
Crop factor
7.21
6.02
Total megapixels
Effective megapixels
Optical zoom
1x
Yes
Digital zoom
No
Yes
ISO sensitivity
130
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
60 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
20 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
43 mm
38 - 380 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f8.0
f3.5 - f3.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f20.2 - f57.7
f21.1 - f21.1
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, Matrix, Multi-segment
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
±1.8 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
1/30 sec
1/2 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/10000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
3
5
Screen size
2"
2.2"
Screen resolution
110,000 dots
210,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Internal, optional Epson cards
Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Li-Ion
Weight
320 g
235 g
Dimensions
142 x 81 x 53 mm
80 x 119 x 36 mm
Year
1997
2005




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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

Epson 500 diagonal

The diagonal of 500 sensor is not 1/3 or 0.33" (8.5 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.80 mm
h = 3.60 mm
Diagonal =  4.80² + 3.60²   = 6.00 mm

Sanyo VPC HD1 EX diagonal

The diagonal of VPC HD1 EX 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


Surface area

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

500 sensor area

Width = 4.80 mm
Height = 3.60 mm

Surface area = 4.80 × 3.60 = 17.28 mm²

VPC HD1 EX sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 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

500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 632 pixels
Pixel pitch =   4.80  × 1000  = 7.59 µm
632

VPC HD1 EX pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2599 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.21 µm
2599


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

500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.59 µm

Pixel area = 7.59² = 57.61 µm²

VPC HD1 EX pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.21 µm

Pixel area = 2.21² = 4.88 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

500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 632 pixels
Sensor width = 0.48 cm

Pixel density = (632 / 0.48)² / 1000000 = 1.73 MP/cm²

VPC HD1 EX pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2599 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2599 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 20.43 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

500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor height = 3.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 0.30
r = 4.80/3.60 = 1.33
X =  0.30 × 1000000  = 475
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 475 × 1.33 = 632
Resolution vertical: X = 475

Sensor resolution = 632 x 475

VPC HD1 EX sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.08
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  5.08 × 1000000  = 1954
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1954 × 1.33 = 2599
Resolution vertical: X = 1954

Sensor resolution = 2599 x 1954


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


500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.00 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 7.21
6.00

VPC HD1 EX crop factor

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

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).

500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 7.21
Aperture = f2.8 - f8.0

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f8.0) × 7.21 = f20.2 - f57.7

VPC HD1 EX equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f3.5 - f3.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.5 - f3.5) × 6.02 = f21.1 - f21.1

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