Epson R-D1 vs. Olympus OM-D E-M5

Comparison

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R-D1 image
vs
OM-D E-M5 image
Epson R-D1 Olympus OM-D E-M5
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Megapixels
6.00
16.10
Max. image resolution
3008 x 2000
4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
23.7 x 15.6 mm
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
Sensor resolution
3020 x 1987
4627 x 3479
Diagonal
28.37 mm
21.64 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
1.64 : 1
(ratio)
Epson R-D1 Olympus OM-D E-M5
Surface area:
369.72 mm² vs 224.90 mm²
Difference: 144.82 mm² (64%)
R-D1 sensor is approx. 1.64x bigger than OM-D E-M5 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 8 years between Epson R-D1 (2004) and Olympus OM-D E-M5 (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
7.85 µm
3.74 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: 4.11 µm (110%)
Pixel pitch of R-D1 is approx. 110% higher than pixel pitch of OM-D E-M5.
Pixel area
61.62 µm²
13.99 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: 47.63 µm² (340%)
A pixel on Epson R-D1 sensor is approx. 340% bigger than a pixel on Olympus OM-D E-M5.
Pixel density
1.62 MP/cm²
7.15 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: 5.53 µm (341%)
Olympus OM-D E-M5 has approx. 341% higher pixel density than Epson R-D1.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Epson R-D1
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Crop factor
1.53
2
Total megapixels
6.20
17.20
Effective megapixels
6.00
16.10
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
200, 400, 800, 1600
Auto, (200 - 25600), 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
Centre weighted
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
1 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (rangefinder)
Electronic
White balance presets
6
12
Screen size
2"
3"
Screen resolution
235,000 dots
610,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Lithium-Ion BLN-1 rechargeable battery
Weight
620 g
425 g
Dimensions
142 x 88.5 x 39.5 mm
121.0 x 89.6 x 41.9 mm
Year
2004
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

Epson R-D1 diagonal

w = 23.70 mm
h = 15.60 mm
Diagonal =  23.70² + 15.60²   = 28.37 mm

Olympus OM-D E-M5 diagonal

w = 17.30 mm
h = 13.00 mm
Diagonal =  17.30² + 13.00²   = 21.64 mm


Surface area

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

R-D1 sensor area

Width = 23.70 mm
Height = 15.60 mm

Surface area = 23.70 × 15.60 = 369.72 mm²

OM-D E-M5 sensor area

Width = 17.30 mm
Height = 13.00 mm

Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 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

R-D1 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3020 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.70  × 1000  = 7.85 µm
3020

OM-D E-M5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Pixel pitch =   17.30  × 1000  = 3.74 µm
4627


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

R-D1 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.85 µm

Pixel area = 7.85² = 61.62 µm²

OM-D E-M5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.74 µm

Pixel area = 3.74² = 13.99 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

R-D1 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3020 pixels
Sensor width = 2.37 cm

Pixel density = (3020 / 2.37)² / 1000000 = 1.62 MP/cm²

OM-D E-M5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Sensor width = 1.73 cm

Pixel density = (4627 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 7.15 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

R-D1 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.70 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00
r = 23.70/15.60 = 1.52
X =  6.00 × 1000000  = 1987
1.52
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1987 × 1.52 = 3020
Resolution vertical: X = 1987

Sensor resolution = 3020 x 1987

OM-D E-M5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
r = 17.30/13.00 = 1.33
X =  16.10 × 1000000  = 3479
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3479 × 1.33 = 4627
Resolution vertical: X = 3479

Sensor resolution = 4627 x 3479


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


R-D1 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.37 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.53
28.37

OM-D E-M5 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 21.64 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2
21.64

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).

R-D1 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Epson R-D1, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Epson R-D1 is 1.53

OM-D E-M5 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Olympus OM-D E-M5, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Olympus OM-D E-M5 is 2

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