HP Photosmart C500 vs. HP Photosmart C618

Comparison

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Photosmart C500 image
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Photosmart C618 image
HP Photosmart C500 HP Photosmart C618
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Megapixels
2.00
2.11
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
1600 x 1200

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
2/3" (~ 8.8 x 6.6 mm)
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
Sensor resolution
1631 x 1226
1676 x 1260
Diagonal
11.00 mm
6.66 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
2.72 : 1
(ratio)
HP Photosmart C500 HP Photosmart C618
Surface area:
58.08 mm² vs 21.32 mm²
Difference: 36.76 mm² (172%)
C500 sensor is approx. 2.72x bigger than C618 sensor.
Pixel pitch
5.4 µm
3.18 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: 2.22 µm (70%)
Pixel pitch of C500 is approx. 70% higher than pixel pitch of C618.
Pixel area
29.16 µm²
10.11 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: 19.05 µm² (188%)
A pixel on HP C500 sensor is approx. 188% bigger than a pixel on HP C618.
Pixel density
3.44 MP/cm²
9.89 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: 6.45 µm (188%)
HP C618 has approx. 188% higher pixel density than HP C500.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

HP C500
HP C618
Crop factor
3.93
6.5
Total megapixels
Effective megapixels
Optical zoom
3x
3.2x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
80
100, 400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
60 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
20 cm
10 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 115 mm
34 - 108 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.6
f2.4
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f11 - f18.1
f15.6
Metering
Matrix, Spot
Centre weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±1.5 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
2 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/1000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
4
6
Screen size
2"
2"
Screen resolution
61,600 dots
127,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II
USB
USB 1.0
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (3) batteries (NiMH recommended)
AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Weight
430 g
390 g
Dimensions
131 x 54 x 77 mm
128 x 72 x 57 mm
Year
1999
2000




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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

HP C500 diagonal

The diagonal of C500 sensor is not 2/3 or 0.67" (16.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 11 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 8.80 mm
h = 6.60 mm
Diagonal =  8.80² + 6.60²   = 11.00 mm

HP C618 diagonal

The diagonal of C618 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


Surface area

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

C500 sensor area

Width = 8.80 mm
Height = 6.60 mm

Surface area = 8.80 × 6.60 = 58.08 mm²

C618 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 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

C500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 8.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1631 pixels
Pixel pitch =   8.80  × 1000  = 5.4 µm
1631

C618 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1676 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 3.18 µm
1676


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

C500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.4 µm

Pixel area = 5.4² = 29.16 µm²

C618 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.18 µm

Pixel area = 3.18² = 10.11 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

C500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1631 pixels
Sensor width = 0.88 cm

Pixel density = (1631 / 0.88)² / 1000000 = 3.44 MP/cm²

C618 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1676 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (1676 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 9.89 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

C500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 8.80 mm
Sensor height = 6.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.00
r = 8.80/6.60 = 1.33
X =  2.00 × 1000000  = 1226
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1226 × 1.33 = 1631
Resolution vertical: X = 1226

Sensor resolution = 1631 x 1226

C618 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.11
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X =  2.11 × 1000000  = 1260
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1260 × 1.33 = 1676
Resolution vertical: X = 1260

Sensor resolution = 1676 x 1260


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


C500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 11.00 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 3.93
11.00

C618 crop factor

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

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).

C500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 3.93
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.6) × 3.93 = f11 - f18.1

C618 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.4) × 6.5 = f15.6

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