HP Photosmart C912 vs. Nikon Coolpix 4500

Comparison

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Photosmart C912 image
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Coolpix 4500 image
HP Photosmart C912 Nikon Coolpix 4500
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Megapixels
2.20
3.90
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
2272 x 1704

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
2/3" (~ 8.8 x 6.6 mm)
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Sensor resolution
1710 x 1286
2277 x 1712
Diagonal
11.00 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

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
1.53 : 1
(ratio)
HP Photosmart C912 Nikon Coolpix 4500
Surface area:
58.08 mm² vs 37.90 mm²
Difference: 20.18 mm² (53%)
C912 sensor is approx. 1.53x bigger than 4500 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between HP C912 (2000) and Nikon 4500 (2002). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
5.15 µm
3.12 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: 2.03 µm (65%)
Pixel pitch of C912 is approx. 65% higher than pixel pitch of 4500.
Pixel area
26.52 µm²
9.73 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: 16.79 µm² (173%)
A pixel on HP C912 sensor is approx. 173% bigger than a pixel on Nikon 4500.
Pixel density
3.78 MP/cm²
10.26 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: 6.48 µm (171%)
Nikon 4500 has approx. 171% higher pixel density than HP C912.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

HP C912
Nikon 4500
Crop factor
3.93
4.87
Total megapixels
4.10
Effective megapixels
3.90
Optical zoom
3.2x
4.1x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
25, 50, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
10 cm
2 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
34 - 108 mm
38 - 155 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.5 - f3.9
f2.6 - f5.1
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f9.8 - f15.3
f12.7 - f24.8
Metering
Centre weighted, Spot
256-segment Matrix, Centre weighted, Spot, Spot-AF
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
Bulb+8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/2300 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
6
7
Screen size
2"
1.5"
Screen resolution
127,000 dots
110,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive
USB
USB 1.0
USB 1.0
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Nikon EN-EL1 Lithium-Ion included
Weight
630 g
420 g
Dimensions
144 x 91 x 105 mm
130 x 73 x 50 mm
Year
2000
2002




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vs

Diagonal

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

HP C912 diagonal

The diagonal of C912 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

Nikon 4500 diagonal

The diagonal of 4500 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.

C912 sensor area

Width = 8.80 mm
Height = 6.60 mm

Surface area = 8.80 × 6.60 = 58.08 mm²

4500 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

C912 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 8.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1710 pixels
Pixel pitch =   8.80  × 1000  = 5.15 µm
1710

4500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2277 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 3.12 µm
2277


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

C912 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.15 µm

Pixel area = 5.15² = 26.52 µm²

4500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.12 µm

Pixel area = 3.12² = 9.73 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

C912 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1710 pixels
Sensor width = 0.88 cm

Pixel density = (1710 / 0.88)² / 1000000 = 3.78 MP/cm²

4500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2277 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2277 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 10.26 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

C912 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 8.80 mm
Sensor height = 6.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.20
r = 8.80/6.60 = 1.33
X = √  2.20 × 1000000  = 1286
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1286 × 1.33 = 1710
Resolution vertical: X = 1286

Sensor resolution = 1710 x 1286

4500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.90
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X = √  3.90 × 1000000  = 1712
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1712 × 1.33 = 2277
Resolution vertical: X = 1712

Sensor resolution = 2277 x 1712


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


C912 crop factor

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

4500 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).

C912 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 3.93
Aperture = f2.5 - f3.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.5 - f3.9) × 3.93 = f9.8 - f15.3

4500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.6 - f5.1

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f5.1) × 4.87 = f12.7 - f24.8

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