HP Photosmart M407 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40

Comparison

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Photosmart M407 image
vs
Lumix DMC-LZ40 image
HP Photosmart M407 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40
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Megapixels
4.10
20.00
Max. image resolution
2344 x 1752
5152 x 3864

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
2335 x 1756
5158 x 3878
Diagonal
7.19 mm
7.70 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 : 1.15
(ratio)
HP Photosmart M407 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
LZ40 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than M407 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 10 years between HP M407 (2004) and Panasonic LZ40 (2014). Ten years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
2.46 µm
1.19 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: 1.27 µm (107%)
Pixel pitch of M407 is approx. 107% higher than pixel pitch of LZ40.
Pixel area
6.05 µm²
1.42 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: 4.63 µm² (326%)
A pixel on HP M407 sensor is approx. 326% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic LZ40.
Pixel density
16.49 MP/cm²
70.11 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: 53.62 µm (325%)
Panasonic LZ40 has approx. 325% higher pixel density than HP M407.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

HP M407
Panasonic LZ40
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
20.50
Effective megapixels
20.00
Optical zoom
2.8x
42x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 (3200/6400 with boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
30 cm
Macro focus range
10 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
40 - 111 mm
22 - 924 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.9 - f4.9
f3 - f6.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f17.5 - f29.5
f16.9 - f36.5
Metering
Centre weighted
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
2 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/1500 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
5
4
Screen size
1.8"
3"
Screen resolution
130,338 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1280x720 (30p)
Storage types
MultiMedia, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Li-ion Battery Pack
Weight
145 g
524 g
Dimensions
35.5 x 109.5 x 52.8 mm
126.4 x 86.6 x 94.2 mm
Year
2004
2014




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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 M407 diagonal

The diagonal of M407 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

Panasonic LZ40 diagonal

The diagonal of LZ40 sensor is not 1/2.3 or 0.43" (11 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.7 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.16 mm
h = 4.62 mm
Diagonal = √  6.16² + 4.62²   = 7.70 mm


Surface area

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

M407 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

LZ40 sensor area

Width = 6.16 mm
Height = 4.62 mm

Surface area = 6.16 × 4.62 = 28.46 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

M407 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2335 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.46 µm
2335

LZ40 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5158 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.19 µm
5158


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

M407 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.46 µm

Pixel area = 2.46² = 6.05 µm²

LZ40 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.19 µm

Pixel area = 1.19² = 1.42 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

M407 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2335 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2335 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 16.49 MP/cm²

LZ40 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5158 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (5158 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 70.11 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

M407 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 4.10
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X = √  4.10 × 1000000  = 1756
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1756 × 1.33 = 2335
Resolution vertical: X = 1756

Sensor resolution = 2335 x 1756

LZ40 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X = √  20.00 × 1000000  = 3878
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3878 × 1.33 = 5158
Resolution vertical: X = 3878

Sensor resolution = 5158 x 3878


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


M407 crop factor

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

LZ40 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.70 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.62
7.70

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).

M407 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.9 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.9 - f4.9) × 6.02 = f17.5 - f29.5

LZ40 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3 - f6.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f16.9 - f36.5

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