HP Photosmart M527 vs. Nikon Coolpix S3000

Comparison

change cameras »
Photosmart M527 image
vs
Coolpix S3000 image
HP Photosmart M527 Nikon Coolpix S3000
check price » check price »
Megapixels
6.00
12.00
Max. image resolution
2800 x 2128
4000 x 3000

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
2825 x 2124
3995 x 3004
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 M527 Nikon Coolpix S3000
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
S3000 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than M527 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between HP M527 (2006) and Nikon S3000 (2010). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
2.04 µm
1.54 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: 0.5 µm (32%)
Pixel pitch of M527 is approx. 32% higher than pixel pitch of S3000.
Pixel area
4.16 µm²
2.37 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: 1.79 µm² (76%)
A pixel on HP M527 sensor is approx. 76% bigger than a pixel on Nikon S3000.
Pixel density
24.14 MP/cm²
42.06 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: 17.92 µm (74%)
Nikon S3000 has approx. 74% higher pixel density than HP M527.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

HP M527
Nikon S3000
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
12.40
Effective megapixels
12.00
Optical zoom
3x
4x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto
Auto
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
12 cm
8 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 114 mm
27 - 108 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.8
f3.2 - f5.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f28.9
f18 - f33.2
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
8 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
5
6
Screen size
2"
2.7"
Screen resolution
115,200 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Secure Digital
SDHC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Lithium-ion EN-EL10 battery
Weight
153 g
116 g
Dimensions
95 x 32 x 62 mm
94 x 56 x 19 mm
Year
2006
2010




Choose cameras to compare

vs

Diagonal

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

HP M527 diagonal

The diagonal of M527 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

Nikon S3000 diagonal

The diagonal of S3000 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.

M527 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

S3000 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

M527 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 2.04 µm
2825

S3000 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3995 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.54 µm
3995


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

M527 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.04 µm

Pixel area = 2.04² = 4.16 µm²

S3000 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.54 µm

Pixel area = 1.54² = 2.37 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

M527 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2825 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (2825 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 24.14 MP/cm²

S3000 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3995 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (3995 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 42.06 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

M527 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 6.00
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  6.00 × 1000000  = 2124
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2124 × 1.33 = 2825
Resolution vertical: X = 2124

Sensor resolution = 2825 x 2124

S3000 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  12.00 × 1000000  = 3004
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3004 × 1.33 = 3995
Resolution vertical: X = 3004

Sensor resolution = 3995 x 3004


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


M527 crop factor

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

S3000 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).

M527 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.8) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f28.9

S3000 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.2 - f5.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2 - f5.9) × 5.62 = f18 - f33.2

Enter your screen size (diagonal)

My screen size is  inches



Actual size is currently adjusted to screen.

If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.