Kodak DC3800 vs. Nikon D800

Comparison

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DC3800 image
vs
D800 image
Kodak DC3800 Nikon D800
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Megapixels
2.00
36.30
Max. image resolution
1760 x 1168
7360 x 4912

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/1.7" (~ 7.53 x 5.64 mm)
35.9 x 24 mm
Sensor resolution
1637 x 1222
7379 x 4919
Diagonal
9.41 mm
43.18 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 : 20.29
(ratio)
Kodak DC3800 Nikon D800
Surface area:
42.47 mm² vs 861.60 mm²
Difference: 819.13 mm² (1929%)
D800 sensor is approx. 20.29x bigger than DC3800 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 12 years between Kodak DC3800 (2000) and Nikon D800 (2012). Twelve years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
4.6 µm
4.87 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: 0.27 µm (6%)
Pixel pitch of D800 is approx. 6% higher than pixel pitch of DC3800.
Pixel area
21.16 µm²
23.72 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: 2.56 µm² (12%)
A pixel on Nikon D800 sensor is approx. 12% bigger than a pixel on Kodak DC3800.
Pixel density
4.73 MP/cm²
4.22 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: 0.51 µm (12%)
Kodak DC3800 has approx. 12% higher pixel density than Nikon D800.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Kodak DC3800
Nikon D800
Crop factor
4.6
1
Total megapixels
2.30
36.80
Effective megapixels
2.00
36.30
Optical zoom
1x
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
100
Auto, 100 - 6400
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
Macro focus range
20 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
33 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f12.9
n/a
Metering
Centre weighted
3D Matrix metering II, Centre weighted, Multi-segment, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
1/2 sec
Bulb+30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1000 sec
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
3
12
Screen size
1.5"
3.2"
Screen resolution
72,000 dots
921,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30/25/24p)
Storage types
CompactFlash type I
CompactFlash type I, SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Lithium-Ion EN-EL15 rechargeable battery
Weight
205 g
900 g
Dimensions
95 x 61 x 33 mm
146 x 123 x 82 mm
Year
2000
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

Kodak DC3800 diagonal

The diagonal of DC3800 sensor is not 1/1.7 or 0.59" (14.9 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 9.41 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.53 mm
h = 5.64 mm
Diagonal = √  7.53² + 5.64²   = 9.41 mm

Nikon D800 diagonal

w = 35.90 mm
h = 24.00 mm
Diagonal = √  35.90² + 24.00²   = 43.18 mm


Surface area

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

DC3800 sensor area

Width = 7.53 mm
Height = 5.64 mm

Surface area = 7.53 × 5.64 = 42.47 mm²

D800 sensor area

Width = 35.90 mm
Height = 24.00 mm

Surface area = 35.90 × 24.00 = 861.60 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

DC3800 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1637 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.53  × 1000  = 4.6 µm
1637

D800 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 7379 pixels
Pixel pitch =   35.90  × 1000  = 4.87 µm
7379


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

DC3800 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.6 µm

Pixel area = 4.6² = 21.16 µm²

D800 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.87 µm

Pixel area = 4.87² = 23.72 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

DC3800 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1637 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

Pixel density = (1637 / 0.753)² / 1000000 = 4.73 MP/cm²

D800 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 7379 pixels
Sensor width = 3.59 cm

Pixel density = (7379 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 4.22 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

DC3800 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor height = 5.64 mm
Effective megapixels = 2.00
r = 7.53/5.64 = 1.34
X = √  2.00 × 1000000  = 1222
1.34
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1222 × 1.34 = 1637
Resolution vertical: X = 1222

Sensor resolution = 1637 x 1222

D800 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 36.30
r = 35.90/24.00 = 1.5
X = √  36.30 × 1000000  = 4919
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4919 × 1.5 = 7379
Resolution vertical: X = 4919

Sensor resolution = 7379 x 4919


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


DC3800 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.41 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.6
9.41

D800 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.18 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1
43.18

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).

DC3800 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.6
Aperture = f2.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8) × 4.6 = f12.9

D800 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 Nikon D800, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Since crop factor for Nikon D800 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.

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