Nikon Coolpix 300 vs. Canon IXUS 285 HS

Comparison

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Coolpix 300 image
vs
IXUS 285 HS image
Nikon Coolpix 300 Canon IXUS 285 HS
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Megapixels
0.30
20.20
Max. image resolution
640 x 480
5184 x 3888

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/3" (~ 4.8 x 3.6 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
632 x 475
5183 x 3897
Diagonal
6.00 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

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vs
1 : 1.65
(ratio)
Nikon Coolpix 300 Canon IXUS 285 HS
Surface area:
17.28 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 11.18 mm² (65%)
IXUS 285 HS sensor is approx. 1.65x bigger than 300 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 19 years between Nikon 300 (1997) and Canon IXUS 285 HS (2016). Nineteen years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
7.59 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: 6.4 µm (538%)
Pixel pitch of 300 is approx. 538% higher than pixel pitch of IXUS 285 HS.
Pixel area
57.61 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: 56.19 µm² (3957%)
A pixel on Nikon 300 sensor is approx. 3957% bigger than a pixel on Canon IXUS 285 HS.
Pixel density
1.73 MP/cm²
70.79 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: 69.06 µm (3992%)
Canon IXUS 285 HS has approx. 3992% higher pixel density than Nikon 300.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon 300
Canon IXUS 285 HS
Crop factor
7.21
5.62
Total megapixels
0.30
21.10
Effective megapixels
0.30
20.20
Optical zoom
1x
12x
Digital zoom
No
Yes
ISO sensitivity
100
Auto, 80-3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
23 cm
5 cm
Macro focus range
14 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
45 mm
25 - 300 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.4 - f3.6
f3.6 - f7
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f17.3 - f26
f20.2 - f39.3
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
1/30 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2500 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
2.5"
3"
Screen resolution
130,000 dots
460,800 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p)
Storage types
Internal
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended)
NB-11LH lithium-ion battery
Weight
250 g
147 g
Dimensions
78 x 151 x 35 mm
99.6 x 58 x 22.8 mm
Year
1997
2016




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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

Nikon 300 diagonal

The diagonal of 300 sensor is not 1/3 or 0.33" (8.5 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 4.80 mm
h = 3.60 mm
Diagonal =  4.80² + 3.60²   = 6.00 mm

Canon IXUS 285 HS diagonal

The diagonal of IXUS 285 HS 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.

300 sensor area

Width = 4.80 mm
Height = 3.60 mm

Surface area = 4.80 × 3.60 = 17.28 mm²

IXUS 285 HS 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

300 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor resolution width = 632 pixels
Pixel pitch =   4.80  × 1000  = 7.59 µm
632

IXUS 285 HS pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5183 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.19 µm
5183


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

300 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 7.59 µm

Pixel area = 7.59² = 57.61 µm²

IXUS 285 HS 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

300 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 632 pixels
Sensor width = 0.48 cm

Pixel density = (632 / 0.48)² / 1000000 = 1.73 MP/cm²

IXUS 285 HS pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5183 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (5183 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 70.79 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

300 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 4.80 mm
Sensor height = 3.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 0.30
r = 4.80/3.60 = 1.33
X =  0.30 × 1000000  = 475
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 475 × 1.33 = 632
Resolution vertical: X = 475

Sensor resolution = 632 x 475

IXUS 285 HS sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.20
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  20.20 × 1000000  = 3897
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3897 × 1.33 = 5183
Resolution vertical: X = 3897

Sensor resolution = 5183 x 3897


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


300 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.00 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 7.21
6.00

IXUS 285 HS 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).

300 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 7.21
Aperture = f2.4 - f3.6

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.4 - f3.6) × 7.21 = f17.3 - f26

IXUS 285 HS equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.6 - f7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.6 - f7) × 5.62 = f20.2 - f39.3

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