Nikon Coolpix 3200 vs. Nikon Coolpix S6500

Comparison

change cameras »
Coolpix 3200 image
vs
Coolpix S6500 image
Nikon Coolpix 3200 Nikon Coolpix S6500
check price » check price »
Megapixels
3.10
16.00
Max. image resolution
2048 x 1536
4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
2031 x 1527
4612 x 3468
Diagonal
6.66 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 : 1.33
(ratio)
Nikon Coolpix 3200 Nikon Coolpix S6500
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 7.14 mm² (33%)
S6500 sensor is approx. 1.33x bigger than 3200 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 9 years between Nikon 3200 (2004) and Nikon S6500 (2013). Nine years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
2.62 µm
1.34 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: 1.28 µm (96%)
Pixel pitch of 3200 is approx. 96% higher than pixel pitch of S6500.
Pixel area
6.86 µm²
1.8 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: 5.06 µm² (281%)
A pixel on Nikon 3200 sensor is approx. 281% bigger than a pixel on Nikon S6500.
Pixel density
14.52 MP/cm²
56.06 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: 41.54 µm (286%)
Nikon S6500 has approx. 286% higher pixel density than Nikon 3200.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon 3200
Nikon S6500
Crop factor
6.5
5.62
Total megapixels
3.30
16.79
Effective megapixels
3.10
16.00
Optical zoom
3x
12x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, (50-200)
125-1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
30 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
4 cm
8 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 115 mm
25 - 300 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.9
f3.1 - f6.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2 - f31.9
f17.4 - f36.5
Metering
256-segment Matrix
Matrix, 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
4 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/3000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
None
White balance presets
6
6
Screen size
1.6"
3"
Screen resolution
80,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
EN-EL19 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
Weight
140 g
153 g
Dimensions
88 x 65 x 38 mm
95.4 x 58.3 x 26.3 mm
Year
2004
2013




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

Nikon 3200 diagonal

The diagonal of 3200 sensor is not 1/2.7 or 0.37" (9.4 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 6.66 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.33 mm
h = 4.00 mm
Diagonal =  5.33² + 4.00²   = 6.66 mm

Nikon S6500 diagonal

The diagonal of S6500 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.

3200 sensor area

Width = 5.33 mm
Height = 4.00 mm

Surface area = 5.33 × 4.00 = 21.32 mm²

S6500 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

3200 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.33  × 1000  = 2.62 µm
2031

S6500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.34 µm
4612


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

3200 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.62 µm

Pixel area = 2.62² = 6.86 µm²

S6500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.34 µm

Pixel area = 1.34² = 1.8 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

3200 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2031 pixels
Sensor width = 0.533 cm

Pixel density = (2031 / 0.533)² / 1000000 = 14.52 MP/cm²

S6500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4612 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4612 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 56.06 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

3200 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.33 mm
Sensor height = 4.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 3.10
r = 5.33/4.00 = 1.33
X =  3.10 × 1000000  = 1527
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1527 × 1.33 = 2031
Resolution vertical: X = 1527

Sensor resolution = 2031 x 1527

S6500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.00
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  16.00 × 1000000  = 3468
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3468 × 1.33 = 4612
Resolution vertical: X = 3468

Sensor resolution = 4612 x 3468


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


3200 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 6.66 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.5
6.66

S6500 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).

3200 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.5
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.9) × 6.5 = f18.2 - f31.9

S6500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.1 - f6.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.1 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f17.4 - f36.5

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.