Nikon Coolpix 3200 vs. Nikon D90

Comparison

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Coolpix 3200 image
vs
D90 image
Nikon Coolpix 3200 Nikon D90
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Megapixels
3.10
12.30
Max. image resolution
2048 x 1536
4288 x 2848

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CMOS
Sensor size
1/2.7" (~ 5.33 x 4 mm)
23.6 x 15.8 mm
Sensor resolution
2031 x 1527
4281 x 2873
Diagonal
6.66 mm
28.40 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 : 17.49
(ratio)
Nikon Coolpix 3200 Nikon D90
Surface area:
21.32 mm² vs 372.88 mm²
Difference: 351.56 mm² (1649%)
D90 sensor is approx. 17.49x bigger than 3200 sensor.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 4 year gap between Nikon 3200 (2004) and Nikon D90 (2008). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
2.62 µm
5.51 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: 2.89 µm (110%)
Pixel pitch of D90 is approx. 110% higher than pixel pitch of 3200.
Pixel area
6.86 µm²
30.36 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: 23.5 µm² (343%)
A pixel on Nikon D90 sensor is approx. 343% bigger than a pixel on Nikon 3200.
Pixel density
14.52 MP/cm²
3.29 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: 11.23 µm (341%)
Nikon 3200 has approx. 341% higher pixel density than Nikon D90.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon 3200
Nikon D90
Crop factor
6.5
1.52
Total megapixels
3.30
12.90
Effective megapixels
3.10
12.30
Optical zoom
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, (50-200)
Auto, 200 - 3200 (plus 6400 with boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
30 cm
Macro focus range
4 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 115 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f18.2 - f31.9
n/a
Metering
256-segment Matrix
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/2 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/3000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (pentaprism)
White balance presets
6
12
Screen size
1.6"
3"
Screen resolution
80,000 dots
920,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1280x720 (24)
Storage types
Secure Digital
SD/SDHC
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e rechargeable battery
Weight
140 g
703 g
Dimensions
88 x 65 x 38 mm
132 x 103 x 77 mm
Year
2004
2008




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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 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 D90 diagonal

w = 23.60 mm
h = 15.80 mm
Diagonal =  23.60² + 15.80²   = 28.40 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

D90 sensor area

Width = 23.60 mm
Height = 15.80 mm

Surface area = 23.60 × 15.80 = 372.88 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

D90 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.60  × 1000  = 5.51 µm
4281


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

D90 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.51 µm

Pixel area = 5.51² = 30.36 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

D90 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4281 pixels
Sensor width = 2.36 cm

Pixel density = (4281 / 2.36)² / 1000000 = 3.29 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

D90 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.60 mm
Sensor height = 15.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.30
r = 23.60/15.80 = 1.49
X =  12.30 × 1000000  = 2873
1.49
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2873 × 1.49 = 4281
Resolution vertical: X = 2873

Sensor resolution = 4281 x 2873


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

D90 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.40 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.52
28.40

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

D90 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 D90, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Nikon D90 is 1.52

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