Nikon Coolpix 950 vs. Canon PowerShot G12

Comparison

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Coolpix 950 image
vs
PowerShot G12 image
Nikon Coolpix 950 Canon PowerShot G12
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Megapixels
1.90
10.00
Max. image resolution
1600 x 1200
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2" (~ 6.4 x 4.8 mm)
1/1.7" (~ 7.53 x 5.64 mm)
Sensor resolution
1589 x 1195
3661 x 2732
Diagonal
8.00 mm
9.41 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 : 1.38
(ratio)
Nikon Coolpix 950 Canon PowerShot G12
Surface area:
30.72 mm² vs 42.47 mm²
Difference: 11.75 mm² (38%)
G12 sensor is approx. 1.38x bigger than 950 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of vastly different generations. There is a gap of 11 years between Nikon 950 (1999) and Canon G12 (2010). Eleven years is a huge amount of time, technology wise, resulting in newer sensor being much more efficient than the older one.
Pixel pitch
4.03 µm
2.06 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: 1.97 µm (96%)
Pixel pitch of 950 is approx. 96% higher than pixel pitch of G12.
Pixel area
16.24 µm²
4.24 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: 12 µm² (283%)
A pixel on Nikon 950 sensor is approx. 283% bigger than a pixel on Canon G12.
Pixel density
6.16 MP/cm²
23.64 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: 17.48 µm (284%)
Canon G12 has approx. 284% higher pixel density than Nikon 950.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon 950
Canon G12
Crop factor
5.41
4.6
Total megapixels
2.10
10.40
Effective megapixels
1.90
10.00
Optical zoom
3x
5x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 80 - 3200
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
10 cm
35 cm
Macro focus range
2 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
38 - 115 mm
28 - 140 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.6 - f4
f2.8 - f4.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f14.1 - f21.6
f12.9 - f20.7
Metering
Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot
Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
8 sec
15 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/750 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
6
8
Screen size
2"
2.8"
Screen resolution
130,000 dots
461,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
CompactFlash type I
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (4) batteries (NiMH recommended)
Lithium-Ion NB-7L rechargeable battery
Weight
350 g
355 g
Dimensions
143 x 77 x 37 mm
112 x 76 x 48 mm
Year
1999
2010




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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

Nikon 950 diagonal

The diagonal of 950 sensor is not 1/2 or 0.5" (12.7 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 6.40 mm
h = 4.80 mm
Diagonal =  6.40² + 4.80²   = 8.00 mm

Canon G12 diagonal

The diagonal of G12 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


Surface area

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

950 sensor area

Width = 6.40 mm
Height = 4.80 mm

Surface area = 6.40 × 4.80 = 30.72 mm²

G12 sensor area

Width = 7.53 mm
Height = 5.64 mm

Surface area = 7.53 × 5.64 = 42.47 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

950 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.40 mm
Sensor resolution width = 1589 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.40  × 1000  = 4.03 µm
1589

G12 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3661 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.53  × 1000  = 2.06 µm
3661


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

950 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.03 µm

Pixel area = 4.03² = 16.24 µm²

G12 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.06 µm

Pixel area = 2.06² = 4.24 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

950 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 1589 pixels
Sensor width = 0.64 cm

Pixel density = (1589 / 0.64)² / 1000000 = 6.16 MP/cm²

G12 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3661 pixels
Sensor width = 0.753 cm

Pixel density = (3661 / 0.753)² / 1000000 = 23.64 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

950 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.40 mm
Sensor height = 4.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 1.90
r = 6.40/4.80 = 1.33
X =  1.90 × 1000000  = 1195
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1195 × 1.33 = 1589
Resolution vertical: X = 1195

Sensor resolution = 1589 x 1195

G12 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.53 mm
Sensor height = 5.64 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.00
r = 7.53/5.64 = 1.34
X =  10.00 × 1000000  = 2732
1.34
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2732 × 1.34 = 3661
Resolution vertical: X = 2732

Sensor resolution = 3661 x 2732


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


950 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.00 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 5.41
8.00

G12 crop factor

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

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).

950 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.41
Aperture = f2.6 - f4

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.6 - f4) × 5.41 = f14.1 - f21.6

G12 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.6
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.5) × 4.6 = f12.9 - f20.7

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