Nikon Coolpix L16 vs. Nikon Coolpix L29

Comparison

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Coolpix L16 image
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Coolpix L29 image
Nikon Coolpix L16 Nikon Coolpix L29
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Megapixels
7.10
16.10
Max. image resolution
3072 x 2304
4608 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.5" (~ 5.75 x 4.32 mm)
1/2.3" (~ 6.16 x 4.62 mm)
Sensor resolution
3072 x 2310
4627 x 3479
Diagonal
7.19 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 : 1.15
(ratio)
Nikon Coolpix L16 Nikon Coolpix L29
Surface area:
24.84 mm² vs 28.46 mm²
Difference: 3.62 mm² (15%)
L29 sensor is approx. 1.15x bigger than L16 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Nikon L16 (2008) and Nikon L29 (2014). Six years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
1.87 µm
1.33 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: 0.54 µm (41%)
Pixel pitch of L16 is approx. 41% higher than pixel pitch of L29.
Pixel area
3.5 µm²
1.77 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: 1.73 µm² (98%)
A pixel on Nikon L16 sensor is approx. 98% bigger than a pixel on Nikon L29.
Pixel density
28.54 MP/cm²
56.42 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: 27.88 µm (98%)
Nikon L29 has approx. 98% higher pixel density than Nikon L16.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Nikon L16
Nikon L29
Crop factor
6.02
5.62
Total megapixels
7.40
16.44
Effective megapixels
7.10
16.10
Optical zoom
3x
5x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto
80-1600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
50 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
15 cm
10 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
35 - 105 mm
26 - 130 mm
Aperture priority
No
No
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.7
f3.2 - f6.5
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f16.9 - f28.3
f18 - f36.5
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
No
Min. shutter speed
4 sec
4 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/1500 sec
1/2000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
5
Screen size
2.8"
2.7"
Screen resolution
230,000 dots
230,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1280x720 (30p)
Storage types
SDHC, Secure Digital
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
2 AA-size batteries
Weight
125 g
160 g
Dimensions
95 x 61 x 29.5 mm
96.4 x 59.4 x 28.9 mm
Year
2008
2014




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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 L16 diagonal

The diagonal of L16 sensor is not 1/2.5 or 0.4" (10.2 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 7.19 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 5.75 mm
h = 4.32 mm
Diagonal =  5.75² + 4.32²   = 7.19 mm

Nikon L29 diagonal

The diagonal of L29 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.

L16 sensor area

Width = 5.75 mm
Height = 4.32 mm

Surface area = 5.75 × 4.32 = 24.84 mm²

L29 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

L16 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3072 pixels
Pixel pitch =   5.75  × 1000  = 1.87 µm
3072

L29 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Pixel pitch =   6.16  × 1000  = 1.33 µm
4627


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

L16 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.87 µm

Pixel area = 1.87² = 3.5 µm²

L29 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 1.33 µm

Pixel area = 1.33² = 1.77 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

L16 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3072 pixels
Sensor width = 0.575 cm

Pixel density = (3072 / 0.575)² / 1000000 = 28.54 MP/cm²

L29 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Sensor width = 0.616 cm

Pixel density = (4627 / 0.616)² / 1000000 = 56.42 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

L16 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 5.75 mm
Sensor height = 4.32 mm
Effective megapixels = 7.10
r = 5.75/4.32 = 1.33
X =  7.10 × 1000000  = 2310
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2310 × 1.33 = 3072
Resolution vertical: X = 2310

Sensor resolution = 3072 x 2310

L29 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 6.16 mm
Sensor height = 4.62 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
r = 6.16/4.62 = 1.33
X =  16.10 × 1000000  = 3479
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3479 × 1.33 = 4627
Resolution vertical: X = 3479

Sensor resolution = 4627 x 3479


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


L16 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 7.19 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 6.02
7.19

L29 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).

L16 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 6.02
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.7

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.7) × 6.02 = f16.9 - f28.3

L29 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 5.62
Aperture = f3.2 - f6.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f3.2 - f6.5) × 5.62 = f18 - f36.5

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